Paperwork within dealership service drives and accounting departments can accumulate quickly. Dealer Scanning is looking to improve the situation for stores, making the scenes both aesthetically pleasing and perhaps even more crucial — improved security and search capability.
Dealer Scanning, a leading cloud-based automotive document scanning company, recently announced that it has become a participant in the CDK Global Partner Program.
As a member of one of the largest third-party partner programs in the industry, Dealer Scanning is now part of a marketplace of applications and integration that CDK Global, Inc, a leading enabler of end-to-end automotive commerce, developed to help automotive dealers succeed.
“Our ability to fully integrate with CDK allows dealers to have an up-to-date, real-time snapshot of their entire repair order document scanning process,” Dealer Scanning chief executive officer Cesar Augustus said.
“By joining the CDK Partner Program, we know that our clients can feel completely assured that all documents are being scanned properly and efficiently. This is very important, especially under a warranty audit,” Augustus continued.
Dealer Scanning looks to provide dealerships with an easy to use, customized scanning system for service and accounting departments. Since its inception in 2012, Dealer Scanning has helped dealerships remove the inefficient, slow and expensive repair order paper filing process, and helped turn millions of paper ROs into a secured and easy to find digital repair orders for all their clients.
The CDK Global Partner Program provides its partners with access to a diverse CDK ecosystem through the ability to integrate with a range of CDK applications, as well as with CDK dealer websites.
Dealer Scanning’s scanning solution and CDK repair order integration can allow users to easily find scanned repair orders and accurately report on the scanning process by showing missed scanned ROs.
And perhaps more importantly, the companies said their collaboration can show which warranty repair orders have been missed.
“We’re very pleased to introduce Dealer Scanning as the newest member of the CDK Global Partner Program,” said Howard Gardner, vice president and general manager of CDK Data Services.
“Dealer Scanning is a welcome addition to our vibrant program that provides dealers with a range of partner choices and the assurance that their programs can be seamlessly integrated with our applications,” Gardner went on to say.
For more details, go to dealerscanning.com.
A&L Motor Sales closed 2020 and opened 2021 with a brand new, reimagined BMW showroom to showcase its inventory and more than seven decades of retailing experience.
As part of its $15 million overall renovation, the luxury dealership east of Pittsburgh that represents BMW as well as Jaguar and Land Rover revamped its showroom to include a dynamic open-floor layout, modernized high-tech features, and sophisticated seating areas.
“We are thrilled with the transformation of our BMW showroom as the updated space will provide our customers with the luxurious shopping environment they deserve,” A&L Motor Sales owner Brian Lamfrom said in a news release. “Our updated showroom offers customers an elegant atmosphere to enjoy while taking their time to discover their dream vehicle.”
A&L Motor Sales highlighted that its new BMW showroom features state-of-the-art technology with digital capabilities that can allow customers to virtually experience their own vehicle configuration. Using touchscreen displays, consumers can look at high-definition renderings of custom interior and exterior selections, making the BMW brand come alive in an interactive way.
A&L Motor Sales mentioned the upgraded showroom, characterized by its vaulted ceilings, a work station with a pastry café and frameless glass walls, showcases a modern, cosmopolitan space with an emphasis on brand experience.
Adding to what the dealership called its customer-first mentality, the transformed showroom also includes a dedicated vehicle handover area where owners can enjoy an exclusive viewing opportunity of their purchase inside of a contemporary, glass-enclosed delivery bay.
“Our updated layout emphasizes our commitment to providing our customers with a no-pressure sales environment that exceeds expectations,” A&L Motor Sales sales manager Nate Paul said. “We strive to create a seamless, enjoyable customer experience for every person who walks into our dealership.”
Here’s potentially a positive record on pace to be set during this tumultuous year.
Kerrigan Advisors reported on Monday that the dealership buy/sell market continued to soar during the third quarter, putting it on track to surpass record transaction numbers established in 2015.
