Hertz Baltics
How Hertz Baltics is transforming the rental experience by eliminating micro-processes through telematics
In short
Client: Hertz Baltics
Industry: Vehicle rental and leasing (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia)
Contact: Andrius Kukta, Chief Operating Officer
Challenge: Eliminate human error and the hidden costs of a leasing process fragmented into 61 manual steps.
Solution: The Echoes platform connects to OEM data to automate the retrieval of mileage, fuel level, border crossings, and vehicle status data upon return.
Results: Elimination of data entry errors, more accurate billing, fewer disputes, faster processing of returns, and better visibility into the actual cost per rental.
The challenge
61 micro-processes, each a source of hidden costs
For Hertz Baltics, the leading car rental company in the Baltic states, the challenge wasn’t dealing with a breakdown or a poorly maintained fleet. It was far more subtle: figuring out why each rental was costing significantly more than expected.
The realization came from a simple yet revealing exercise: mapping out every step of the rental process in detail, from the first click to the return of the vehicle. The verdict: not a single process, but 61 micro-processes, each with its own cost—invisible when viewed in isolation, but devastating when scaled across thousands of rentals.
Death by a thousand cuts. Longlines, agent wait times, paperwork, data entry errors, disputes over damages, missing photos, a never-ending chain of corrections—none of these issues seemed critical on their own. Together, they created a structural financial drain that no one had ever truly quantified.
Inspections: a costly and imprecise ritual.The damage check upon return alone accounted for a large part of the problem: agents miss scratches, fail to take photos, and give in to the pressure of long lines. Customers dispute the charges. Money goes down the drain.
An underestimated cost per rental. As long as the cost structure remained unclear, the rental counter was seen as a customer service hub. Once the numbers were laid out on the table, it became clear what it really was: a cost center in urgent need of optimization.
The echoes solution
Automate the tasks that humans should no longer have to do
Hertz Baltics’ transformation began with self-service kiosks and AI-powered inspection gates—two groundbreaking innovations that reshaped the customer experience and drastically reduced inspection costs. But these advances still left one major pain point unaddressed: the vehicle return process.
That’s where Echoes comes in, as the third pillar of operational transformation.
Automatic data retrieval upon return. Each time the vehicle is returned, Echoes automatically records the exact mileage, fuel level (down to the liter), real-time border crossings, the return time stamp, and vehicle status data—all without any manual entry.
OEM data, maximum reliability. By connecting directly to manufacturer data, Echoes provides objective and indisputable information that eliminates disputes over fuel or mileage at the source.
Minimal implementation costs. A marginal investment compared to the potential for additional revenue (charging for border crossings, recovering actual fuel costs) and savings from reduced human error.
The results
From a cumbersome counter process to a seamless workflow: every return becomes a frictionless experience
Zero data entry errors.
Mileage, fuel, timestamps—everything is captured automatically. Manual errors that used to lead to corrections, disputes, and lost revenue are a thing of the past.
Better revenue capture.
Real-time tracking of border crossings and actual fuel levels (in liters, not in quarts) makes it possible to accurately bill for expenses that were previously lost due to a lack of reliable evidence.
Teams freed from repetitive tasks.
Employees spend less time on manual checks and corrections. Customers wait less. Service costs go down for everyone.
An overview of the actual cost per rental.
For the first time, Hertz Baltics has access to data that was previously elusive: the actual operating cost per rental, in real time—a tool that supports both strategic and operational decision-making.
Testimonial
“Our teams spend less time on repetitive tasks. Customers wait less time. And we spend less to deliver the service. Everyone wins.”
Andrius Kukta, Chief Operating Officer, Hertz Baltics