Auto Remarketing has learned that General Motors and GM Financial are consolidating their remarketing organizations in the U.S. under the GM Financial brand.
GM Financial sent an overview of the consolidation to Auto Remarketing on Wednesday, in which it explained the alignment in great detail. GM Financial will continue to sell vehicles at Manheim, ADESA and independent auctions, as well as through the GMFDealerSource.com online channel.
The latter is a platform built exclusively for GM dealers where they can track upcoming maturities, get payoff quotes, ground returning cars and buy off-lease units.
The company will have closed, open and open online sales; there will be 33 closed sales locations where GM franchised buyers can make purchases.
Sale dates and locations can be found at auctions.gmfinancial.com and gmonlineauctions.com.
As far the reasons for the change, the overview notes that consolidating their remarketing organizations “allows us to better serve dealers with consistent inventory and more volume at auctions across the country.”
It also pointed out: “Unified operations and marketing efforts under one brand will create operational and cost efficiencies for both companies and will enhance the ease of doing business for our dealers and auction partners.”
GM Financial assumed the responsibility for both organization’s remarketing sales operations on July 1, which are led by Dan Heinrich, senior vice president of remarketing solutions at GM Financial, the company said. Brad Bollman, who is GM Financial’s vice president of remarketing solutions, will continue to report to Heinrich and will assume responsibilities for all realigned auctions
They added that GM Remarketing retains the responsibility for the rental account relationships, distribution centers, and administrative functions; these report to Jennifer Costabile, who is the general director of rental sales, marketing, advertising and used-vehicle activities at General Motors. Dan Kennedy will continue to report to Costabile.
July 1 was the effective date for all changes with auction locations and reporting structures, the company noted.
“GM Remarketing and GM Financial Remarketing were operating as separate organizations and, as such, had a large footprint of participating auctions across the country with varied vehicle offerings, different marketing efforts and individual operating procedures,” said Heinrich.
“By combining GM Remarketing and GM Financial Remarketing, we’re able to consolidate our auction footprint while providing more vehicles at each auction, increasing operational efficiency by aligning our platforms and standards, and offering consistent vehicles to our dealers,” he added. “Ultimately, we’re offering dealers a unified and simpler buying experience supported by even better inventory.”
The overview also explains how this move will impact dealers, listing these benefits:
- Consolidating to fewer auction locations will create a broader offering of year, make and model mix for dealers.
- Working with one company under one unified brand simplifies the buying experience for dealers.
- It allows for continued and consistent quality standards on vehicles.
Additionally, the overview mentions these overall benefits to consolidation:
- Consolidating the number of auctions, thus aggregating inventory, allows for more vehicles at each auction.
- Consolidating the number of auctions improves multiple efficiencies for GM and GM Financial.
- Consolidating operations eliminates redundancy
- Centralized marketing efforts allow us to target the right buyers for the right vehicles and enhance collaboration with auction partners with a focus on dealer satisfaction.
- Presents a single message to auction partners and allows for continued quality standards.
- Leveraging GM Financial’s existing sales teams will improve dealer engagement at auctions.
Costabile added: “To better serve our GM dealers, General Motors and GM Financial are taking a 'One Company' approach to remarketing GM-branded vehicles.
“With GM and GM Financial joining forces, we will provide our dealers with an outstanding remarketing experience. This strategic move will provide operational efficiencies, improved dealer inventories and increased strengthening of the GM and GM Financial brands,” she added.
Bollman, noted: “The GM Financial and GM Remarketing teams have been working together over the past several years and recognized the opportunity to align operations and improve overall remarketing operations.
“We’re proud of the GM Financial brand and are excited to continue building visibility for both ourselves and GM. GM and GM Financial have each brought our strengths to the table, and by combining GM company car and rental vehicles with GM Financial’s vehicles in similar sales environments, we will provide a more balanced dealer experience and continue to strengthen the GM Financial brand,” he added.
Stacey Petras, assistant vice president of remarketing solutions, at GM Financial said: “We’re really excited about this influx of inventory on GMF DealerSource because of the purchasing opportunities it will provide dealers. Currently, GMF DealerSource offers a limited amount of vehicles available for purchase, and they’re regionally concentrated in the Northeast.
