CARMEL, Ind. -

ADESA said Tuesday morning it has launched ADESA Simulcast, which will replace its ADESA LiveBlock platform.

ADESA Simulcast, which is powered by Auction Frontier’s cloud-based auction simulcast solution Velocicast, is rolling out on ADESA.com, ADESA.ca and the auction company’s mobile app.

The ADESA Sacramento and ADESA East Tennessee auction locations have already transitioned from ADESA LiveBlock to ADESA Simulcast, with the rest of the company’s U.S. and Canadian auctions set to transition by the end of June.

“At ADESA, we are investing in a more seamless, efficient customer experience by accelerating the modernization of our simulcast marketplace and ADESA.com,” ADESA president John Hammer said in a news release.

“Our customers want more functionality and more intuitive features when participating in our online auctions,” Hammer said. “Working with Auction Frontier is not only helping us improve our customers’ online experience, but also that of customers in-lane, with enhanced displays showing condition reports and bidding activity of all lanes throughout the sale. This initiative is also providing other process efficiencies and helping enable our new VirtuaLane and multi-site sales.”

As Hammer shared, the changes go beyond a new name. In a phone interview, Hammer said customers may recognize the Velocicast product from other auctions that use it, which can make the transition a bit easier.

As far as changes they might notice, Hammer, said, “the first thing that comes to mind is that there’s an unlimited number of lanes that they can watch at the same time. So, as they’re trying to bid in multiple locations, it will be easier for them to do that. There was a restriction on the number before — just the capacity we had in our own system.”

Hammer also said the new ADESA Simulcast has greater “interactivity” between buyers and the actual lane.

For instance, there is a live chat feature.

“As a buyer has questions, they can chat with either the auctioneer or the block clerk as they’re working through the auctions,” he said. “So, a little better information, a little better look and feel as well as some tactical things like that — being able to connect with the auctioneers.”

Another interactivity feature is from the auction block side, as Hammer said the auctioneers and clerks have “much more useable” features, as well.

For example, the technology allows for the auctioneer to tell when the buyer has the mouse positioned over the bid button.

“As the auctioneer’s calling out the auctions, in the lanes they can see people that are working their bid, they can read body language,” Hammer said. “A little harder to do online. But if they see somebody hovering over the bid button, they can actually say, ‘Hey Joe, I see you hovering; click it one more time, you want this car.’ Engaging with the buyer.”

Asked what prompted the decision to transition to ADESA Simulcast, Hammer said: “Just a continuous upgrade of the user experience. And we could either continue to build it on our own or we could leverage something that we could see and knew our customers would really like.”

He also mentioned the various applications that ADESA has, like ADESA Marketplace and ADESA.com. Previously, buyers had to switch back and forth between those. LiveBlock was in a different app itself.

With the transition to ADESA Simulcast, everything is integrated and in one place, Hammer said.

LiveBlock Auctions International, a business unit of ADESA parent company KAR Auction Services, had provided the simulcast platform for ADESA.com.

The technology behind the ADESA Simulcast platform is powered by Roseville, Calif.-based Auction Frontier. Scott Suchomel is the company’s president.

“At Auction Frontier, we have made a real effort to understand this industry and the evolving needs of consignors, auctions and buyers and how they interact,” Suchomel said in a news release. “Making the customer’s business priorities core to our technology offerings helped us to quickly become the leading auction simulcast provider.

“Our partnership with ADESA is going to extend and accelerate our innovation in the simulcast space. With this partnership, we have totally revamped the in-lane experience for on-site buyers,” he said. “The next few years will be exciting while we continue to partner with ADESA to push the boundaries of the online buying experience.”