CONTRACT hire supplier Ford Business Partner is launching an aggressive attack on eight fronts against rivals, which could see a doubling of its fleet size. The campaign will include the launch of a new electronic authorisation system next month which will wipe out the need to process more than 12,000 paper invoices a month, speeding up service and cutting costs.

New service level agreements ensure dealerships sign up to the system. Ford Business Partner staff freed from authorisation work will be redeployed into a 15-strong customer relationship team to focus on raising customer satisfaction levels, while frequent check-up calls to either fleet drivers or their managers will ensure consistent service standards. The move is part of a series of initiatives which could make Ford Business Partner one of the 10 biggest contract hire suppliers in the country. It begins in earnest next month with a string of new product launches and initiatives.

The firm's funded fleet is expected to grow from 29,500 to about 40,000, which would take its total fleet, including managed vehicles, to more than 50,000. Ford Business Partner, part of Ford's own bank, Ford Credit, was relaunched and rebranded late last year. The move included the adoption of 'Decision Maker' software from Dun & Bradstreet to speed up credit approval to less than an hour.

The firm's commercial vehicle division is also expected to double in size to about 5,000 vehicles within two years, backed by this year's launch of the new Ford Transit. A new driver training package will also be offered - the name of the supplying firm has yet to be announced - along with a new vehicle refurbishment programme to improve the residual values of used cars.