And with a flurry of mega dealer transactions and high dealership earnings, the firm’s Third Quarter 2020 Blue Sky Report also highlighted that blue-sky values shot to unprecedented levels during the quarter, too.
“As we predicted, there was no softening of this record-breaking market,” Kerrigan Advisors founder and managing director Erin Kerrigan said in a news release.
“A 94% year-over-year rise in dealership earnings in Q3 was driven by higher vehicle gross profit margins, reduced operating expenses, limited inventory (which drove up prices) and increased operational efficiency,” Kerrigan continued. “This created a perfect storm for a white-hot buy/sell environment, one that we predict will surpasses the historic levels of 2015.”
Kerrigan Advisors indicated 73 dealership buy/sell transactions were completed during Q3, pushing the total to 186 transactions for the first nine months of the year. That figure represents a 15.5% increase above the amount recorded during the first nine months of 2019, according to data from The Banks Report, Automotive News and Kerrigan Advisors’ research.
Despite periods of retail disruption due to COVID-19, Kerrigan pointed out that 2020 thus far has achieved the highest level of transaction activity since 2015.
“Of particular note were the high numbers of multi-dealership transactions completed in Q3, including mega dealer transactions, representing 25% of the buy/sell market for the first nine months of the year. We expect this trend to continue into 2021,” said Kerrigan, whose firm advised on the sale of 22 dealerships during the past quarter.
According to the Blue Sky Report, public and private dealership valuations exceeded prior highs.
The Kerrigan Index — comprised of the seven publicly traded dealership groups — hit record levels in the third quarter, with the publics’ average blue-sky multiple at the end of the third quarter at 7.6 times, making most private dealership acquisitions highly accretive to earnings.
“The resilience of auto sales in the face of the pandemic continues to drive high valuations,” said Ryan Kerrigan, managing director of Kerrigan Advisors. “Unlike other retail industries which have yet to rebound, auto retail barely missed a beat after the economic disruption in March and April.
“In fact, the industry’s growth rate accelerated in June, while its costs declined, resulting in incredible earnings growth,” Ryan Kerrigan continued. “As a result, buyer demand for dealerships is on the rise and dealers are bullish on their valuations.”
Reinforcing that bullish outlook is Kerrigan Advisors’ second annual dealer survey, which found a rising number of dealers expecting the value of their business to increase over the next 12 months.
The survey also showed nearly half of participating dealers are expecting a rise in buy/sell activity as a result of COVID-19.
The Blue Sky Report, however, emphasizes that, with 2020 earnings being the most volatile on record, buyers are pricing blue sky based on adjusted 2020 earnings, removing profit improvements deemed unlikely to continue in the future and adding back the one-time losses associated with 2020’s period of economic shutdown.
In the report’s analysis of specific brand valuations, Toyota continues to stand out as the most valuable non-luxury franchise.
The firm said Toyota dealers are more optimistic on valuation than any other franchise dealer body, and it commands the highest blue sky multiple amongst non-luxury franchises.
Another franchise showing positive trends is Ford. Kerrigan Advisors upgraded the Blue Oval’s multiple outlook from negative to steady.
“Ford’s third quarter profits were impressive,” Ryan Kerrigan said. “Our dealer survey revealed a significant uptick in Ford dealers’ expectations for valuation improvement. One cannot underestimate the recent impact of Jim Farley’s leadership on buyers’ confidence in Ford’s future.”
Sliding in the opposite direction, the firm mentioned the downgrading of Infiniti’s multiple ranges — from 3.5 on the high end to 3.0 and from 2.5 on the low end to 2.0 — as a result of the franchise’s continued weakness in buyer demand.
