SAN FRANCISCO -- Enterprise Rent-A-Car and the Reynolds and Reynolds Co. announced the availability of Automated Rental Management System (ARMS), an application designed to make renting cars for service loaners easier for all Reynolds automotive retail customers. The application will streamline invoicing, manage rental costs and send rental authorizations directly to the rental car company.

ARMS will be offered at no additional cost to retailers using Reynolds and Reynolds solutions. The application was introduced at a press conference at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) annual conference in San Francisco.

"The ARMS application has been used effectively by the insurance industry for more than seven years, and we are pleased to have partnered with Reynolds to provide this application for automotive retailers," said Jeff Morrell, national marketing manager for Enterprise Rent-A-Car. "In addition to giving retailers more control of the rental process, the ARMS application will enable retailers to lower costs and improve efficiencies while enhancing service to customers."

Morrell added that earlier this year the ARMS system earned the prestigious 2002 CIO Magazine Enterprise Value Award for innovative technology.

Reynolds predicted that dealerships already using Reynolds' ERA information management system and the Generation Series will also appreciate the simple functionality of the ARMS application. Retailers will be able to create an authorization for a rental car at the same time they initiate a purchase order for service. All of the renter's information, along with the number of days authorized, will be sent to Enterprise electronically. If the retailer needs to extend the rental, information will be sent directly to Enterprise through the ARMS system from the ERA system, eliminating the need for time-consuming phone or fax requests.

When the customer returns the rental car to the dealership, the service writers will electronically designate the exact date and time of the return and automatically notify Enterprise, which will close the contract. Retailers will be able to view invoice information online within the ARMS system.

"This is a huge improvement over the current cumbersome, manual process that has been accepted as the industry standard for too long," said Randy Harvey, senior vice president of Reynolds Software Solutions. "With this added efficiency and convenience, dealerships can realize higher customer satisfaction and an increase in repeat customers."