The National Independent Automobile Dealers Association has designated professional services firm CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP) as a bronze-level national corporate partner, and CLA says the partnership will help the organizations address tax and accounting issues most crucial to independent dealers.
CLA and NIADA can work together to reach important IRS and political influencers to benefit NIADA members’ best interests, CLA said, adding that the partnership “highlights CLA’s commitment to independent dealers and the used-vehicle industry.”
CLA says its dealership practice is one of the largest in the country and offers new- and used-vehicle industry knowledge and experience to its professionals.
The company said staying in touch with clients and businesses year-round is important in “providing relevant operational and strategic guidance.”
“We make it our business to know our clients and offer strategies to help them move forward,” Dave Wiggins, principal with CLA’s dealership team, said in a news release.
Wiggins continued, “Our strong affiliation with NIADA connects us immediately to member issues. That helps us commit resources and guides our thought leadership, not only to create opportunities for those in the dealership industry, but also to give NIADA members a voice on key issues.”
NIADA senior vice president of member services Scott Lilja said the CLA team understands NIADA members’ day-to-day concerns. The company, he added, “brings the experience, knowledge and perspective to help them do better.”
“Whether it is minimizing income taxes, meeting manufacturer requirements for facilities and working capital or planning for business succession, CLA is there to lead,” Lilja said.
Automotive lead management software company AutoRaptor has been a customer relationship management tool for large and small dealerships for 14 years.
The company says its web-based software can help solve lead management problems and boost sales opportunities.
Recently, the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association made a move that it says “further solidifies AutoRaptor’s longstanding affiliation with NIADA and its commitment to independent dealers and the used vehicle industry.”
The move: NIADA has selected AutoRaptor as a bronze-level national corporate partner.
“NIADA recognizes the value AutoRaptor brings to the industry and its proven track record of quality and excellence for independent dealerships,” NIADA director of business development James Gibson said in a news release.
“AutoRaptor provides dealerships with decision-making insights, smart features and personal customer service that make lead management less stressful,” said AutoRaptor founder and president Howard Leavitt.
Leavitt described the NIADA partnership as “a natural fit” for the association because of the partners’ shared goal of improving used car dealers’ businesses.
“We look forward to helping more dealers improve their sales process with the cultivation of this partnership,” Leavitt said.
AutoRaptor marketing manager Amy Garofalo discussed AutoRaptor’s emphasis on the overall experience it provides to a dealership. That experience, she said, includes the onboarding process, intuitiveness of the software, customer support and return on investment.
“We like to say AutoRaptor makes it easy,” she said.
AutoRaptor provides features for dealers such as automated action plans, texting, license scanner, sales rep activity reports and third-party integrations that it says can improve their sales team’s effectiveness and increase the focus on high-probability leads.
Dealertrack Registration and Title Solutions is now a participant in the CDK Global Partner Program, which Dealertrack says will provide dealers with data sharing capabilities between their Dealertrack in-state and out-of-state services and the CDK Drive DMS.
Dealertrack says that dealers as a result can now push a deal from the CDK Drive DMS into their Dealertrack Registration and Title Solutions, and back into the DMS when a deal is complete.
The company says that this will help reduce data discrepancies between dealer systems and boost operational efficiency in the sale and F&I process.
Dealertrack, a Cox Automotive company, says the integration simplifies the deal finalization process through improved data workflow and helps mitigate the need for double data entry.
It does that by automatically populating the DMS, according to DealerTrack, addressing informational gaps caused by conflicting data between systems and policy variance by state.
“At Dealertrack, we are continuously seeking innovative solutions that ease the registration and titling process for our dealers,” Dealertrack Registration and Title Solutions vice president and general manager Kaitlin Gavin said in a news release.
Gavin continued, “Joining the CDK Partner Program furthers our commitment to ensuring dealers are equipped with the most accurate information for deal completion, which in turn reduces surprise costs at the end of the deal.”
Dealertrack mentioned the 2019 Cox Automotive Car Buyer Journey Study, which showed fewer than half of consumers were satisfied with how long the purchase process took at the dealership. The study noted that car buyers spend nearly three hours on average in-store.
During the registration and title stage of the deal process, dealers can now use information directly from the DMS. Dealertrack says that creates a more efficient workflow and improves customers’ experience.
“We’re excited to introduce Dealertrack Registration and Title Solutions to the CDK Partner Program," said CDK vice president, data services Howard Gardner.
Gardner added, “They are a welcome addition to our vibrant program, which provides dealers with a range of choices and the assurance that their programs will be seamlessly integrated with our applications.”
Monitoring and managing online customer feedback is a crucial step in protecting a dealer’s reputation.
That is according to Cody Lusk of the American International Automobile Dealers Association, which on Thursday announced a new affinity partnership with Podium, which collects and manages business reviews and messages in one central inbox.
“By allowing dealerships to become immediately available via messaging, not only are they able to mitigate risks of negative reviews, but dealerships are actually providing the type of positive and seamless modern buying experience consumers have come to expect,” Lusk, who is AIADA president and chief executive officer, said in a news release.
The association described Podium as an auto industry interaction management platform that works with more than 40,000 businesses worldwide. Those businesses include 5,000 U.S. and Canadian dealerships.
AIADA said that using Podium’s platform, AIADA members will be able to modernize their communication channels to perform tasks such as gathering reviews, messaging customers, and gathering feedback.
Dealerships will be able to contact customers who have recently visited the dealership’s site, completed a test drive, or made a purchase, AIADA said. The dealer can automatically invite the customer to leave a review minutes after the customer purchases a vehicle.
The dealer can send that invitation by text or through the messaging app of his or her choice.
