Digital retail; transportation Archives | Auto Remarketing

CarNow adds new senior VP, partners with ShipYourCarNow

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In addition to a new partnership lined up in the vehicle transportation space, CarNow, which provides digital retail solutions to the auto industry, has named a new senior vice president of OEM relations and national accounts.

Hired for the role is Michael Seeman, who was previously vice president and general manager of the enterprise divisions at CDK Global, where he worked for 20 years.

In his new post, Seeman will lead the development of OEM relationships along with business development efforts, including new strategic partnerships and national dealer groups.

“We are truly excited for Michael’s energy, experience, and passion for automotive,” CarNow chief executive officer Andy Park said in a news release.

“His impressive automotive background, reputation in the industry, and track record of developing, growing, and maintaining the most strategic relationships and sales results make his leadership instrumental for our next phase of growth. I’m thrilled to welcome him to the CarNow team.”

Seeman added: “I’m excited to join a respected organization with an amazing culture. My focus will be to serve our clients by helping to streamline the online and in-store car buying experience for their consumers with a unified, real-time platform that eliminates the need for numerous single-point solutions.

“We have strong momentum and a highly talented team with experience from multiple industries,” he said. “I look forward to contributing at this pivotal stage of the company's evolution.”

Speaking of partnerships and relationships, it was announced last week that CarNow has teamed up with ShipYourCarNow, an automotive transportation, technology and service provider.

Through this partnership, CarNow’s Real-Time Retail tool will now have a seamless shipping solution integrated directly into the platform.

With that, CarNow’s dealer partners can including shipping as part of the consumer’s purchasing process, giving them precise, real-time delivery costs before finalizing their purchase.

They can also include the shipping costs within the financing of the vehicle.

“With our suite of Integrated Automotive Transportation Solutions (IATS), we have the flexibility to meet any business process requirements for an awesome user experience,” ShipYourCarNow executive vice president John Robertson said in a release.

“CarNow chose a completely seamless solution, all information required for the transport is automatically completed via API. The customer experience is as easy as choosing how quickly they would like their car delivered and checking the box. We make it happen from there.” Robertson said.

CarNow senior vice president of product Paul Chae added: “CarNow’s platform is designed to provide dealers and consumers with advanced, easy-to-use technology solutions that streamline the car-buying process.

“We want to ensure our dealers and their shoppers have the best-possible options for vehicle shipping during the digital retailing process, which is why we’re pleased to announce the integration of ShipYourCarNow with our Real-Time Retail platform.”

 

Vroom adds ‘Last Mile’ hub in Dallas area

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Vroom has launched a “Last Mile” hub in the Dallas area that gives customers in a 70-mile radius “a more customized driveway experience.”

The online retailer has offered vehicle delivery in the Dallas market since 2012, but is now offering more of a concierge-style service there through the hub, which is located in Euless, Texas.

Vehicles are delivered directly to the shopper’s driveway by a customer advocate using a Vroom-branded truck. The advocate demonstrates the vehicle to the buyer, as well.

Dallas has been a prime market for Vroom. The number of purchases by Vroom customers in the area climbed 16% from 2020 to 2021, the company said.

Looking at Vroom’s overall operations, it recently reached 1,000 Last Mile deliveries. Vroom logistics operations are led by Mary Kay Wegner, the company’s chief logistics officer.

Her team has added a new vice president of transportation: John Piatak, who previously headed up logistics at Carvana. Piatak manages the company’s delivery hubs.

“With our valued customers in mind, creating a more personalized driveway experience and rolling out more local hubs across the country has been a priority for us at Vroom and we’re excited to launch this offering in Dallas, one of the largest cities in Texas and home to the second most licensed drivers in the United States,” Wegner said in a news release.

“As we prioritize expanding the Last Mile experience nationwide, we’ll continue to grow and invest in our senior logistics team to support these efforts.”

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