Cox Automotive president Sandy Schwartz acknowledged tasks ahead are going to create a busy time for company executives, managers and staff during the remainder of the year as they finalize the $4 billion acquisition of Dealertrack Technologies, a development made public on Monday morning.

However, Schwartz emphasized the focal point for meeting agendas, project lists and other endeavors consistently will be about what will help dealers become more profitable.

“There are so many things we could do that are neat and make sense, but this is going to be all about prioritization,” Schwartz said during an exclusive phone conversation with Auto Remarketing on Monday only a couple of hours after the Dealertrack acquisition announcement was released.

“One of the things we’ve worked really hard at during the last year — but especially in the last three years or so since Autotrader and Manheim have been close together — when we prioritize, we look at it through the eyes of the dealer,” he continued. “We’re very dealer-centric, and OEM-centric, too, but really dealer-centric.

“When we look at the big tasks ahead of us, we know we can’t do everything. We know we wouldn’t do everything well if we tried, but what are the big game-changers? What would make the difference for a dealer? We want dealers to get products and use the ones that make them more efficient, that make them better, that help them in this new digital retailing landscape,” Schwartz went on to say.

“Yes, we’ll be very busy,” he added. “But I worry less about how many things there are to do and more about how we prioritize them so we’re not a jack of all trades and master of few and so we’re No. 1 at what we do. It is going to be guided more by the dealer than it is us. It’s going to be guided by how that dealer can use those products. We’ll look through their eyes.”

Cox and Dealertrack came eye-to-eye on their deal after more than a year of dialogue that gradually became more active, according to Schwartz. After being able “to strike the right deal,” Cox’s portfolio not only includes Manheim and Autotrader, but also major industry players such as Kelley Blue Book, vAuto, HomeNet Automotive and NextGear Capital as well as Dealertrack once the acquisition is completed as projected during the third quarter.

“I’ve been involved in deals for many years, but the great part of this one is these are two truly great complimentary companies,” Schwartz said. “Our services, our products, their services, their products, they really complement each other, so that’s one of the many reasons I’m so excited about this deal. It gives us a lot more solutions for dealers. We think of this as a real competitive marketplace, this will drive and help dealers in many ways.”

Schwartz chuckled when posed with the question about what other service providers might be left for Cox to bring into its portfolio. Like dealers who slug it out along “car row” in their respective communities, Schwartz explained how industry support companies such as Cox also are involved in an intense arena.

“This marketplace — and I’m not just saying it because it sounds like a PR thing — it is so competitive,” Schwartz said. “We come up against products from people who are established, and we come against people who are two guys in a garage developing something today. The barriers of entry are just so low. We are always looking at ways that we’re going to be able to have products and services that are going to help dealers be more competitive, help them be more efficient.

“And more importantly when we think about this digital retailing process, it’s a journey that changes every day,” he continued. “We’re always going to be on the lookout for how we can create more things. Sometimes creating makes sense. Sometimes acquiring makes sense. There’s nothing I have my eye on that I would say we have to have. But I will tell you it’s never going to stop.”

While Cox Automotive certainly possesses many of the products and services dealers might need to have a thriving operation, Schwartz stressed that he believes in dealer choice.

“When I give speeches, one of the things I talk about all the time is we don’t think we should have products that are so bundled together that a dealer is forced to take our products. That’s not what we believe in,” he said. “We believe that there should be a choice out there. A dealership should be able to decide which product they want to use, which one fits them best.

“There is no dealer that is the same,” Schwartz went on to say. “There are big mega-groups and even the big groups are different. There are public companies; there are private companies. Something that works for someone in Portland, Ore., might not work for someone in Omaha, Neb. We think it is very individualistic.”