20 April 2022  

Salvage Industry first – e2e achieves certification to the BSI Customer Service Kitemark™

e2e Total Loss Vehicle Management [e2e], is proud to be the first and only organisation in the salvage and automotive recycling industry to achieve the BSI Customer Service  Kitemark™.  The process to achieve certification took place over a seven month period, which concluded with a three day audit and incorporated all aspects of customer service including strategy, culture, resources, people, technology, customer feedback and complaints handling.

The UK’s only nationwide salvage and automotive recycling network, e2e is dedicated to raising industry standards and places customer service at the very heart of its proposition for clients.  The company is committed to and audited against customer service standards and performance SLAs, ensuring a consistently exceptional customer experience.  In a client survey undertaken in December 2021, when asked to rate their overall satisfaction with the service received from e2e, 100% of respondents stated they were satisfied or very satisfied with the service.  In the same survey 100% of clients reported that they found e2e to be very or extremely responsive when dealing with queries and requests for information. 

Jim Loughran, CEO at e2e said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be the first in the salvage industry to achieve the BSI Customer Service Kitemark™.  We believe our focus on customer service is what sets us apart from our competition.  Our network recovers 500,000+ vehicles per annum and customer service excellence is evidenced by a justified complaints ratio of <0.1%.  We know that we represent our insurer clients’ brands when dealing with their policyholders and that their reputation is in our hands.  We take that responsibility very seriously and as a network we are committed to customer care and removing friction from the total loss claims experience.  We regularly seek customer feedback at an insurer and policyholder level, using it to benchmark our performance and achieve continual improvement.”

Natasha Bambridge, Global Consumer Promise Practice Director at BSI said: “Congratulations to e2e Total Loss Vehicle Management for demonstrating that it is an organisation that puts customers first - the team should be very proud.  Externally, achieving certification to the Kitemark™ will prove the organisation’s commitment to service excellence and internally it will help to embed a customer first culture. We look forward to working with e2e again in the future so that the organisation can continually improve on the service it provides to its customers.”

e2e Total Loss Vehicle Management [e2e] is the UK’s only network of progressive automotive salvage and recycling agents, delivering market leading services to the insurance industry, via 50 nationwide, environmentally compliant sites.  The network recovers 500,000+ vehicles per annum, and a focus on customer service is evidenced by a justified complaints ratio of <0.1%.  The company is working closely with network members and industry bodies on initiatives to reduce carbon emissions and design best practice in the recycling of electric vehicles.

e2e clients benefit from:

·         stronger salvage resale values and faster sales;

·         reduced claims leakage and operational costs;

·         access to 5M+ quality graded, warranty assured reclaimed parts;

·         unique data insights;

·         reputation risk mitigation with certified destruction of CAT A and B vehicles;

·         business interruption risk mitigation due to the service continuity afforded by a network;

·         the opportunity to access 5million+ warranty assured reclaimed parts, delivered within 24 hours;

·         emergency recovery assistance for both total loss and repairable vehicles, provided within 90 mins;

·         engineering services;

·         negotiated reductions in historic recovery and storage charges;

·         vehicle document and key management;

·         management of policyholder personal belongings and cherished plates;

·         management of infotainment systems for GDPR compliance;

·         flexibility to shape a service specific to their business requirements.

www.e2etotalloss.com

Copart Opens New Eco-Friendly Office in Bristol 

Global leader in online vehicle remarketing and recycling, Copart UK, has opened a new eco-friendly office building in Bristol as part of their ongoing Plan-Net-Zero sustainability commitment. 

As part of a programme to upgrade and replace offices at their nationwide Operation Centres, which span over 400 acres and enable the storage of over 100k vehicles at any one time, this new environmentally friendly office building in Bristol will now be a blueprint for the company’s future network of Copart Super Centres.

To be ‘fit for the future’, the bespoke new office building offers strong green credentials. State of the art insulation, low energy LED lighting throughout, and onsite waste treatment facilities to filter and clean water, will all contribute towards a sustainable and environmentally friendly office. There are also outside green spaces with trees and shrubs to improve air quality and encourage nature.

