Alphabet has introduced an upgraded online service booking portal featuring connected car functionality and proactive alerts to provide customers with real-time service, maintenance and repair (SMR) notifications.

The proactive alert design integrates both MOT and safety recalls, alongside their current status, to help improve safety and support duty of care across fleets while enhancing the digital experience for customers.

The new features allow asset-based insight to be communicated directly from the vehicle to the portal, ensuring notifications for all outstanding and upcoming SMR items are presented to customers as soon as they enter.

SMR requirements are clustered and prioritised within the portal and any items due are automatically pre-selected, helping drivers and fleet managers improve maintenance scheduling and access the most appropriate support quickly and easily.

The Online Service Booking Portal was developed in partnership with fleet service provider, i247 Group, to help leverage digitalisation and integrate proactivity into the SMR process.

Andy Williams, business development manager at Alphabet (GB), said: “We’re very excited to announce our move to a proactive SMR solution, enabling us to offer a streamlined, fully digital and more sustainable vehicle management process.

“With maintenance requirements consolidated, the number of appointments vehicles need to attend are reduced, minimising cost and downtime while ensuring immediate maintenance requirements are prioritised.

“The recent addition of connected car functionality highlights our commitment to digitalisation and the innovation our partnership with i247 Group can create.”

Designed to work across multiple channels, the portal is accessible to customers through Alphabet’s driver app, AlphaGuide, as well as the Alphabet website.

Customers can also jump from digital to hands-free voice solutions at the touch of a button using the portal’s built-in call back functionality.

Steve Thornton, commercial director at i247, said: “We strive to create game changing solutions to enhance partner propositions, so we’re really happy with the outcomes our online booking service portal is delivering for Alphabet customers.

“The portal’s proactive features are designed to optimise vehicle mobility, whilst its intelligent logic-based steering ensures work is routed to the correct service provider, making the solution easy and convenient to use.”