IRVINE, Calif. -

Finding a used vehicle that’s ripe for healthy gross and a satisfied dealership customer is as challenging as ever, especially given the current landscape of wholesale prices and supply.

So, Cox Automotive strengthened one of its crucial tools dealerships can use to build their inventories without having to depend on the wholesale market completely.

The company launched optimizations for Kelley Blue Book Instant Cash Offer to boost the consumer matching process with additional filters to help dealerships tackle today’s inventory challenges.

Officials explained the latest Instant Cash Offer enhancements leverage data and insights across the Cox Automotive ecosystem to route prospective customers more precisely. They’re designed to enrich offer quality for dealerships looking to acquire more of the vehicle they need for their lots to maximize profits while continuing to improve the Instant Cash Offer experience for consumers with a redeemable cash offer that allows customers ready to sell their vehicle to drive away with confidence.

 “The enhancements we’ve delivered in consumer matching, coupled with our recent product innovations are all designed to improve the consumer experience, provide an even more targeted approach to consumer offers and help dealers make the most of every acquisition opportunity,” said Randy Kobat, vice president of operations for inventory management solutions at Cox Automotive.

“These enhancements are also helping drive higher transaction rates for Instant Cash Offer dealerships, so they can acquire more cars,” Kobat continued in a news release.

The latest product innovations are meant to streamline the process in three ways:

• Closing the distance gap to help close more deals: Kelley Blue Book Instant Cash Offer has shortened the physical distance between dealerships and interested prospects by 30%, providing a competitive advantage over other dealerships and delivering a more convenient process for consumers.

• Attracting more vehicles: Advanced replacement vehicle matching not only pairs dealerships with consumers that have the vehicles dealerships want but also with those shopping for vehicles the dealerships already have, increasing the Kelley Blue Book Instant Cash Offer transaction rate by 21%.

• Intelligence to identify transaction-ready opportunities: Additional consumer insights from across Cox Automotive data sources let dealers know which consumers are ready to transact to increase operational efficiency when acquiring the vehicles needed most. Kelley Blue Book Instant Cash Offers with Buying Signals have a transaction completion rate 19% better than those without Buying Signals, while consumers using Kelley Blue Book Appointment Requests are twice as likely to transact at an Instant Cash Offer dealership than those without an appointment request.

Cox Automotive said consumers can receive an offer even faster, which can directly impact consumer satisfaction and increase offer volume for the dealership.

The company went on to say that additional product features such the ability for consumers to upload up to six images of their vehicle, scan their vehicle’s VIN to reduce errors, request an appointment directly from the offer certificate, and provide condition information without requiring the customer or vehicle to be at the dealerships are investments in a better consumer experience.

Kelley Blue Book also simplified Instant Cash Offer packages for both new and existing customers with two selections:

• Expert Appraisal: Source inventory from anywhere in the dealership (showroom, service lanes, the dealership website), plus provides a myriad of support services including 90-day staff implementation and training support, full dealer admin tool functionality, liquidation of dealer inventory, Google Analytics, performance management, the ability for consumers to upload photos, Instant Cash Offer Buying Signals on offers submitted through dealer’s website and the option for consumers to make an appointment request.

• Buying center: Cox Automotive said this is the complete package for dealerships wanting to maximize inventory acquisition opportunities within their dealership, as well as connect with consumers ready to sell their current vehicle on trusted Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader sites.

Buying Center includes all the features of the Expert Appraisal package, plus the option to purchase Instant Cash Offer Buying Signals for offers submitted through Autotrader and KBB.com for optimal routing and acquisition efficiency.

To learn more about Kelley Blue Book Instant Cash Offer, visit http://b2b.kbb.com/ICO.