“A dealer in Texas wanting to purchase from GMF DealerSource has a difficult time sourcing inventory, especially if he or she doesn’t want to pay vehicle transportation costs. Later this year, the volume of vehicles on the site will jump from hundreds to thousands,” Petras added. “Adding GM’s company and rental vehicles to the site will increase buyer traffic and bidding activity. It’s going to be a big opportunity for GM Financial and GM dealers.”
DealerRater is now a National Member Benefit Partner of the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association, NIADA announced this week.
In this capacity, DealerRater will aim to help NIADA dealers “connect with active, in-market consumers,” according to DealerRater’s chief executive officer, Gary Tucker.
DealerRater’s suite of solutions, including CertifiedEssentials, LotShot, Resolution Advantage, ServiceEngage and ReviewBuilder, will be available to NIADA members.
“DealerRater is completely focused on the automotive industry and offers dealers several tools other consumer review sites cannot,” said Scott Lilja, senior vice president of member services at NIADA. “Our members will embrace the opportunity to work with a provider like DealerRater and take advantage of their expertise in building online reputation.”
More information on DealerRater’s offerings can be found here.
NIADA Awards
Elsewhere at NIADA, the association wrapped up its annual NIADA Convention & Expo last week. The organization recognized many in the industry for their individual contributions to the auto sector.
Darla Booher, the president of Deal Depot in Greer, S.C., was named the 2015 National Quality Dealer of the Year during the event, chosen from the 20 State Quality Dealers nominated.
Selected by a panel of judges from Northwood University based on factors such as contributions to the industry and community involvement, Booher becomes the second woman to win the award since 2002 recipient Wanda Lewark.
“Over the years, Darla Booher has earned an exceptional reputation not only with her customers and staff, but throughout her community and within our industry,” said Steve Jordan, NIADA executive vice president. “Giving back to her community has always been a team effort for her and her staff.”
Other professionals honored by NIADA at the event include:
- NIADA Association Executive of the Year: Todd O’Connell, Colorado IADA.
- Crystal Eagle Award winners: Kimberly New, Style Financial Acceptance Co.; Dennis Pope, People’s Financial; Glen Reeves, Reeves Insurance Agency; Julie Colgate, Independent Dealers Advantage; Guy Padgett, Sterling Credit Corporation; Roy Daniel, ALS Dealer Funding; and J. Wayne Meagher of M D Auto Sales.
- Honorary Crystal Eagle Award winner: Frank Fuzy, owner of Century Motors of South Florida, who was also named as the association’s president during the event.
According to the NIADA, O’Connell earned the award by putting his previously struggling organization on solid financial footing, creating an association charity that raised more than $100,000 in the first year, starting a dealer defense fund to protect against frivolous lawsuits, adding an association Ambassador group to promote CIADA information, and establishing relationships with state officials.
For more NIADA awards, stay tuned to Auto Remarketing.
Cross-Sell Reports has launched its Cross-Sell Interactive tool in Illinois, and will now provide interactive market reports for dealers there.
CSI’s features include customizable charts and graphs which allow users to create personalized dashboards with key metrics and areas of interest. This is Cross-Sell’s first offering of market analysis, statewide dealer and lienholder summaries and MarketingINTEL reporting solutions to Illinois dealers.
Dealers in local markets can access and utilize market-based vehicle sales data to easily monitor specific areas of interest.
“Cross-Sell Interactive provides the tools and information that automotive retail dealers throughout Illinois require to strategically attack primary competitors across multiple markets,” said Shane Marcum, the company’s general product manager.
Illinois dealers can use the solution to customize and track their competitors’ sales within specific markets while also tracking their performance against local competitors by identifying top performers in the specified area. CSI data can also be accessed via Dominion Dealer Solutions’ Inventory Manager.
For more information, visit the CSI website here.
The National Independent Automobile Dealers Association announced today that Cooper Tire has joined NIADA as the association’s newest National Member Benefit Partner.
Cooper Tire, which is the fourth-largest tire manufacturer in the world, will offer a lucrative tire sales/service member benefit program for NIADA members.
“Cooper is an excellent partner and we are proud to be associated with a company that has such an enduring legacy in the tire industry,” said Scott Lilja, NIADA’s senior vice president of member services. “The exciting products Cooper has launched in recent years have earned important third-party accolades, including ‘Best Buy’ status from Consumers Digest.”
The tire company will offer several programs, including the Cooper Medallion program, which is for dealers who sell Cooper-branded products, and the Mastercraft Century Club, for dealers who sell the company’s associate brand, Mastercraft.
