Reconditioning Software Creates Teamwork, Clear Communication & Trust for Your Dealership
What does reconditioning software promise to do for your dealership?
I’d like to believe that every dealer, GM and fixed ops director knows the answer to this question, but I am learning that a refresher might be in order.
Reconditioning software is not a PDR van that comes to your dealership. Nor is it a sublet recon center reconditioning your vehicles along with those of others. Nor is it solely a tracking tool for your cars.
Instead, your team controls dealership productivity using this software to bring organization out of chaos and into remarkable efficiency.
“The goal is to improve cash flow,” said Carlos Chaves, director of procurement, formerly reconditioning manager, for Tricolor Auto.
This software yields valuable benefits for any dealership employing it to modernize:
• It brings order out of chaos by organizing the workflow, accountability, tracking and communications of used car reconditioning, from acquisition to frontline in a few days, not weeks.
• It improves turn, reduces holding costs and captures consumers’ trust when the sales department uses your reconditioning investment to build trust and value into the used cars they’re shopping. It creates value in those vehicles to hold margin.
• It unites everyone with real-time communication, so everyone is on the same page, including lot people, detailers, vendors, buyers, the BDC, and the new and used sales departments.
“We call it hot potato reconditioning — no one wants to get caught holding up how fast you can get cars frontline ready to be sold,” said Jared Ricart, president of Ricart Automotive.
Yet even today, many dealers still consider reconditioning a necessary “expense.” They believe the size of their operation is too small to realize benefits and market advantages from investment in reconditioning software. Many still attempt to improve their time-to-line and turn by using paper tracking methods.
I encourage these owner-operators to consider again the track record reported by dealers of their size using this software for measurable gain to the operation. For instance, the reconditioning and cost data this dealership software can collect and compile is the essential buying-consideration detail to make the process transparent and more comfortable for you and your sales team. Recent studies show that consumer-facing details like this, particularly about the recon investment you put into your used cars, are among the most sought-after information a dealership can provide its customers.
“Our recon software gives us great information to analyze and measure efficiencies,” Ricart added. “There is no outrunning what the data tell you, and it brings everyone in the store together, working toward a common goal. That’s unstoppable.”
Dan Kommeth, sales director for the Kenwood Dealer Group, agreed. “Everyone wants to know where they stand. This data is a financial statement for reconditioning,” he said.
When looking for a software-driven vehicle reconditioning partner, look for one that employs highly qualified customer-facing individuals with considerable in-dealership management, service, inventory and IT backgrounds; and one that offers speed of response to customer requests and problem-solving.
Dealership software emboldens vehicle reconditioning, so recon can be the engine room that drives benefits and profitability throughout a store, from fixed to variable operations to increase customer engagement.