Wellbeing, inclusion, and diversity have been key considerations, with the provision of a quiet prayer room, first aid room, easily accessible disabled toilet facilities, and onsite shower facilities for employees wishing to cycle to work or exercise during their break times. 

The new office forms part of the major expansion plans currently underway at Copart’s Bristol Operation Centre, with this location set to become a 63-acre ‘Super Centre’ for the South West by the end of the year. 

Works underway include areas for vehicles that require specialist handling, like EV’s, and contingency land in the event of catastrophes where Copart’s expert surge management services are required by their insurance customers. 

There will also be brand-new vehicle preparation areas that will enable vehicle inspections, valeting, and 360° imaging - providing complete transparency to buyers at Copart’s online auctions.

Jane Pocock, Managing Director of Copart UK & Ireland, said:

“As partner of choice for most major insurers, operating in the most responsible way is always top of Copart’s agenda. 

“We are delighted to announce the official opening of our new eco-friendly office in Bristol, as the first of many infrastructure upgrades to come under our sustainability refurbishment programme and a major element of our Plan-Net-Zero commitment towards a greener future.

“With exciting plans in the pipeline to develop a network of Super Centres and improve existing sites, going forward we’ll be using Bristol as a prototype for our larger sites to ensure that in addition to continually improving our services to customers, our offices are inclusive, energy efficient, and constructed in an environmentally friendly way.”

BVSF - AGM & Convention 2022 summary

ATF Professional was invited to the 2022 British Vehicle Salvage Federation (BVSF) AGM & Convention - a great success after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.

On the 7th of April, the all-day event was once again held at Walton Hall Hotel and Spa in Warwickshire. Over 70 delegates attended and heard the latest AGM business and expert speakers, and it provided the opportunity to network. The day merged into night, where dinner and entertainment were offered, followed by further networking with new and old friends into the early hours. 

After the registration, members (and guests) of the BVSF were welcomed by Honorary Chairman Percy Snow. Then, in his report, Secretary General, Roger West, highlighted the continued problems with illegal operators and their effects on the vehicle recycling industry. He talked of how they are still looking at changes to the code of practice. And although member numbers have decreased since the pandemic, the association continues to strive to ensure existing members still benefit fully from the association's work, including advice when it comes to taking the AQP exam or looking at fire prevention plans (FPP).

He said that officers of the BVSF had changed with the loss of Jason Cross and that they now welcomed Jane Pocock, Managing Director of UK and Ireland, Copart, to the Management Committee.

Once AGM business was concluded, it was straight onto the first speaker of the day, Mike Allen from Business Doctors, to discuss business growth and what vehicle recycling operators could consider to make improvements if required. Following Mike was Senior Fire Advisor at the Environment Agency, Peter Buckley who talked about FPP guidance and the work being undertaken by the EA on this, including the Cyber Guardian Project, a project that successfully saw a halt to £6 million worth of trade online so far. 

Before breaking for lunch, delegates heard from the President Elect of the Institute of Automotive Engineer Assessors’ (IAEA), David Punter, who provided examples of how straightforward the Appropriately Qualified Person (AQP) exam is and how the IAEA can offer training on this subject. 

The afternoon’s presentations began with one of ATF Professional’s regular contributors, Robin Edwards, owner of ONIS Consulting and consultant to Industry and Law Enforcement agencies, who told delegates of the recent metal crime projects he has been involved in and their success so far, and what vehicle recyclers can do to assist in this continued success. Finally, the last speaker of the day was Tom Seward, Commercial Director at G & P Batteries, part of ECOBAT Logistics UK. He discussed how 80% of batteries coming into yards have a second life, but only 5% are actually being processed for second life use. When asking vehicle recyclers in the audience whether they would like training on EV battery storage safety, there was a resounding yes.

