Motability Operations Uses BroadVision to Help Manage Sales and Maximi

    Business Editors/High-Tech Writers/Automotive Writers

    REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 7, 2005--

    Motability Operations Uses BroadVision Self-Service Web Applications to Help Manage the Disposal and Sale of Its Used Vehicles
    Online to Cut Costs and Maximize Profit

    BroadVision, Inc. (Nasdaq:BVSN), a global provider of self-service web applications, today announced that Motability Operations (www.motability.co.uk), a GBP900M a year turnover, privately owned UK company that provides leased vehicles to disabled drivers receiving government disability allowances, is using its platform to help manage the sale and disposal of its used car assets to cut costs and maximize revenues through a dedicated web portal for car dealers. The turnover of car sales on the BroadVision(R)-powered portal is close to GBP 5 million in a normal week, up to GBP 3 million a day during peak times like number plate changes, and the 150,000th car has recently been sold on the site.
    With over 400,000 cars on the road at any one time, Motability Operations is one of the largest car leasing companies in the UK. The churn on this fleet, as vehicles come to the end of their lease period and new vehicles are added, means that the company has to dispose of approximately 120,000 cars annually. Unless vehicles are processed quickly and for a good price, the cost of transport, storage and sale can be huge. With growing costs and issues in trading fleet vehicles by conventional means, Motability Operations decided to create an online portal that would allow the company to transact with dealers more effectively to manage the collection and sale of its ex-lease vehicles and deliver improved cost savings and revenue from this part of its business.
    Andrew Jordan, Technology Architect at Motability Operations, responsible for managing the BroadVision platform, said: "We wanted to create an e-commerce portal that could be accessed by our call center agents and the dealers to manage the whole online process, from searching for vehicles through to placing and tracking an order. We decided to use BroadVision as it provides scalability and robustness, while also allowing us to extend and customize their platform to deliver our exact sell-side portal requirements."
    Using BroadVision, and the applications that have been built around it, Motability Operations is able to use the portal to inform dealers in advance if a car is being returned to them by the customer so that they know it goes straight to them upon delivery, saving Motability Operations time and money. The system also notifies call center agents to call the hand back dealer when a car is being returned by a customer on the same day to again remind them that the car can be purchased by them "at source."
    The site also gives dealers personalized access to their preferred choice of the thousands of cars on sale at any one time so they can pick the models that suit them to buy; the system can also alert dealers by e-mail if cars of a particular pre-specified model, age, etc., become available so they have an early chance to buy the vehicle. The portal allows dealers to give different levels of access rights to the site (each dealer has up to five accounts to access the site with customizable access rights) so that someone can scan the site for cars that may be of interest, and then save the vehicle details to a clipboard. The authorized person at the dealership can then check these lists and confirm which cars they wish to purchase. Other users have access to only the day to day screens to manage the return and condition of these vehicles.
    "Our sell-side portal is also important for our dealers because it allows them to see 'unique' cars for sale," said Jordan. "Unlike conventional sites where orders are taken and availability checked later, all the cars shown for sale are specific vehicles. The site is continually updated ensuring that dealers know they are getting a real time purchase and do not have to also look elsewhere for suitable vehicles. Going forward, we plan to hold live online auctions for cars on the portal as well as offering added personalization functionality."
    Ruud van Hilten, Head of Customer Solutions at BroadVision, said: "BroadVision's ability to help companies and organizations use the Internet for business through self-service and high-touch personalization makes a real difference to our customers. Motability Operations' use of our solutions shows the flexibility and robustness that is needed to make a success of online business."

    About BroadVision

    BroadVision (Nasdaq:BVSN) is a global provider of personalized self-service web applications. Our integrated suite of process, commerce, portal, and content solutions helps customers rapidly increase revenues and reduce costs. Over 1,000 organizations -- including Circuit City, Vodafone, Cardinal Health, Hewlett-Packard, Toyota, Japan Airlines and the U.S. Air Force -- serving nearly 60 million registered users, rely on BroadVision's open solutions to power and personalize their mission-critical web initiatives. For more information about BroadVision, Inc., call 650-542-5100, email info@broadvision.com or visit www.broadvision.com.

    BroadVision is a trademark or registered trademark of BroadVision, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

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CONTACT: BroadVision Bill Delaney, 650-542-3809 bill.delaney@broadvision.com or Text 100 Public Relations David Friedman, 415-593-8400 davidf@text100.com

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA UNITED KINGDOM INTERNATIONAL EUROPE INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARDWARE AUTOMOTIVE SOFTWARE INTERNET E-COMMERCE PRODUCT SOURCE: BroadVision, Inc.

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