“The new tire/sales service member benefit program will drive new sales and profit to our members, diversify their dealerships’ business models and drive new prospective customer traffic to their stores — all a big win for our members,” Lilja added.
Auction Edge and vAuto finalized a partnership on Monday to enable integration of EDGE Pipeline and EDGE Simulcast with vAuto Genius Labs’ AuctionGenius.
The companies highlighted the partnership enables wholesale buyers to use AuctionGenius as they prepare for and participate in live physical and online sales at independent auctions across the country.
EDGE Pipeline can provide wholesale buyers access to more than 100 independent auctions across the country, allowing them to search inventory across multiple auctions and enter live simulcast sales.
With this integration, AuctionGenius dealers can now use EDGE Pipeline to help them be more effective and efficient researching and preparing for online and physical auctions. The integration also can allow buyers to see all of the critical information they need to make an informed decision while participating in a live sale.
Additionally, the AuctionGenius mobile application for iOS and Android will now display run lists and inventory details for inventory at Auction Edge partner auctions.
“Our partnership with Auction Edge continues our mission to give dealers all the information they need to more easily evaluate and purchase vehicles from the widest array of wholesale auctions,” said Randy Kobat, vAuto vice president and general manager.
“The fact is, today’s highly competitive market requires dealers to go further to find the right wholesale vehicles,” Kobat continued. “Combining the power of AuctionGenius with the breadth of independent inventory available through EDGE Pipeline is a huge win for wholesale buyers.”
Auction Edge president Scott Finkle added, “It makes perfect sense to work together with AuctionGenius. In the end, we are both looking to empower dealers with all the tools and information they need to make informed buying decisions at auctions.”
Dealers can use AuctionGenius’ “heads-up” display, which can combine vehicle condition and valuation information from top industry sources, to evaluate and purchase wholesale vehicles instantly via live and online auctions.
In addition to EDGE Pipeline's network of independent auctions, AuctionGenius integrates with the nation’s largest wholesale auction marketplaces, including Manheim, ADESA, SmartAuction and other independent auctions.
NCM Associates Inc. announced Monday that it has launched a new Chrysler Dealer 20 Group.
The company, which says it created the 20 Group peer-collaboration model in 1947, said the newly formed group, the Chrysler Performance 20 Group, held its inaugural meeting last month after forming from the principals of several Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram dealerships who had previously approached NCM with interest.
The first meeting, which was held May 18-19, hosted the member dealers and general managers at their first NCM Chrysler Performance 20 Group meeting led by NCM executive conference moderators Kevin Cunningham and Robert Neuman.
“We are humbled by our clients’ willingness to put in the time and effort to improve their dealership performance and the trust they have in NCM to help them succeed,” said Paul Faletti Jr., NCM’s president and chief executive officer. “Our clients rely on us to provide the best 20 Group experience possible, and thanks to a deep bench of experienced retail automotive experts and a great support team behind all our groups, we’re able to help them achieve their performance improvement goals.”
Neuman, who has 32 years of automotive experience, will lead the new group as moderator.
“Given Robert’s extensive automotive background, he is well positioned to add value and ensure a unique 20 Group experience to this Chrysler group as well as his other groups,” said Trevor Robinson, NCM’s director of retail solutions. “NCM is excited to have professionals of his caliber on our team.”
For more information on the company’s 20 Groups, visit its site here.
Officials from vAuto announced on Tuesday that vAuto Genius Labs and the Whann Technology Group (WTG) completed an integration to help dealers acquire the wholesale used vehicles they need to fill inventory gaps.
The companies highlighted the integration can allow dealers to research and purchase vehicles more efficiently from independent auctions on the WTG Simulcast platform.
The WTG Simulcast platform encompasses 120 independent auctions across the country, providing wholesale buyers with remote access, remote bidding, streaming audio and video for each auction lane.
The integration can give wholesale buyers on the WTG Simulcast platform instant access to AuctionGenius’ “heads-up” display, which can seamlessly provide vehicle history reports, vehicle condition information and the latest valuation information to help buyers make informed purchase decisions.
“Strengthening our relationship with Whann Technology Group will empower our shared dealer clients to expand their reach into independent auctions and source the vehicles they need for their inventories more effectively,” said Randy Kobat, vice president and general manager at vAuto.
Through this partnership, dealers can efficiently research and bid on vehicles from some of the nation’s leading independent auction groups, including Alliance Auto Auction, Brasher’s Auto Auction and Dealer’s Auto Auction and locations such as Columbus Fair Auto Auction and Greensboro Auto Auction.