As the afternoon session came to an end, the evening dinner would follow but not before some further networking and obligatory drinking (for some!). Later, guests gathered together to enjoy a delicious meal whilst being entertained by a highly skilled and very amusing magician. After much wine and conversion, the raffle and auction concluded the evening, where money raised was donated in part to the RNLI. Of course, the night was not over, with chatting and drinking continuing into the early hours (for some!).

We asked Roger West, Secretary General of the BVSF for his opinion on this year’s AGM and seminar:

“It is my belief that it ran well and was enjoyed by all; this makes the work involved very worthwhile, and I look forward to the next event at a new venue.”

If you would like some information on the BVSF, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.bvsf.org.uk 

With thanks to ATF Professional, for more info visit atfpro.co.uk 

Copart launches new £1m+ Driver Academy Programme

Global leader in online vehicle remarketing and recycling, Copart UK, today announces the launch of a new Driver Academy Programme to recruit and train the next generation of HGV drivers for its expanding, self-owned, UK wide transportation fleet.  

The company has launched the £1m+ programme in partnership with HGVC, the leading provider of commercial licence acquisition training courses in the UK, to secure the future supply of highly skilled Copart drivers. Directly aligning with Copart’s Plan-Net-Zero-Programme, their formal commitment to becoming a fully sustainable business by achieving net zero emissions, HGVC is the only UK provider to offer carbon neutral training.Supporting the Copart Cares commitment to environmental protection and sustainability, HGVC pledges to plant a tree for every training course undertaken, offsetting any carbon created by the vehicles used during the programme.

The ambitious scheme, which aims to deliver 100 new fully trained drivers in the first year, is part of Copart’s wider expansion plans to continually enhance its vehicle collection and delivery capabilities across the UK, alongside a vehicle investment programme to ensure the ‘greenest fleet on the street’. Currently, Copart operates the largest self-owned fleet in the salvage sector, with more than 250 directly employed specialist drivers and 18 locations strategically positioned throughout the UK.  

With a recent survey by the Road Haulage Association estimating a shortage of more than 100,000 qualified HGV drivers in the UK, Copart’s Driver Academy Programme will not only help counter this skills shortage but will also provide a long-term pipeline of appropriate candidates training to be Copart HGV vehicle movement specialists. In addition to sourcing and training candidates through to HGV licence completion, the HGVC-managed programme offers a network of over 400 quality assured learning centres around the country to ensure drivers stay connected to the most suitable training locations.  

The Copart Driver Academy will be managed through a centralised system, with real-time communication lines which will provide Copart with a wealth of ‘live’ information on the training and progress of all its drivers, as well the ability to source prospective candidates. The programme also offers supporting modules for qualified drivers to help them maintain their periodic CPC training and upskill in various categories, delivered through HGVC’s extensive JAUPT- approved network. 

These modules will include courses on first aid, safer urban driving, records and enforcement, and safe loading, all specifically tailored to the bespoke range of Copart multi-car transporters. The programme will also undertake driver risk assessments, which can provide Copart’s logistics team with crucial online data on driver behaviour patterns and help identify further training module requirements. 

Jane Pocock, Managing Director of Copart UK & Ireland, said: 

“The Copart Driver Academy is focused on ensuring that we continue to provide highly skilled and quality assured drivers across our fleet. 

“Whether it is recovering a vehicle direct from a Policy Holder or delivering one of the hundreds of thousands of vehicles we move a year, we know that having a self–employed, trustworthy, and fully accountable workforce is paramount to delivering world class logistics across the UK.”

Phil Briggs, Director of Operation Centres, Transport and Engineering, added: 

“The Copart Driver Academy programme represents a significant investment into our transport and logistics capabilities and will enable us to select candidates who demonstrate the right attributes to join, and train within, our business without the usual qualification restraints. 

“This exciting new initiative will support our continued growth, despite wider HGV driver market constraints, and we’re looking forward to finding great people to join our business who we can train and develop to ensure that Copart’s ‘Operational Excellence’ is maintained.”