Manheim has built a new enterprise software business called Global Remarketing Management System that serves as a digital suite of remarketing management tools, the company announced Friday.

It will be led by Nick Peluso, who will head up the new venture and become president of Global RMS on April 1. Peluso is currently senior vice president of customer management.

Manheim said Peluso’s appointment points to “the importance which Manheim is placing on the development of global remarketing solutions for original equipment manufacturer (OEM), major commercial consignors and large dealer groups.”

Manheim also announced Friday morning that Tim McKinley will join the company as senior vice president of sales on April 1; Rich Coutu becomes vice president of commercial sales on March 1.

McKinley will take Manheim’s sales activity that Peluso headed. He served as Cox Communications’ vice president of field operations. Coutu, meanwhile, was most recently Manheim’s market vice president for the North Central market.

Manheim Agrees to Purchase Stake in Go Financial

In separate news from Manheim on Friday, the company said it has signed an agreement to buy an equity stake in subprime auto finance company Go Financial — a move Manheim says will provide NextGear Capital customers with easier and quicker financing for subprime customers.

“Our stake in Go Financial supports our goals of delivering the types of products and services that dealers need to grow and compete,” said Patrick Brennan, group vice president of Manheim Financial Services.

“Together, Go Financial and NextGear Capital will provide an easier and more convenient way for independent dealers to finance their subprime customers,” Brennan added.

For more on this news, see the story in SubPrime Auto Finance News.

More Details on New RMS Venture

Going back to the news regarding RMS, what does this system entail?

The RMS tools are designed to enable greater efficiency throughout the entire remarketing process. It is provided to customers as fully supported enterprise software and as built with key modules driving the main functions of remarketing, Manheim said in its announcement. Among those are a data hub, grounding and listing controls, and sophisticated pricing tools.

RMS also offers white-labeled integrated sales channels with interfaces to all third-party providers, plus a suite of analytics and reporting tools.

Manheim said that RMS has already entered six OEM contracts in Europe. Among those are two OEMs that are deploying the product as their core international remarketing platform throughout more than 25 countries.

“In the 27 years I’ve been in this industry, I can honestly say that this is probably the most exciting period that I can remember,” Peluso said. “Global RMS will provide everything a major inventory owner needs to exercise full control and visibility over all aspects of remarketing activity in a single system.

“Manheim is uniquely placed in terms of worldwide locations and the scale of the wholesale-to-retail solutions which we are now able to deliver through Global RMS. We will be taking advantage of all of our assets, across Manheim and our sister company AutoTrader Group, in bringing this product to even more countries including the US,” Peluso added.

In the new role, Peluso reports to Manheim president of international operations John Bailey. Initially Peluso will be primarily focused on establishing the new Global RMS team in Atlanta and building the RMS product for North American customers.

And as part of the Global RMS plan, Peluso will head up further investments in the existing RMS operation in Europe and explore opportunities for RMS in other international markets, like Asia Pacific.

“This initiative has been a while coming, but the power of today’s technology, coupled to our appetite to fully embrace the opportunities created by the ever-evolving digital space, means we can now get on and deliver world class remarketing solutions, across world markets,” said Sandy Schwartz, president of Manheim and AutoTrader Group. “This is a strategically important investment for Manheim, and who better to head up the Global RMS enterprise than Nick.

“His experience, market knowledge and his passion for innovation gives us the leadership needed to ensure that Global RMS will take its rightful place at the heart of our major customers remarketing management requirements. I’m also very pleased to be able to welcome Tim into the Manheim team,” Schwartz said. “Like me, he’s spent time within our parent organization, Cox Enterprises, and his proven talent means that our sales teams, as well as our commercial and dealer customers, will be in great hands.”