Innovation, logistics, subscriptions and customer loyalty: this is aftersales, a business engine for Renault beyond the sale

Offering customers peace of mind, loyalty and added value. That is the goal of Renault with its aftersales strategy, in which the diamond brand applies innovation to achieve the greatest logistics efficiency when it comes to getting spare parts to the workshop as quickly as possible, in addition to designing and launching programmes that add value for customers.

To tell us how they do all this, Renault invited us to an interesting day in which we were able to visit the brand’s European Distribution Centre (CDE), located in Torres de la Alameda (Madrid). A facility with 33,000 square metres of built area that stores in stock more than 47,000 part numbers with an approximate inventory value of 50 million euros, and that serves more than 8,000 workshops in Spain and Portugal.

The most impressive thing about the CDE is not its kilometre-long aisles of multi-level shelving full of spare parts, but everything that happens behind them. Thanks to an innovative logistics model called APOLO, and to the 11 Proximity Distribution Centres spread across the peninsula, Renault delivers more than 19 million parts a year to its workshops. And it does so with a service rate of 92% within 24 hours (there are two delivery services per day), rising to 98% within 48 hours. Figures that they even want to improve, if a pilot project launched in Barcelona is extended nationwide: with four daily deliveries to 400 workshops, it already makes it possible to supply spare parts in under two and a half hours.

Added services with loyalty programmes: my service and my program

For Renault, another way of keeping customers happy with the brand is to offer services that add value after the purchase. This is the case of my service, a programme that lets you forget about any maintenance operation by paying a monthly fee; or my program, the new loyalty programme that has just launched.

• my service: is a subscription model that, for a monthly fee, covers the vehicle’s maintenance and offers up to 8 years of warranty. Customers can choose between an essential plan that includes the maintenance operations described in the manufacturer’s plan, or a comprehensive plan that adds the replacement of any wear item, such as brake discs and pads, clutch, wiper blades or even the shock absorbers. The only exclusion is tyres. Prices for this service range from 29 euros per month with the essential plan and 39 euros per month with the comprehensive plan for electric models such as the R4, the R5, the Megane or the Senic, up to 34 euros per month (44 with the comprehensive plan) or 45 euros per month (55 with the comprehensive plan) for a Clio or a Rafale, respectively.
• my program: recently launched, it is a loyalty plan for all owners of Renault vehicles, which works like airline programmes. It has three tiers, called eco, comfort and sport, which are awarded based on different criteria such as the number of brand vehicles owned or the number of visits to the brand’s official services. Depending on the tier, customers can benefit from discounts on workshop invoices ranging from 15% to 35%, exclusive services such as vehicle washing or priority treatment at servicing, and experiences such as driving courses or VIP entry to circuits.

With this strategy, Renault pursues one maxim: keeping the customer satisfied after the sale as well. A way to secure loyalty, to grow the business beyond the sale… and to generate value for its dealer network too.