Brian Benstock of Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura sees “a direct correlation” between profitability and the short amount of time available between acquisition of a vehicle and making that vehicle retail-ready.

Benstock, who is general manager and vice president of the dealerships, chose ReconVelocity, which says it brings technology and pit crew precision to the reconditioning process. The company describes that process as an overlooked area of opportunity and its founder says the product can “turn reconditioning into a profit generator.” 
 
“We're anticipating being able to reduce the amount of time it takes to get a car ready by 25%,” Benstock said in a news release. “That could add millions of dollars to the bottom line.”

ReconVelocity says it introduced its new product to fight what it describes as margin compression and workflow inefficiencies in the retail automotive industry. The company says it can help dealers get vehicles retail-ready faster and improve in-store communications.

ReconVelocity made its debut on Monday at the Digital Dealer Conference & Expo in Las Vegas and says more than 500 rooftops have already installed the system or are committed to using it.

ELEAD1ONE founder Hugh Hathcock said he developed the ReconVelocity product to address the margin challenges that dealers are currently experiencing.

The reconditioning process, he said, needs modernization.

“It’s significant profit hidden in plain sight,” he said. “For many, the ‘Recon Gap’ is a million dollar opportunity. Most dealerships don't have the technology to know their true retail-ready timeframe. With used vehicles becoming more critical to the profit of a dealership, this process needs new focus.”

Hathcock recognized that improving all areas of the business to deliver higher operating efficiencies — and applying innovation and automation to parts of the dealership operation that traditionally have been neglected — is a requirement of the next iteration of today’s dealership.

Described by the company as a historically cumbersome, manual process that lacks efficiency, automation and accuracy, the reconditioning process of vehicles for sale is an opportunity for dealers to capture unrealized profit quickly and easily, according to ReconVelocity.

Time-saving simplicity, with modern user interfaces designed for today, is one of the key features of the product, according to the company. Other features include:

• Mobile first, with flexibility to use the product anywhere, anytime on mobile phones, tablets and laptops
• “Insightful” tracking, with information from the moment of purchase or “trade to retail-ready, which the company says can prevent weak links from stealing profits
• Tracking of the exact location of vehicles at all times, with no more “lost” vehicles.
• Fast repairs, with the ability for ROs and recall notices to be assigned “with the press of a button.”
• High-touch service, with recon experts providing in-store training and support for the best results.  
• Centralized communication between all departments and rooftops.
• Reporting that allows dealers to use the dashboard and a mobile device to check the reconditioning pipeline status anywhere, anytime.
• Full integration with DMS and inventory solutions.