To recap, main highlights from the Third Quarter 2020 Blue Sky Report by Kerrigan Advisors included:
• Buy/sell transactions increased 15.5% over the first nine months of 2019
• 73 dealership buy/sell transactions were completed in Q3 2020, for a total of 186 transactions for the first nine months of the year
• There were 46 multi-dealership transactions representing 25% of the buy/sell market
• The publics’ average blue sky multiple at the end of the third quarter was 7.6 times, a 171.4% increase from Q1, as they completed a record level of acquisition spending in the third quarter. Year to date, Lithia and Asbury have spent $1.56 billion on US acquisitions
• Private dealerships’ average blue-sky value is $6.9 million, an amount currently above 2015’s prior high
• Private dealership groups represented 90% of the buyers of dealerships through the third quarter
• Import luxury franchises increased their buy/sell market share in the third quarter — at the expense of import non-luxury and domestic franchises
• Domestic franchises dominate the buy/sell market with 54% market share
• To date, four of the Top 100 dealership groups (4%) have sold either their entire group or the majority of their dealerships
• 33% of dealers surveyed in 2020 expect the value of their dealership to increase in the next 12 months, as compared to 26% surveyed in 2019
“Overall, today’s dealership buyers believe auto retail sales will outpace the country’s economic growth,” said Kerrigan, who added, “2020 marks a stunning reversal of trends that were thought to dampen demand for cars in the long term, including a steep decline in urbanization, ridesharing and public transit, all of which are contributing to sales growth projections for 2021.”
To obtain the complete report or more details about the Kerrigan Index, go to kerriganadvisors.com.
Orbee Auto's long-standing relationship with the National Association of Minority Auto Dealers resulted in another potential benefit for store principals and their staff.
On Friday, the marketing cloud company designed exclusively for dealerships announced a partnership with the association to provide digital marketing courses virtually and free of charge to its members.
Leading these courses will be Daniel Kim, chief executive officer and co-founder of Orbee Auto. The firm highlighted the 10-week educational series is now underway and is aimed at advancing digital marketing capabilities for employees of minority-owned dealerships.
Orbee Auto explained the focus of this training program is based on understanding the shoppers that land on a dealership’s website. The firm said attendees will gain a better understanding of how to source traffic through SEO, Facebook and other crucial online channels.
Additionally, the firm noted dealers will learn how to properly interpret digital marketing analytics. Furthermore, through a segment on marketing automation, the course reinforces understanding and knowing how to best target shoppers.
“I am so excited to have the opportunity to team up with NAMAD and lead this digital marketing course for minority dealerships,” Kim said in a news release.
“As co-founder of a minority-owned company myself, I wanted to be able to help these dealerships find new ways to succeed. With digital marketing being such a prominent aspect in running a successful business today, it was a no brainer for me to partake in this training course,” Kim continued.
Orbee Auto went on to emphasize the purpose of this program is to create the next generation of digital marketing savvy dealership employees and operators.
Upon completion of the program, the firm said participants will:
— Become knowledgeable in improving the ROI of their digital marketing spend
— Know how to make advertising budget decisions based on data and properly manage existing digital marketing vendors to correlate with the dealership's business objectives
— Learn how to create personalized experiences for online shoppers that drive vehicle sales and identify high-intent online shoppers.
“With how fast digital transformation is always evolving, it’s challenging for many dealerships to implement new technologies and services that effectively adapt to the ever-changing needs and demands of their customers. This is particularly the case with online digital retailing, which became almost mandatory for all dealerships large and small during the height of the COVID pandemic,” NAMAD president Damon Lester said.
“I believe that our collaboration with Orbee Auto as a leading martech company, in hosting this training, benefits our NAMAD members greatly by allowing them to dive deeper into digital marketing and challenges them to apply these learnings to their own dealerships,” Lester said.
Dealership personnel who already completed some of the coursework provided this feedback to Orbee Auto:
“So far (this course) has enlightened me on pertinent digital terminology and has given me insight on what is important to focus on for digital ROI,” said Daylyn Turner, who is general manager of JK Subaru.
