Dallas, Texas —The partnership announced earlier this week between the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association and OVE.com not only provides a strategic online platform for NIADA certified master dealers to buy and sell vehicles, but it also opens the door for additional future training and educational opportunities to better leverage technology in order to be even more successful and profitable. 

That's the word from officials with both OVE.com and NIADA attending the annual convention and exposition being held here through this Saturday. 

The new collaboration has been in the works since February, when OVE.com launched a 20 Group partnership with the National Automobile Dealers Association. At the NADA convention in San Francisco, NIADA executives met with OVE.com officials to explore a possible similar arrangement with NIADA certified master dealers. 

Those details were hammered out over the ensuing months and then formally announced prior to this week's convention's opening. 

First and foremost, this relationship enables CMDs to become part of a branded seller group on OVE.com, officials indicated. 

These groups are designed to increase the visibility of dealer-listed vehicles on the site. According to officials, CMDs can register with the group for free starting July 1.

Dealers looking to purchase a CMD vehicle can simply visit OVE.com, access the "Sellers A-Z" tab and browse for the NIADA CMD option. 

"Especially with our certified master dealers, anything we can do to enhance their business through relationships with companies like OVE.com, that really piques my interest," noted Mike Linn, NIADA chief executive officer. 

Linn pointed out that most CMDs are already astute in using the Internet to their competitive advantage and are quick to "hop on board" with any effective program that will benefit their dealership. 

"I like to use our CMDs as a proving or testing ground for such programs because they are innovative and smart enough to know what to sign up for," Linn further explained. "They will pay attention and scrutinize and analyze it more so than the average dealer. So we'll learn from them as we move forward." 

Susie Avery, vice president of online customer relations for Manheim, said there are several immediate benefits to certified master dealers. 

"Independent dealers overall comprise somewhere between 40 and 45 percent of our dealer base. They're key to our ongoing success," she said. "So, through OVE.com, certified master dealers will have a great place to sell their cars.