The newest accolade to be handed out during Used Car Week is going to an operation that’s been a publicly traded company for 25 years.

But one of the reasons Copart has been successful for that span is being able to develop technologies that serve all segments of its customer base. For that reason, Copart was chosen as Innovator of the Year, an honor sponsored by Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems.

“Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems is excited to recognize Copart as the winner of the Innovator of the Year Award,” said Terry Groves, senior vice president and co-founder of CARS. “Copart understands the needs of their clients and are constantly developing better ways to serve their customers with integrated and easy-to-use technology. 

“One such example is their proprietary VB3; an award-winning, patented online auction website that offers a two-stage bidding process for their global buyer base,” Groves continued. “With this platform, buyers can experience a user-friendly environment to bid on vehicles prior to the auction, as well as in real time. 

“In addition, Copart also serves sellers with the best-in-class technology solutions that help maximize returns,” Groves went on to say.

To get additional insight about VB3 and more, we asked Copart leadership about a variety of topics. Here is the recap of that exchange.

SubPrime Auto Finance News: Seems obvious, but how critical is VB3 to serve Copart’s commercial and consumer customers?

Copart: VB3 is such an essential part of our business. It’s more than just the third generation of Copart’s virtual bidding technology — it’s our proprietary live platform that powers our online auto auctions. VB3 is the tool that helps our buyers bid on vehicles both prior to the auction and in real time. So, you could say that it is the backbone of our business and a major reason we are leaders in the online auction industry.

SAFN: What are the most significant challenges Copart faces in ensuring VB3 functions as designed?

Copart: There are a lot of complex moving parts that handle the live bidding process, which is why Copart has a team of more than 700 IT professionals working hard every day to keep VB3 the best tool in the online auction space. Fortunately, our IT team has masterfully built VB3 to handle those complexities at an unmatchable scale. As for challenges, we’re always trying to improve and refine the software to make sure it’s not only up to date, but best in the business. We want to ensure the user experience is extremely convenient and easy.

SAFN: Based on what you allowed to share, how is Copart striving to develop new technologies to serve its customer bases?

Copart: While we can’t get into specifics, at Copart we believe in serving our sellers and buyers with the best technology possible, and part of that process involves staying ahead of industry trends, getting feedback from our customers, working on new technology and collaborating with each other. This is why our IT team is constantly working with our sales, marketing and operations teams to improve our current technology, and look toward the future as well. We understand our clients’ needs in order to serve them better with integrated and easy-to-use technologies.

SAFN: How crucial is having cutting-edge technology to keeping Copart as one of the leaders in an extremely competitive space?

Copart: For Copart and any other successful company, it is extremely important to not only use the best technology, but to also be industry leaders and innovators in that technology space. It’s no longer good enough to develop something great and then plateau. At Copart, we are passionate about developing a seamless experience through our outstanding technology such as VB3, as well as our seller and member mobile apps.