“This is a phenomenal partnership between Orbee and NAMAD. One of the wonderful benefits of being part of such a strong association like NAMAD,” said Andrea Zadd, vice president of Crestmont Auto Group.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience thus far, and I’m looking forward to learning more,” said Martin Staten, director of digital marketing at Genesis Automotive Group.
NAMAD and Orbee Auto chief revenue officer Peter Fong have a long-standing relationship that began when Fong was the dealer franchising manager for Ford.
At the time, Fong was the liaison between the Ford Motor Minority Dealer Association and NAMAD.
Orbee Auto is a predominately minority company with more than 60% of its employees represented by people of color and more than 30% women, which the firm said can facilitate the understanding of being minorities within the automotive industry.
Throughout the course, Orbee Auto noted that feedback is requested to alter the lessons for students to receive the best possible educational experience.
According to NAMAD’s website, only 6% of American dealerships are minority-owned. The firms said this opportunity provided by Orbee and NAMAD presents participants with the ability to propel and advance in the digital marketing landscape.
“Orbee Auto and NAMAD will both work with minorities to defeat this curve and bring together minorities to become savvy in the modern world of automotive digital marketing,” the firms said.
To qualify for this training, participants must be a current member of NAMAD. To learn more, send a message to learning@orbeeauto.com.
Dealers know they have millions worth of equipment and inventory at their facility, requiring complex insurance to protect them. Risk Point Underwriters hired a new executive on Thursday to ensure its products and services meet store demands.
The company that offers programs for dealer open lot and garage package for franchised auto, motorcycle, RV and heavy truck dealerships announced that Scott Hoy has been named executive vice president for the specialty auto dealer underwriting unit.
Risk Point Underwriters said Hoy will be responsible for driving profitable growth and delivering customer excellence through independent agents.
Bryan Wilburn is president and chief executive officer of the parent company, Risk Theory. Wilburn said in a news release, “We are excited to add Scott to our company. He brings a proven leadership track record, impressive industry reputation, vast insurance experience, relationships, and knowledge specific to our dealership insurance offerings.”
Hoy’s leadership background in these industries and niche specialization comes from 25 years of experience at Victor, Marsh & McLennan’s managing general agency business; SeaFire Insurance Services, a managing general underwriter specializing in automotive dealerships; as well as the national vice president of sales for Zurich and Universal Underwriters Group.
“As the largest automotive dealership insurance program in the country available to independent agents, I am very excited to join the Risk Theory team,” Hoy said.
“I look forward to working with the most experienced leadership team in our industry, and continue their success providing world class insurance solutions to dealerships across the country,” he went on to say.
It’s even less likely in our current pandemic world that shoppers are walking the lot at your dealership. Dealer.com said it understands that the increase in online car-shopping activity demands an upgraded user experience.
To answer the call, Dealer.com is introducing an all-new search results page experience with strategic new upgrades that improve inventory search, browsing and digital tool usage for Dealer.com clients and their customers.
Site officials highlighted on Monday that Dealer.com’s new search results page (SRP) enhancements help different types of shoppers find the right vehicle faster by guiding them to the critical inventory information they need, and ultimately making it easier for consumers to reach their destination — the vehicle deal page (VDP) — from any device, anywhere.
“Today, nearly every shopper spends time researching cars online with hopes of landing on the perfect VDP, but every customer’s journey is different — from their approach to what device they are using,” said Katie Wilkins, senior director product management at Dealer.com.
“With this in mind, we built the new SRP experience to drive a faster more convenient path to the right vehicle across all device and shopper experiences,” Wilkins continued.
Now, shoppers can make more vehicle comparisons and informed selections sooner in the shopping process — no matter the device they are using. The majority of shoppers — 82% — engage with search results on a dealership’s website, according to an analysis of Dealer.com website platform traffic by Google Analytics.
The features of the new SRP experience are designed to benefit customers and dealers alike, including:
— A free-form inventory search bar provides multiple ways for consumers to shop and select their vehicle of choice.
