Ebbon-Dacs, a European e-procurement specialist for major leasing and fleet management companies, has continued its expansion onto the European mainland with the opening of an office in Hamburg as a springboard for a launch into the German fleet market.

The Oxford-based online solutions provider has formed Ebbon-Dacs Deutschland GmbH under a new country head, Hans-Christian Preymann, and intends to replicate the success of the operation it set up in the Netherlands four years ago.

Ebbon-Dacs’ Netherlands office now sources over 30,000 vehicles annually for Dutch fleet customers through its market-leading-procurement platform, Leaselink, including Athlon Car Lease, according to Ebbon Dacs.

Talks have already begun with major leasing and fleet management companies in Germany, along with major dealer groups, manufacturers and importers. Germany boasts the largest new car market in Europe and one of the largest leasing markets, and many of Ebbon-Dacs’ UK customers have head offices or a major presence in the country, according to the company.

Ebbon-Dacs said it has recently invested in new functionality and a new look for Leaselink, the UK’s most widely used e-procurement system, which is utilized by well over 3,500 businesses, including leasing and fleet management companies, dealer groups and manufacturers, and which handles the sourcing, ordering and delivery of more than 140,000 fleet vehicles a year.

The latest functionality includes a third-party module specifically for commercial vehicle convertors and fitment specialists, which allows leasing companies to track the progress of any new commercial vehicles that have been ordered but which require converting to meet the fleet customer’s specific requirements.

The new-look Leaselink is being rolled out in stages with the initial emphasis on new functionality modules, before rolling out a new user interface across the whole platform.

Ebbon-Dacs said it has also invested heavily in expanding the data storage capability of Leaselink to handle the increased flow of electronic documents that the higher volumes of vehicles passing through the system are generating.

This also caters for the increased use among leasing companies and dealer groups of MoDel, Ebbon-Dacs’ electronic vehicle delivery and collection solution, which allows users to capture time-critical information around the vehicle delivery and collection process, and to remarket their vehicles more efficiently and effectively, according to the company.

Ebbon-Dacs said it is now launching a tablet version of MoDel, which integrates seamlessly with Leaselink to ensure complete electronic capture of the vehicle sourcing, ordering and delivery process.