Hertz 2011 Annual Report Download - page 6

DEAR HERTZ SHAREHOLDERS:
Hertz has a 94-year legacy of rental industry leadership and customer-focused
innovation, a legacy we are extending into the new millennium. Over the years, Hertz
has led the way expanding from cities to airports, from the Americas to the other
continents, from car to equipment rentals and leasing, and from manual processes
to automated, technology-driven rental innovations. Our goal has always been to
anticipate and meet the ever-evolving needs of our customers, and that’s true in
both our car and equipment rental businesses.
Driven by the revolution in customer-
friendly technology, consumers’ needs
and desires are evolving at a faster
pace than ever. There’s no longer such a
thing as the “status quo” for companies
delivering goods and services. There is,
however, a never ending demand for
businesses to transform intelligently. The
foundation for the transformation at Hertz
is a successful 5-years-and-counting
continuous improvement program, based
on work streams redesigned to enhance
our customers’ rental experiences.
These reengineered processes resulted
in upgraded service levels and quanti-
fiable efficiency savings, $2.1 billion
between 2007 and 2011, which are in
large part being reinvested in the Hertz
brand in the form of technology-driven
innovations to deliver the best service
in the industry. Essentially we have cre-
ated, through technology, a perpetual,
real-time “voice of the customer,” ulti-
mately providing what he or she wants
all of the time.
As part of our innovation revolution,
we are putting the power of Hertz in
the hands of our customers 24/7.
We will achieve this by utilizing technol-
ogy con sumers are comfortable using
today to increase the speed, ease and
transparency of the rental process.
Personal smart devices create a
continual link between customers and
our systems, enabling two-way commu-
nication for instantaneous reservations,
confirmations, and changes controlled
by the customer, not the company. We
have now deployed 1,000 portable
rental units which allow our customer
service representatives at our on and
off-airport locations to change reserva-
tions at the car, not at the counter.
Inside the car, Bluetooth, Internet and
GPS technology help create a virtual
rental location with Hertz systems, infor-
mation and customer support available
with the push of a button. In Hertz rental
facilities, we are utilizing virtual kiosks
which enable rapid transactions or a
live video connection to our customer
support representatives. At the end of
the rental, customers can walk away
from the car and receive a receipt via
e-mail or text message minutes later.
We are also using technology to drive
direct-to-consumer car sales which com-
prise more than 12% of our U.S. rental
fleet sales. The Hertz Rent2Buy.com
program is a consumer-direct initiative
driven by Internet marketing and pric-
ing transparency. We acquired a car
sales software company, Automoti, in
2009 which is the engine for a program
enabling our customers to reserve vehi-
cles online to test drive for several days
before deciding to buy at below-Blue
Book prices. If our customer purchases
the vehicle, Hertz waives the test drive
rental fee.
To many of our customers, it’s all about
the car. Throughout its history, Hertz
has always had the most diversified fleet,
loaded with options. Many customers
demand specific vehicles, and Hertz
delivers. Our selection of luxury vehi-
cles just gets better and better as we
now have exclusive relationships with
Mercedes and Porsche. And our part-
nerships with American and Japanese
suppliers continue to improve, featuring
sports cars and zero emission electric
vehicles. We are increasing the MPG
performance of our fleet worldwide to
help address rising gasoline prices, and
to further reduce our environmental
footprint. We also know consumers have
driving needs which vary widely: a con-
vertible for the beach, a luxury car for
a special occasion, a comfortable, effi-
cient mid-size for business travel, an EV
or hybrid for urban travel, and SUVs for
a family vacation. The evolution of our
fleet will continue with one constant: our
Gold Standard is to ensure that every
car we rent is both clean and safe to
drive…Hertz-Certified.
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