Interview with Millfield Autoparts Peterborough

ABAX has a commitment to great customer service and developing trusted relationships with all our clients. We know our products are the very best on the market and will save our clients time and money.

One of our most longstanding customers is Millfield Autoparts Peterborough, a vehicle parts supplier based in Peterborough. We went to see them to find out more about their company and their thoughts on the relationship with ABAX.

This interview is all part of ABAX’s customer feedback programme as we always want to make sure we are providing the very best service to our clients.

Millfield Autoparts Peterborough

Millfield Autoparts, based in Peterborough, has been around for 30 years, and has between 17 and 20 vans.

They have two divisions in their organisation:

• Retail - customers go into the store to purchase parts for their vehicles
• Trade - garages can get their parts delivered

ABAX

What do you use ABAX for?

We mainly use ABAX for fleet management. We use the live map tool to monitor where our drivers are, and to see where they are along their route. This tool is exceptionally useful for our company and I’m sure it will also be useful for other companies as well.

Why did you choose ABAX for your fleet?

We shopped around for a while for a bespoke and custom system that would suit our needs, we are a family run business and so we try and do things that suit our business. The only company that gave us the opportunity to do this was ABAX!

We sat with Chris Miller, and decided that we wanted a push button for GPRS tracking. We trialled this product for ABAX at the beginning - once you press the button which is located in the door handle it picks up your location. It allowed us to put in the postcode via the GPRS tagging and so it integrated into the ABAX software. We could determine the exact location of Garages by the click of this button, for reference points on our live map. We recognised the benefits of using ABAX, as our insurance costs have reduced and we are now able to locate vehicles in areas that could not be on their direct route.

We can track the mileage of the vans and what we found was that our delivery times had increased because we can anticipate and measure how fast and how accurate a route is. Additionally, we have saved on fuel and on our fleet maintenance. We anticipate when a certain thing is going to go wrong, for example, a timing belt change once so many miles have passed or when oil change is due. This is all possible because the ABAX system gives us a notification of when it hits a certain pre-entered mileage.

The customer service was also another reason we chose ABAX, it was exceptional! When we were looking at your products, we dealt with Chris Miller. We would brainstorm ideas on what we required, any ideas that ABAX wanted to try we were happy to test for them.

The customer service team were hands on and enthusiastic, which is one of your core values! One of your guys came into our store, sat down in our meeting room for 3 days showing us all of the different techniques and software’s that can be used. We gave our input as it has helped ABAX as a company as well. We gave suggestions to you, and you moulded it.

The relationship has been there from the beginning which is extremely important as you need the trust factor to be there for both companies to work. ABAX is a very good company to work with.

Another one of our core values is ‘First and Best’- do you reckon we fit that profile?

Yes, absolutely! You dealt with our needs to a tee!

Group Auto

Millfield Autoparts Peterborough are part of Group Auto. What advantages does this offer you?

Economies of scale, there is an increased purchasing power. As an independent motor factor it is difficult to go direct to a supplier and purchase something for the same price that a buying group can get it at. So working alongside Group Auto we have the ability to acquire stock at a lower purchasing price.

The Difference is ABAX

You attended a tax seminar hosted by ABAX… tell us about that.

The tax seminar catered towards the benefits of using a company car and how to use the information provided on the ABAX software, so that people who are claiming expenses can benefit more from it. It was very fruitful for us, as it showed us new techniques and new information on what sort of tax benefits it could have for a fleet company, not just individual’s cars, but the benefits of using the fleet software.

How has this helped you?

As a fleet, it has helped us with our mileage, we can now monitor individual vehicle mileage on our vans through the use of ABAX’s triplog.

Why would you recommend other companies to attend an ABAX seminar/ speak to ABAX?

We would highly recommend that companies and individuals attend ABAX seminars, especially those who use their company vehicles and need to complete personal expenses forms – it’s a great benefit!  ABAX will determine your needs and provide the best software to fit these.

Products

The Triplog is self installable, how does this help you maintain the tracking devices in your fleet?

Every 3 or 4 years we tend to change our fleet and that would require somebody to come out and physically change and move the tracking equipment from one vehicle to another. It’s actually so much easier that our in-house vehicle maintenance teams can unplug it and plug it into another vehicle.

Pick it up, take it off, plug it into the battery into the next vehicle, and it’s tracking the vehicle straight away. It’s been done in about 15-20 minutes.

Peterborough United

Millfield Autoparts also sponsor the Posh. How does this help your business?

Brand awareness is key! It is great to be associated with the local football team. We sponsor the dug outs and have posters in and around the place, in the toilets, and in the canteen areas.

It is all about subliminal messaging! Getting your name out there via the dugouts. When it’s on national TV, photos, press releases and you see the name Millfield AutoParts in the background. The Posh did the Ice Bucket Challenge, which was great exposure for us as it was all in and around the dugout area.

Do you hold any events at the stadium?

Yes, we’ve held several events at the ABAX stadium.

We’ve held both a clutch and a tool seminar, where 200 garages attended. We are hoping to do more regarding the retail side of the company, and the different aspects of the car.

What’s the future for Millfield in 5-10 years time?

Hopefully we are still growing at the rate that we are growing. Our core values haven’t changed in the last 30 years and that is fundamental. As long as we are providing the same customer services, giving quality advice and Original Equipment stock to our customers, then there will be a future for Millfield AutoParts. When you have become an integral part of a car lover’s life, you realise that a business does not achieve anything unless you have satisfied customers!

Overall, we are extremely happy with our Triplogs supplied from ABAX, and would recommend the company and products to anybody.

Check out Millfield Autoparts website for any car parts and accessories