At our recent forum in Paris, Antoine Radigois, Revenue Manager at Europcar Atlantique (Sepamat), shared the story of their two-year journey from manual grids to a automated dynamic pricing solution.
If you are still managing your rates through "alchemical" Excel formulas, here are the 5 decisive reasons why it’s time to make the shift.
1. Eliminating "Key Person" Risk
Antoine described a common nightmare: Excel sheets with formulas ten lines deep, mastered by only one or two people in the company. "If that person leaves or the file crashes, the data, and the logic, is gone," he warned.
Automating your pricing isn't just about speed; it’s about institutionalizing your intelligence so your business isn't dependent on a single spreadsheet wizard.
2. Capturing Every "Last-Minute" Opportunity
With 50 agencies and 6,500 vehicles, two human Revenue Managers simply cannot update every rate, for every duration, every day. Manual pricing forces you to make strategic sacrifices. Automation flips the script.
By expanding the "analytical spectrum," Europcar Atlantique was able to capture high-margin, last-minute bookings that they previously didn't have the time to reach.
3. Moving from "Administration" to "Strategy"
Perhaps the most significant shift wasn't in the software, but in the staff’s daily routine. By offloading the "chronophagous" (time-consuming) task of manual entry, the team gained the freedom to:
- Collaborate more closely with Fleet Managers.
- Refine long-term fleet plans (3 to 6 months out).
- Analyze competitor behavior rather than just reacting to it.
4. Overcoming the "Black Box" Anxiety
Antoine was honest: the transition is a psychological challenge. "It’s not a long, quiet river," he noted. Abandoning a system you control for an automated one creates stress. However, the team maintained guardrails, ensuring the machine never made a "crazy" decision. Trust isn't built overnight. It’s built through a rigorous testing phase.
5. The Double Win: increase in Volume AND in RPD
The results speak for themselves. Despite a summer market characterized by overcapacity and downward pressure from competitors, Europcar Atlantique achieved a rare feat: simultaneously increasing both the number of rental days and the Revenue Per Day (RPD) by 3%. The tool was more "ambitious" than a human could be, testing higher price points that the team previously thought were impossible.
“We traded time spent on administration for time spent on high-value tasks that actually drive the bottom line.” - Antoine Radigois.
What’s Next for Your Pricing Strategy?
The transition to dynamic pricing is more than a technical upgrade; it’s a competitive necessity. But as Antoine pointed out, the quality of your price recommendations is only as good as the data you feed the system.
Are you ready to see what your data is trying to tell you? Book a meeting with WeYield