The review invitation is sent moments after a car is sold. Because of that, customers are more likely to act on the requests for reviews and feedback, and AIADA said that could mean more accurate results.
AIADA said because of the integration, dealerships will save time and boost the number and quality of their online reviews on sites such as Google, Facebook, and DealerRater.
Podium vice president of auto sales Cameron Hale described AIADA as “the leading force in providing solutions for international nameplate dealerships in the U.S. auto industry.”
Hale continued, “This was a key factor in Podium choosing them as a close, operational partner. Joining AIADA’s drive to provide solutions for their dealers with Podium’s powerful online review and two-way messaging products will supercharge their members’ competitive advantage in bringing in new customers and keeping them for their lifetime.”
By facilitating millions of customer interactions, such as driving customer-generated online reviews and providing what it describes as improved customer messaging tools, Podium serves more than 40,000 local businesses to create more than 16 million interactions with their customers each month.
Along with expertise in online reviews, Podium also specializes in helping dealers communicate with customers via messaging. The company shared some best practices about this topic earlier this week during a webinar with Auto Remarketing, which can be viewed here.
In a move that integrated information technology company CDK Global’s executive vice president, North American sales says helps position it better to meet “the independent automotive dealer market segment’s unique needs and requirements,” CDK Global has become the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association’s newest gold-level national corporate partner.
NIADA said in a news release the move improves “the relationship between CDK and independent auto dealers.”
CDK executive vice president, North America sales Scott Herbers said bringing technology and innovative products to market is the company’s goal, and he said that makes the dealer more productive and able to provide a better customer experience.
NIADA said its partnerships result in a portfolio of services that help its members’ businesses grow, and the partnerships also help members protect their assets and make more profits.
CDK products focus on enabling end-to-end automotive commerce, according to NIADA. The products also automate and integrate the various aspects of the dealership and buying process, according to the association. Those aspects include targeted digital advertising and marketing campaigns along with the sale, financing, insuring, parts supply, repair and maintenance of vehicles.
NIADA highlighted one of those products, Drive Flex, describing it as a cloud-based DMS, and users can access it on an Internet-connected device “anywhere, anytime,” according to the association. DriveFlex’s streamlined workflows increase efficiency, and the intuitiveness of the product makes it easier for users to “become more productive faster,” the association said.
Noting that the partnership with CDK is a result of its commitment to independent dealers, NIADA senior vice president of member services Scott Lilja described CDK as a longtime dealership market leader.
Lilja said CDK’s cloud-based DMS product offers “best-in-class innovation and technology.”
“This new platform represents a tremendous opportunity for our independent dealer members to elevate their business management capabilities while enhancing margins and corresponding cash flow,” Lilja said.
CDK is demonstrating its cloud-based technology, featuring Drive Flex, through Thursday at the NIADA Convention and Expo at the Venetian in Las Vegas.
NIADA officials reported some 2,000 independent dealers and exhibitors had registered to attend, exceeding the pace set a year ago when the first combined NIADA/NABD Mega-Conference drew a record 2,128 attendees.
The association noted that was third consecutive year of record attendance for convention and the sixth consecutive year-over-year increase.
The Ken Garff Automotive Group has extended an agreement for auto dealer software company Reynolds and Reynolds to provide the dealership management solution for Ken Garff new-car franchised dealerships. The extension is part of a five-year agreement.
The companies said in a news release that through Reynolds, Ken Garff will look to improve the customer and employee experience by optimizing its hardware, software, and network products. One example of this is that to improve service times and decrease employee training redundancy, Ken Garff plans to use a common software platform through Reynolds for its service tablet setup.
“We have been fortunate to have a 20-plus-year relationship with Reynolds and Reynolds,” Ken Garff Automotive Group chief executive officer Brett Hopkins said in a news release. The auto group runs more than 50 dealerships in six states.
"They are a trusted partner, and their DMS has been the foundation of our software platform for the recent history of our company. We are pleased we can continue our relationship with them for the foreseeable future.”
Reynolds and Reynolds chairman and chief executive officer Bob Brockman said working with the Ken Garff Automotive Group for more than 20 years “is a source of pride for all of us at Reynolds.”
“We admire their continued success and are committed to delivering the products and services that will help them enhance their business operations and the consumer experience,” Brockman said.
Manheim says its new integration with what it describes as “the largest transportation platform in the industry” can help dealers handle vehicle transportation more simply and easily.
The company says its integration with Central Dispatch is part of its broader strategy to help dealers make good use of “new digital technologies to more efficiently run their businesses.”
Manheim says its buyers now have “seamless access” to Central Dispatch’s digital shipping platform so they can directly list vehicles on Central Dispatch. Manheim says that with the integration, dealers can directly post to Central Dispatch after inventory has been purchased.
Central Dispatch averages more than 500,000 posts monthly, according to Manheim. The company said half of all Central Dispatch subscribers already buy with Manheim, so the integration provides “an immediate benefit to these clients,” Manheim said.
Manheim dealers who haven’t yet transported their vehicles with Central Dispatch can try the integration for free during their first 60 days. After dealers log into Central Dispatch and confirm their order, their purchases are directly posted to Central Dispatch. A carrier that can transport their vehicle from the auction to its final destination will contact them in minutes.
“Whether shipping a vehicle across town or across the country, dealers need a logistics company they trust,” Manheim senior vice president of Logistics Jim Williams said in a news release. “With Central Dispatch, Manheim clients can instantly tap into a vast network of carriers to meet their needs.”
The integration also offers Manheim dealers the ability to compare rates for transportation on Central Dispatch without even posting a vehicle. They can log in and see what dealers typically pay for shipping costs to ensure Manheim’s dealer clients get the most competitive rates from carriers.
