Optimizing Europcar Car Rental Branches with Wavetec’s Queue Management
Overview
Europcar is a global leader in the mobility sector. Operating across more than 130 countries, it provides comprehensive vehicle rental services, including short to long-term car and van hires for both leisure and corporate travellers. To keep service organized and predictable inside busy branch locations, Europcar partnered with Wanzl and Wavetec to implement a structured queue management experience supported by ticketing visual guidance and analytics.
The Challenge
Europcar faced a mix of reservation customers and walk-in customers, often arriving in overlapping peaks. At this Europcar location, the team needed to:
- Bring structure to previously unorganized queues, minimizing confusion at service counters and improving fairness.
- Improve the customer experience by reducing frustration associated with unclear service orders.
- Enable clear bifurcation and visibility between reservation vs. non-reservation traffic for operational insight and better staffing decisions.
The Solution
A branch queue management setup delivered through Wanzl using Wavetec components for ticketing queue calling, visual guidance, and analytics.
- 8 Wireless Call Buttons: Compact wireless staff controllers with four buttons used to call and manage tickets efficiently at service counters
- 8 Station Lights: Numbered acrylic counter lights that provide an immediate visual cue so customers can identify the correct counter
- M-19 Ticketing Kiosk: A self-service kiosk that issues tickets after customers select reservation or no reservation at the point of entry
- Donatello Media Player: Digital signage media controller that enables reliable playback technology and seamless content delivery for large networks
- Spectra Dashboard: Reporting and analytics dashboard providing visibility into queue performance, including reservation and non-reservation segmentation
Customer Journey
The implemented solution enabled Europcar to manage in-branch customer flow in a structured and predictable manner. Customers are guided through the service process using a combination of ticketing, visual guidance, and staff-operated controls, ensuring clarity, prioritization, and a smoother overall experience.
The Results
Following implementation, Europcar achieved a more controlled, transparent service experience, including:
- Improved organization of in-branch customer queues during peak periods
- Clear prioritization between reservation and walk-in customers
- Reduced customer confusion through visual queue updates and counter guidance
- Smoother coordination between service counters and staff
- Better visibility into service demand and performance through dashboards and reporting
Conclusion
The queue management solution helped Europcar create a more orderly and transparent in-branch experience while strengthening operational control. Delivered through Wanzl and powered by Wavetec, the deployment demonstrates how structured queue management and analytics can support consistent service delivery in high-traffic car rental environments.
