Fleet Registration: Behind the Scenes at Merchants Fleet
Fleet Registration (License & Title Processing)
At Merchants Fleet, our mission is to enable the movement of people, goods, and services freely and responsibly. As the fastest-growing fleet management company in North America, there is a lot going on behind the scenes to make it all happen.
Take a walk through the halls of our Hooksett, NH, or Rosemont, IL offices and you’ll meet the people leading the charge at Merchants. Every department plays a role in pushing Merchants to be a cutting-edge fleet services and technology provider. Whether your fleet needs to acquire vehicles, remarket them, or any of the fleet management in between, Merchants is true end-to-end source for your fleet and mobility needs.
For example, let’s look at the Fleet Registration department. This team plays a critical role in making sure every single vehicle that is purchased or leased by Merchants Fleet clients is legally registered for road use.
I got a chance to talk with Alyssa Gatzimos, Assistant Director of Fleet Registration. She shined light on how her team contributes to Merchants Fleet as a whole and gave me insight as to how Merchants has been able to grow faster, organically, than any other fleet management company in the United States.
| Q: How long have you been working at Merchants Fleet? |
| A: I’ve been working at Merchants for just about five years, my anniversary is at the end of October. |
| Q: What initially led you to start working for Merchants? |
| A: I was referred here by Gary Miles, he loved working for Merchants and said I would, too. I had no idea what Merchants Fleet did, but I knew that I didn’t want to sell cars. Gary still works in the Fleet Registration department. |
| Q: Were you always in Fleet Registration, or did you initially start in another department? |
| A: Yes, I’ve always been in the Fleet Registration department. I was initially hired as a Processor, and there were three of us at the time that did the processing. Now we’re up to nine total. Before I came to Merchants Fleet, I was in sales management and sales training. Not a lot of organizations have an in-house vehicle registration department like Merchants. |
| Q: Could you share why Fleet Registration is so important in the overall Merchants Fleet ecosystem? |
| A: Clients can’t purchase, lease or sell a single vehicle without the registration department. Every single transaction must be processed through this team before anything else can happen. It’s one of the most critical departments in the daily operations of Merchants Fleet. |
| Q: What does a Fleet Registration employee do in their day-to-day to support Merchants Fleet clients and their growth? |
| A: In general, our Processors ensure ownership and compliance of vehicles on the road, so that each one is being driven legally in the states they operate. This involves registering them correctly, renewing them at the right time, and making sure each one is titled correctly. It’s a very collaborative work environment – and my team works closely with Remarketing, Payoffs, and Acquisitions too, since they need to get the documents from us. In fact, in 2020 when everything was closed due to COVID-19, Fleet Registration was the only team in the Hooksett office! We had six or seven in the office, spread out, in-person since documents all require a wet signature. Today I’m proud to say that we have 27 people in the department overall and are still growing, nearly three times as many as when I first started in 2017. |
| Q: Could you tell me about a time you overcame an especially challenging scenario? |
| A: Merchants Fleet recently underwent an acquisition process, but what most people at Merchants don’t know is that every single vehicle had to be retitled under the new owners. We had six weeks to retitle more than 70,000 vehicles worth of titles. I’m especially thankful for Lise Therrien, who took care of my team and made sure we had food for all those late nights. |
| Q: What would be the one thing you’d want people to know about Fleet Registration that work in other areas of Merchants Fleet, in addition to that crazy story about retitling 70,000 vehicles in six weeks. |
| A: I’d say that it’s how collaborative we all are. Every person on the team is always looking for ways to make the process easier, smoother, and more affordable. Innovation can be something as easy as shaving a minute off the time it takes to complete a vehicle registration. |
| Q: How would you say Merchants has helped you in your career? |
| A: I’ve learned a lot from working with Amanda Breau – she is a great leader who is big on having her team involved in their own day-to-day decision making. This lets everyone have the chance to really learn and grow. It’s helped me improve my own leadership style and has helped me to grow as a manager. |
| Q: What is your favorite part about working at Merchants? |
| A: Absolutely the people. It’s a great group and everyone is willing to help, you never have an issue finding someone to turn to if you have a question. I also love how our Leadership team is not isolated and truly a part of the vibe of the company. It’s a cool environment to work in. |
| Q: As a local, what’s your favorite Hooksett, NH restaurant? |
| A: The New England Tap House. It’s right next door to our old building, and a great location to meet up after work. |
| Q: What is your favorite movie of all time? |
| A: Probably Forest Gump. Great look at American history and Tom Hanks is a great actor. |
| Q: Merchants is big on fur babies. Do you have any pets you want to give a virtual shout-out to? |
| A: I have a half-Pomeranian and half-Pekinese named Jazzy, two cats, and a tremendous rabbit we named ‘Big Buns,’ plus… a frog. |
Our License & Title Processing service page has even more detail on how your fleet can benefit from these services. Contact us today to learn more.