— Auto-complete suggestions within the search bar guide shoppers to the right vehicles and attributes.
— Mobile-friendly faceted search means fewer clicks for consumers to reach the vehicle information they want.
— Larger inventory photos and a convenient photo carousel allow shoppers to view multiple photos before visiting the VDP, eliminating back and forth and helping them more quickly identify their vehicle preferences.
— Tabbed Content areas, including standard vehicle specifications, OEM and dealership incentives, and stacked pricing make key inventory details organized and accessible.
— Responsive, redesigned listings deliver a more intuitive user experience.
— Flexible list view or grid view design allows consumers to customize their experience.
“What really stood out to us about the new SRPs is that they were created with a mobile first design. They perfectly capture the details the customer is looking for in a clean layout,” said Jeffrey Ramsey, eCommerce Director at Jones Junction.
“Being able to easily scroll through the images from the SRP has created a more valuable VDP visit,” Ramsey continued in a news release. “This has led to more leads and a higher percentage of our traffic converting. After spending the time and money it takes to get a customer to our site, you don’t want to lose them when they’re looking for a vehicle. With the easy to use sort and filter functionality, it allows shoppers to navigate our inventory seamlessly.
“Overall, the new SRPs have improved our customers shopping experience and helped create more sales opportunities for the Jones Junction organization,” Ramsey went on to say.
The launch of the new SRP experience will begin in September and is a no-cost upgrade to all Dealer.com customers.
For more information on the all-new SRP experience, visit Dealer.com/SRP.
As dealers might already know, TCPA is the acronym for the federal regulatory rule officially known as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
The acronym also has a more pejorative meaning — Total Cash for Plaintiff’s Attorneys.
In an effort to help dealerships avoid pitfalls connected with either interpretation of TCPA, Paul Gipson appeared on this episode of the Auto Remarketing Podcast.
Gipson is director of marketing compliance services for CompliancePoint, a leading provider of information security and risk management services. And the firm recently completed an in-depth examination of dealerships and text messaging.
For more on that, listen to the entire conversation, which is available at the link below or on the Auto Remarketing Podcast page.
Download and subscribe to the Auto Remarketing Podcast on iTunes or on Google Play.
Dealership showrooms aren’t necessarily the primary place managers, salespeople and other personnel cater to potential vehicle buyers nowadays.
To help optimize operations and ease daily workloads, Dealertrack DMS recently introduced three new integrations geared toward helping dealership staff — regardless of whether they are working in-store or remotely — root out time-intensive, manual processes slowing down workflows and hampering the customer experience.
Spurred by less foot traffic and a shift from in-person to online sales and digital services, Dealertrack acknowledged the auto retail industry, like many other segments, will have to work through an all-new set of staffing challenges as well as the process retooling that comes with them.
“Time is money and the stakes have never been higher for dealerships to optimize their workflows,” Dealertrack DMS vice president of operations Mandi Fang said in a news release.
“Whether working with a reduced or remote staff or bringing employees back on board, the new Dealertrack DMS integrations ensure auto retailers are getting the support they need to eliminate inefficiencies and navigate the uncertainty of the current environment,” Fang continued.
The following integrations spanning marketing, sales and fixed operations are what Dealertrack DMS is introducing, including:
Enhanced integration with VinSolutions
Focused on providing solutions that work better together, the enhanced integration between Dealertrack DMS and VinSolutions can help dealership staff more seamlessly share customer and deal data between two of the most critical dealer technology platforms — the DMS and CRM.
Helping to consolidate data entry, the enhanced integration ensures only active and applicable tax groups are displayed in the dropdown of selectable tax settings from the DMS — creating more accurate payments.
Additionally, physical damage insurance information, equity allocation, dealer cash, One Pay lease information and negative trade equity data all now automatically sync between platforms.
