NetMotion Mobility® Helps Rental-Car Company Hertz Get Customers Back on the Road
Customer Company Size
Large Corporate
Region
- America
Country
- United States
Product
- NetMotion Mobility
- Panasonic Toughbook UI Tablet PCs
- AT&T Data Service
Tech Stack
- Windows XP
- Wi-Fi
- Cellular Data Service
Implementation Scale
- Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Customer Satisfaction
- Cost Savings
Technology Category
- Networks & Connectivity - Cellular
Applicable Industries
- Transportation
Applicable Functions
- Sales & Marketing
- Business Operation
Use Cases
- Fleet Management
- Cybersecurity
Services
- System Integration
About The Customer
Hertz is a well-known rental car company that operates more than 1,600 “off-airport” locations in urban centers and neighborhoods. These “Local Edition” sites lease cars, trucks, and vans, often to nearby residents who are having their vehicles serviced or repaired. The company supplements fixed terminals at Local Edition counters with Panasonic Toughbook U1 Tablet PCs fitted with magnetic readers for processing credit cards. Staff members can grab a tablet from a docking station to provide service to waiting customers anywhere on the rental lot. The devices also allow staff to provide customers who are returning vehicles with curbside service, allowing them to get on their way more quickly without needing to enter the office.
The Challenge
Hertz operates more than 1,600 “off-airport” locations in urban centers and neighborhoods. These “Local Edition” sites lease cars, trucks and vans, often to nearby residents who are having their vehicles serviced or repaired. Agents use portable POS devices to help get customers quickly into their leased vehicles. However, these POS systems would regularly stall during transactions, causing long delays that frustrated customers. The tablets run Windows XP and use a variety of network connections: wired connections through the dock, Wi-Fi and AT&T cellular data service. When switching between networks, devices would often lose connectivity, requiring agents to re-start applications and the devices to attempt to get online again. But these extra steps frustrated staff and customers alike.
The Solution
Hertz deployed NetMotion Mobility to ensure its staff had reliable connections to vital applications wherever they were assisting customers. The upgrade enabled Hertz to deliver on its commitment to customer service. It also enhanced security and reduced the time and resources needed to open new Local Edition sites. NetMotion proved that Mobility could enable devices to make the transition from wired to wireless networks seamlessly without interrupting data connections or any Hertz customer service applications. However, resilient connections were not the only advantage of deploying Mobility. Mobility’s encryption ensured the security of customer credit card data while in transit across the network. The Hertz team also began using Mobility’s flexible security policies to help detect and block prohibited traffic within the device before it can traverse any external networks.
Operational Impact
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