A new feature upgrade from The Next Rapid Recon is a no-charge enhancement to Rapid Recon's time-to-line reconditioning workflow software for current and new Rapid Recon users.

Called Vendor Advantage, it is part of the Next Rapid Recon user interface upgrade. With a vendor-only portal into their Rapid Recon workflow system, it connects dealers with all their vendors. Those vendors see and manage only the vehicles and assignments that the dealer assigned to them.

Vendor Advantage completes what the company describes as the accountability circle: All events affecting time-to-line, or T2L, have 360-degree accountability. Dealers control sublet performance. The company says that ensures proactive management that supports the dealership’s speed-to-sale objectives.

The company says Vendor Advantage also clarifies and expedites communications. Immediate workflow update and communication tools are placed into the vendors’ hands. Vendors access their dealers’ Rapid Recon workflow to synch work-in-progress status, communicate vehicle prioritization, and send estimates. Vendors, via mobile or desktop, can also enable two-way messaging about a specific vehicle.

Vendor Advantage can improve progress tracking. With integrated T2L, both parties can track and manage workflows to enhance cost control and vendor productivity.

Also, Vendor Advantage verifies vendor value. With integrated T2L, the used-car manager gains the necessary data to confirm vendor contribution to the dealership’s time-to-line objectives.

With Vendor Advantage, Rapid Recon users can add vendors with restricted access to Rapid Recon on desktop and mobile. That means vendors can manage, track and report work in progress, through completion. The company said that is like the process used by internal reconditioning.

In addition, with the Vendor Advantage product, Rapid Recon users can explicitly assign and notify vendors when work is available, even outside of steps. A dealer, with one click, can communicate to the recon team and vendors a vehicle’s priority in the vendor’s workflow. That can eliminate missed phone calls, texts, emails and other miscommunications.

With Vendor Advantage, Rapid Recon users can also:

• Receive notifications on pending approvals: Vendors know immediately when repair needs are approved. That can prevent false starts, delays and frustration.

• Receive updates when work is completed: The transfer of vehicles back into the internal recon flow is enabled, and that takes place without the delays that the company says can reduce time-to-line efficiency.

• Request and manage work estimates: That helps eliminate paperwork and estimate-tracking complications, and it helps expedite vendor payments.

• Hold the vendor accountable to the agreed price: Dealer approvals will lock in the approved repair price, which the company says eliminates unexpected invoices or additional charges. Vendor Advantage automatically moves the vehicle status to “Needs Approval” and immediately notifies the decision maker if other costs are requested.

• Message back and forth with vendors directly outside of notes: Vendor Advantage executes assignments and directions instantly, which the company says improves communications.

For dealers’ vendors, Vendor Advantage provides:

— Access to only the vehicles and work items assigned to that vendor. The company says that focus spotlights their workflow, including vehicle categories, completion priorities, quality control recheck and needs estimate communications and notes.

— Vendor and dealer accountability for obtaining estimate approvals. Vendor Advantage automatically updates both systems at the time an estimate is received, which the company says eliminates guesswork and downtime.

— Precise data, but the company says not too much data. Examples of the data are the vehicle image, stock number, VIN, vehicle description and Work Step. That can help eliminate clutter, distraction and details that do not need immediate attention, which can keep vendors working on priority units.

— Immediate and direct time and data stamp. The accountability and verification can result in elimination of guesswork and miscommunications.

Rapid Recon has more than 20,000 monthly users, and the company says it has data and dealership experts necessary to deliver benchmarking and best practices for improvement of vehicle reconditioning by design.