That particular integration pleased Dustin Marriott, who is internet sales manager at Nate Wade Subaru in Salt Lake City
“Sharing information between VinSolutions and Dealertrack DMS has never been so seamless,” Marriott said in the news release. “With a more streamlined approach to data entry, my managers can feel confident in the numbers they see.”
Scan Solutions Pick-It integration
Dealertrack DMS and Scan Solutions came together to help increase efficiency in the parts department with Pick-It, an integrated and user-friendly inventory control and processing solution.
Using printers and mobile scanners, Pick-It can automate the historically manual workflow of processing orders and picking, pulling and staging parts inventory, helping save time and eliminate errors.
Dealertrack DMS Managed Network Services powered by Proton
Providing dealerships with a more fully outsourced and comprehensive IT service solution tailored to Dealertrack DMS, Managed Network Services Powered by Proton can address the unique needs and complexities of each dealer’s business to help keep in-store and remote systems optimized for today’s digital-first environment.
Offering 24/7 expert-level remote support, the managed services solution can deliver all the capabilities of an in-house IT department at a fraction of the cost, according to Dealertrack.
For more information about Dealertrack DMS, visit DMSDealertrack.com/DTDMS.
COVID-19 is crushing a wide array of small businesses as stay-at-home orders forced closures. Some owners are even taking the drastic action to wind down the operation for good.
However, the latest information from Urban Science shows how resilient franchised dealerships have been during the pandemic as the firm released statistics and insights on Thursday from its Mid-Year 2020 Automotive Franchise Activity Report (FAR).
As of the beginning of July, Urban Science said there are 34 fewer dealerships (rooftops) in the United States, taking the count of 18,195 down to 18,161. Analysts explained this 0.2% decrease is small and still indicates continued stability overall.
Urban Science also indicated the number of franchises — or brands a dealership sells — also experienced a period of stability, slightly decreasing from 32,185 to 32,031 since the beginning of the year.
“Since 2010, the dealership network has set a new normal pattern of stability,” Urban Science global director of data Mitch Phillips said in a news release. “The data shows that 98% of local markets had virtually no net change (+/- 1 dealership).
“That said, the most significant (net) dealership decreases occurred in California and New York at seven dealerships each, and Iowa at five dealerships. Increase in net dealership count was low, but the most significant increases occurred in Florida with seven dealerships and Illinois and Washington with three dealerships each,” Phillips continued.
“An interesting observation is that Texas is now missing from the most active states because, typically, they are on that list for adding the most dealerships,” he went on to say.
Phillips wrapped up Urban Science’s latest update by mentioning another key industry metric — sales throughput for dealers — which the firm defines as the number of sales divided by the dealer count.
“With this current stable dealer count, the throughput statistic is controlled by the sales volume which is currently forecasted to decline in 2020 by around 20%,” Phillips said. “Sales throughput should fall 206 units to 734 per store based on 2020 sales forecasts.”
Urban Science pointed out a recent Harris Poll COVID-19 tracker, however, showed that pent up demand for buying a vehicle once things return to normal and businesses reopen has increased since the end of March (11%) compared to the end of May (19%).
Auto Remarketing is collaborating with Podium to host a free webinar focused on one of the most important ways dealerships connect with their customers nowadays: digitally.
Podium marketing specialist Hayley Sonntag plans to share a quartet of takeaways for dealerships of all sizes during the session titled, “4 Ways Dealerships Can Attract and Service Customers, 100% Digitally.”
Sonntag intends to discuss:
1. Focusing on the online experience
2. Opening and communicating with customers in their preferred channels
3. Nurturing leads through messaging
4. Collecting payments via text
The webinar is set to begin at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
“So much has changed in the world during the past few months,” Podium said. “There’s an increased urgency now to take every opportunity to increase online leads and interact with customers amidst all the uncertainty. This is requiring an unprecedented strategy and creativity.
“Join this webinar to learn how your dealership can manage your customer journeys — from initial search to final sale — digitally,” the firm added.
Dealers can complete registration for this free webinar on this website.