“We’re delighted to expand our integration with AuctionGenius to include all auctions that are part of our Simulcast network,” Whann Technology Group president Keith Whann said. “We both share the same goal of helping our dealer partners become more effective and profitable used vehicle retailers.”
In addition to WTG Simulcast’s auction network, AuctionGenius integrates with the nation’s largest wholesale auction marketplaces, including Manheim, ADESA, SmartAuction and other independent auctions.
Auto/Mate Dealership Systems announced Monday that Lead Information Systems has integrated its customer relations management and Internet lead management software with the former’s dealership management system.
Dealers who utilize the systems from both companies will benefit from seamless correspondence between the solutions.
“We are proud to add LIS to our Open/Mate partners list so we can better service our dealers and offer them more choices,” said Mike Esposito, AutoMate’s president and chief executive officer. “The Open/Mate program is based on open standards and offers third-party vendors an easy and inexpensive solution to integrate with our DMS.”
Ernie Boch Jr., the chief executive officer and president of LIS and Subaru of New England, believes his lead management system offers a cost-effective alternative.
“LIS developed its system to ensure a simple yet comprehensive interface, giving dealerships the customer accuracy and insights needed on a daily basis,” Boch said.
All data now entered into the LIS lead management system is instantly updated in Auto/Mate’s DMS and vice versa.
For more information on Auto/Mate, visit their website.
The National Independent Automobile Dealers Association announced recently that it has added ELEAD1ONE as a Bronze-level National Corporate Partner.
Scott Lilja, the senior vice president of member services at NIADA, believes that ELEAD1ONE personifies the criteria of the “leading-edge, highest quality and best-in-class” organizations that the NIADA chooses to partner with and recommend to its members.
“ELEAD1ONE’s industry leadership in the automotive retail CRM, digital and mobile marketing segments provides our independent auto dealer members access to best-in-class sales/marketing resources to enhance high quality customer traffic, corresponding sales and profitability, along with long-term customer loyalty,” Lilja said.
The company has been in the dealership software and customer retention strategy game for over 30 years. Today, they have over 7,000 automotive retail and powersport clients.
“As the industry and consumer shopping behaviors continue to evolve, it is more important than ever that independent retailers have the right tools needed to capitalize on every opportunity, as well as make quick and better business decisions,” said Bill Wittenmyer, partner of ELEAD1ONE. “ELEAD1ONE is committed to providing these dealers the same quality software, reporting, training and support that franchised dealers have come to rely on and expect. It is an immense honor to partner with a prestigious organization that, for decades, has shown so much dedication to the used motor vehicle industry.”
Lenovo Discounts for NIADA Members
The NIADA also announced recently that technology product provider Lenovo is offering various discounts on its products for NIADA members as one of the association’s new National Member Benefit partners.
NIADA members can save up to 25 percent on select Lenovo products and also benefit from free ground shipping on all web orders. More information about these offers can be found here.
Dominion Dealer Solutions announced that Dominion ACCESS, its dealer management system, is now an approved integration partner of Nissan’s Dealer Business System.
Nissan’s new system integrates the Dominion ACCESS DMS with real-time, secure communications across several of a dealer’s departments and is available to Nissan and Infiniti dealerships nationwide.
“Completing the integration between Dominion ACCESS and Nissan DBS provides another cost-effective DMS solution for Nissan and Infiniti dealerships,” said Van Koppersmith, the company's president of Dominion DMS. “We are especially excited to offer Infiniti dealerships an alternative to the Infiniti*Net system, allowing one DMS to be used at all dealerships within a dealer group. These manufacturer integrations add to the expanding list of OEM communications options available from Dominion Dealer Solutions.”
Through the DMS, Nissan dealers can utilize several integration points in real time, including the following according to the company: vehicle inventory updates, retail delivery reporting, financial statement submission, warranty credit postings, service campaign inquiries, parts master updates, warranty submissions, vehicle service history, and parts ordering and returns.
“I’m really excited that Dominion ACCESS has become certified with Nissan,” said Joe Munson, the chief financial officer of Bradley Management. “We have been implementing a workaround at our Hubler Nissan store for quite some time and now look forward to the efficiency of working directly through Dominion ACCESS.”
More information about Dominion Dealer Solutions and their offerings can be found here.
