Fleets and workshops are increasingly focusing on cost management during the Covid-19 pandemic, says r2c Online.

The fleet and workshop management software company said the crisis has changed the way many of its customers use its product as a result of lockdown, furloughing and changing business priorities.

Tim Meadows, managing director of r2c Online, said there had been a 37% increase in the number of users of its system and page views had risen 17%.

There had also been a significant increase in the number of support queries.

He said: “Understandably, given current economic conditions, there is clearly a push to contain and reduce fleet and workshop operating costs, and we are seeing the adoption of new measures – and the strengthening of old ones – very much with this in mind.

“All indications suggest that these are developments being driven by furloughing.

“People are being asked to use our system who are not necessarily familiar with it and they have been requesting assistance in getting to grips with some of the fundamental functions.

“There’s also some anecdotal evidence that our users are juggling more roles than they would normally be undertaking, again showing that fewer people have been working.”

Meadows said there have been signs in recent weeks that things were beginning to return to normal and more users were probably retuning to work as usual.

He added: “We’re not expecting there to be a return to pre-coronavirus conditions – that world has gone – but we are seeing something that is probably the emerging new normal, with usage patterns that suggest more people are now in the office, working in their previous roles.”