KeyTrak, a provider of key and asset management systems, has partnered with TrueSpot, a real-time location services company, to allow KeyTrak Edge systems to help dealership personnel to locate vehicles and their keys faster.

KeySpot said it will unveil its new advancement at the NADA Show, coming up Feb. 1-4 in Las Vegas.

In a joint news release, the companies noted misplaced or stolen keys typically cost several hundred dollars to replace – TrueSpot estimates North American dealerships spend $350 million or more to replace the keys lost annually during normal operations.

“With the technology available today, there’s little reason for keys to go missing,” KeyTrak vice president of sales Steve Robinson said. “Our goal is to make sure dealers have the tools they need to prevent lost keys in their dealerships. Our partnership with TrueSpot makes that goal a reality.”

TrueSpot CEO Mike Hanna noted finding the key is just as important as finding the car.

“A customer’s time is valuable, and every minute matters,” he said. “Whether the customer is waiting to test drive a vehicle or get a car back from being serviced, efficient use of time directly increases the very important customer satisfaction scores.”

Using its AQFind location platform and its gateway sensors and geo-intelligence, TrueSpot is designed to narrow the physical location of the asset to within a few feet anywhere on the dealership’s lot in near real time.

Through that network of sensors and KeyTrak’s key access tracking measures, the companies said, managers will be able to use the analytics to understand who’s checking out keys and why, as well as where they are located.

“KeyTrak’s electronic key and asset management systems provide the ‘who’ and ‘when’ of finding missing assets,” Robinson said. “TrueSpot completes the search criteria with the ‘where.’

“With the integration between KeyTrak and TrueSpot, dealers are able to identify problems before they escalate.”