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April 19th, 2011 | No Comments | |
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ALG, a DealerTrack company, will be hosting a webinar focusing on the U.S. Auto Industry Outlook and 2011 Residual Trends. Topics to be discussed include fuel prices, housing forecast, wage growth, and the used supply/wholesale market outlook, residual trends and ALG metrics.
Date: Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT
Click here to register.
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February 7th, 2011 | No Comments | |
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October 5th, 2010 | 1 Comment | |
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DealerTrack AAX and Chrome Systems executives to lead innovative sessions at Digital Dealer Conference
Going to the 9th Digital Dealer Conference this year? Be sure to stop by the DealerTrack booth and see what’s new. Also, be sure to catch our sessions on best practices for used vehicle inventory management and e-commerce.
The following sessions will be led by DealerTrack and Chrome Systems executives:
For more information and a complete conference agenda, please visit http://www.digitaldealerconference.com/.
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August 19th, 2010 | No Comments | |
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Every dealer struggles with this question: how do I turn my inventory quickly and profitably? The short answer: have a plan. While that may sound deceptively simple, it is the key to inventory management. When you don’t have a plan you leave yourself vulnerable to snap decisions that could hurt your bottom line. Consider this scenario: you’ve got a particular vehicle/make/model that you have sold multiple times for $22,000, but looking around on the Internet you see other dealers in your area are listing it for $19,000. What do you do?
A dealer without a plan drops the price immediately to get the quick sale. After all, you don’t want to be the guy who’s out of line with the market. But wait, you’ve had multiple sales on this same make/model and made $3,000 more than what others are listing it for. Are you really going to cut it loose for $19,000 because everybody else does? No. The key is tracking your sales and paying attention. If you have a plan and you know this vehicle is a high performer, has done well for you, you can stand firm on your price. How many times have you said, “I can’t give one of these away” or “every time I have one of these, I get full list?” Don’t just say it, track it!
Never give a vehicle away upfront. That’s how you hurt your profitability. The secret to fast and profitable turns is to have a plan. What if you have a vehicle that you’ve never tried before and it doesn’t sell at that $22,000 mark? If you have a plan you know what to do. Initially price the vehicle like similar high gross vehicles you’ve sold before. If it doesn’t sell, lower the price after 10 days. Still no sale or no ups, lower it again on day 15. After 30 days, get that vehicle off your lot. Take it to auction and use the money to buy a vehicle you know works.
Having a plan will safeguard you against making snap pricing decisions and boost your profitability.
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July 23rd, 2010 | 5 Comments | |
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Buying decisions at the auctions are commonly based upon a swift inspection of the vehicle, a reference to printed guidebooks and then reliance on back-end support to decipher a VIN and provide vehicle history.
Using mobile appraising technology, a VIN can be scanned and decoded right at the vehicle using an iPhone, Android device or hand-held scanner. All the critical vehicle information you need to make the best buying decision pops up on the screen. Within seconds you can be reviewing Manheim Market Report (MMR) information, electronic guidebooks, and vehicle history information. All from one screen, and all at the vehicle.
To capitalize on the benefits of using mobile technology, you need to have a robust business strategy in place, and buy vehicles that support that strategy. At auction it’s easy to get caught up in the hype of what is hot in the market, and buy vehicles your dealership can’t move. As a result, you end up sacrificing gross and retail sales. Putting a strategy in place first, and backing that up with relevant and current data, will drive smarter in-the-lane buying decisions. Armed with a solid buying plan, and mobile technology, you can revolutionize your auction performance.
It is important to emphasize that mobile capabilities are an enhancement to a robust inventory management strategy and solution. Mobile facilitates better buying; it doesn’t tell you what to buy. Coupled with the right inventory management system using mobile technology can help streamline the process of buying the right vehicles for your dealership or dealer group. A inventory management system will help you identify your core vehicles, those vehicles that turn fastest for higher gross. It should also give insight into your market, what is selling around you and the average gross of those sales. And it should help you put a plan in place for every vehicle at time of acquisition. This key intelligence will drive your business strategy and a buying process that supports that strategy.
Mobile appraisal technology has the potential to streamline the way you buy used vehicles. Now you can take technology to the vehicle, where it does the most good. But, mobile rounds-out an inventory management system and strategy, it does not replace it. Once you know your vehicle “winners” and what to stock, mobile technology can facilitate a faster, more accurate and more flexible appraisal process to drive down costs, increase accuracy and expedite deals.
