Norwegian Volkswagen and Audi retailers introduce digital check-in/out service stations

Norway's leading car importer has chosen Sharebox as a provider of 24 - hour contact-free customer service for its Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Seat and CUPRA dealer networks.

The Norwegian dealer network consists of 32 Audi dealers, 71 Volkswagen dealers and 42 ŠKODA dealers. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is distributed to 69 dealers. After a tender competition, Harald A. Møller (HAM) chose at the end of June to sign a contract with the Arendal-based platform company Sharebox.

The car dealer network strengthen it´s position for the future with technology and services for self-service, digital customer journeys within mobility services and new car maintenance services.

Digitisation meets service orientation

Customers can conveniently drop off or pick up their vehicles and pay for servicing at any time, regardless of the dealership’s hours of operation. The station can also issue a replacement vehicle and process its return.

• Digital 24-hour customer service terminal
• End-to-end service from drop-off to pickup
• Also serves as digital car rental station

The new digital Service Station helps dealerships with service check-in around the clock, and enables customers to receive premium service even when the dealership is closed.

After making an appointment online or by phone, customers can drop off their car key directly at the service station, quickly and flexibly. All the car’s owner has to do at the dealership is finalise the process using their smart phone. A service adviser is then informed that the key has been dropped off. Customers can also use the service station to pick up their car once servicing or repair is complete. They receive a text message with a web-link to pay directly with their smartphone. The service station then returns the key. 

Convenient pickup and drop-off of replacement vehicles via the totem works according to the same principle. The digital solution also serves as a fully automated, around-the-clock rental station. After verification of their ID and drivers license including a credit card reservation, customers can conclude a rental agreement directly with their phone.

- We look forward to realising the agreement with Sharebox AS, which is a proven service platform that makes it easy for our dealers to offer customers a 24-hour availability, through seamless self-service digital solutions for both delivery and pick up of the car, says Tom Nordby, Director of the Service Market at Harald A. Møller AS.

Harald A. Møller AS is Norway's largest car importer, and has since its inception imported close to one and a half million cars to Norwegian customers.

Around-the-clock services

The service station incorporate functions including self-check-in and check-out, a locked key drop and on-the-go check-in via SMS direct to the customer’s smart phone. Digital payment via SMS links is also a convenient solution offered as part of the Sharebox platform.

- We are a fast-growing organisation with committed people who have a broad digital understanding and a burning commitment to simplify and automate and who live by the motto "Leave it to us". It is about contributing our technology and expertise to the digital transformation that HAM's dealer network is now undergoing, says Arne Eivind Andersen, founder and CEO of Sharebox.

Digitization of the customer journey

Sharebox specialise in car service technologies that modernise the dealer experience and drive customer engagement. The service is a proven platform that enables dealers to increase efficiency and better serve customers with availability around the clock through smart self-service contact-free solutions for handing in and out cars.

Arne Eivind Andersen is CEO and co-founder of Sharebox, which offers digital customer solutions for car dealers, repair shops, car rental networks including accommodation and vacation rental operators. The advanced machines the company offers are FG-approved / EN certified and integrated with payment solutions from PayPal, Klarna and Nets. A complete platform that functions as a self-service digital customer reception meeting all the requirements of today's mobility players for security and functionality. Everything is self-served by car owner's own mobile phone, controlled, managed and connected by the Sharebox server platform.

Sharebox won the tender competition

The VW, Audi, Skoda, Seat and CUPRA importer Harald A. Møller recently decided to implement Sharebox as a solution for the dealer networks in Norway. The brands Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Seat and CUPRA will benefit from the agreement.

- When HAM saw what we had developed and set this up against other solutions, they fell on Sharebox as the absolutely preferred supplier. We see this as a solid recognition of our technical platform and our organisation. The fact that the largest player in the Nordic region chooses our solution supports our goal of establishing Sharebox as the new standard for self-service customer service in the automotive industry. We are really proud to have landed this contract, says Andersen.

It was Harald A. Møller who contacted Sharebox after conducting research in the market for relevant suppliers within digital customer reception and key exchange machines.

New industry standard for self-service

The Arendal based company has installed and operated key machines for the car industry in Norway since February 2020. Car dealers in Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Germany and Italy have already started digitising the customer journey with 24-hour customer reception via the Service Station from Sharebox. The company collaborates with, among others, Mekonomen Group, Volkswagen Group, SIXT and Europcar, which provide market access to a large share of the international market.

- We are in the process of making our solutions an industry standard and the agreement with Harald A. Møller is a confirmation that we are on the right track. When you have a car for service, a contactless self-service customer reception is just right, says Andersen.

The workflow explained

• The customer orders service, and receives an SMS for access to the Service Station.
• The car dealer/workshop are notified that the key has been delivered, and starts the job.
• When finished, an SMS is sent with a link to invoice / payment and collection of key.
• Digital signature, ID check and damage check are valuable workflow integrations.

The entire customer journey is a self-service experience and the technology founders in Arendal are far ahead with innovative customer solutions. A lead Sharebox will take good care of, says Andersen.

- We connect everything that exists of digital customer tools and payment solutions such as PayPal, Klarna, Nets and cards. We have established a platform that allows us to build tailored customer communication for mobile phones combined with touch screens on the Service Stations, says Andersen.

Sharebox was started by technology entrepreneurs with a simple passion to develop the best self-served customer experience in a fast moving digital world.

Today, Sharebox is a well known growth company with customers world wide. The main segments are Car Dealerships, Car Workshops, Car Rental Locations, Apartment Hospitality and Short-Term Vacation Rental.

Sharebox has developed their own front- and back-end technology with an open API, a publicly available application programming interface that provides programmatic access to the Sharebox software application and web service, f.ex. book a reservation, ID verification, open locker and send SMS to customers with integrated payment options.

A free-standing, outdoor safe certified according to EN 1143-1 is the first tested and approved solution that comply with EN 1143-1, a security level and resistance grade that indicates the type and extent of a safe’s anti-burglary protection.