Thanks to the ongoing chip shortage and lingering economic effects of the pandemic, all signs are pointing to used vehicle demand remaining sky high through at least the first few months of 2022.

For automotive retailers, this is mixed news. On the one hand, the combination of surging demand and price increases has led to some record-breaking profit margins short term. In that sense, more of the same might not seem like such a bad thing.

On the other hand, everyone knows this is not a sustainable long-term model. At some point, new inventory will return to reasonable levels, and the market will return to some sort of equilibrium. When that happens, what will really matter is what permanent improvements dealers made — to technology, to dealership processes, to how they approach selling and servicing vehicles — when COVID was at its peak.

In fact, there’s actually a way this mindset of continuous improvement with a focus on process efficiency can help dealers capture more profit right now. It goes back to that unique, once-in-a-generation profit opportunity with used vehicles I just mentioned.

Inefficient Vehicle Movements Add Days to Cycle Times

Consider the current status quo in the majority of dealerships: Dealers can waste a lot of time trying to hire a porter (at an exorbitant rate) to move a vehicle from the dealership or auction to the reconditioning facility and back.

Then, because the typical reconditioning process is not automated and has no centralized oversight, process inefficiencies can slow a vehicle’s progress down even more. By the time it’s all said and done, dealers are often looking at a frontline ready time of two weeks.

Granted, fixing the recon aspect of this process is a separate issue, but the fact remains that inefficient vehicle movements play a huge role in slowing down overall cycle times. One might think that dealership employees are the obvious, cheaper alternative to hiring drivers, but this ultimately takes resources away from other, more profitable work at the dealership, costing dealers more in other areas.

The fact remains that inefficient vehicle movements play a huge role in slowing down overall cycle times.

It’s also worth noting that this isn’t the only place where slow vehicle transportation times can eat directly into dealers’ bottom line. Think of all the vehicles sitting at ports waiting for parts. When those parts finally do come, the question of vehicle movement efficiency arises again: How will all those cars get to dealers quickly? Every extra day it takes for a vehicle to reach the lot is a day that a little more profit goes out the window.

Ultimately, the questions in each of these cases boils down to: How can dealers move vehicles in a way that doesn’t add time to the retailing process? How do they solve for a lack of available, qualified drivers to execute skilled transportation jobs and shave days off cycle times?

As with so many problems stemming from process inefficiency, there are solutions designed specifically to solve this for dealers — and help them realize more profit on every vehicle.

In this case, that means a solution that provides access to a network of vetted, always available driving professionals who can help move vehicles. These insured contract drivers can eliminate wasted time from the retailing process and keep vehicles moving from one destination to the next — all while dealers leverage a digital solution that gives them greater control over when, where, and how their vehicles are moving.

In every aspect of automotive retailing, inefficiency is the enemy of profit, and vehicle movement is no different.

The time to capitalize on record-breaking profit margins is now. Commit today to implement a solution that will streamline vehicle movements, get inventory to the lot faster and help you move vehicles smarter.