Is ‘Holding Back’ Really Saving You Money?
With an efficient reconditioning workflow, each individual who touches reconditioning — from the GM to the service director and used car manager — knows, at any time and in real-time, where every car is in the process. They have all the details at their fingertips and can instantly make decisions when necessary.
Leaning Into Leaner Times
Dealers who use T2L speed-to-sale methods to get cars sale ready in three to five days find that their efforts translate into a faster sale at higher margins with more inventory turns, whatever the market.
Inventory is a Waste
When fixed and variable operations can’t agree about where internal work fits into the dealership’s priorities, or when there’s delay in recommending and authorizing used car repairs, things grind to a halt. When there is no focus on reconditioning efficiency, there can be only one outcome: Cars can’t be sold.
How Are You Managing Your Speed to Sale?
This new standard is speed to sale, an all-embracing attitude geared to selling cars faster. Speed to sale starts with faster recon time to line (T2L).
Sell or Buy First?
Who knew that Aristotle, the philosopher from Greek antiquity, struggled with the same question used car managers do: Which comes first?
Process Insanity Wrecks Used Car Profits
T2L disciplines should be the core metric by which you measure modern recon science. This metric will allow you to ask one simple but vital question: “Is my current system bolstering my used car profitability?”
Proactive Time-To-Line Makes Everyone’s Job Easier
The auto dealership reconditioning operation is, historically, a short-term reactive environment. Whether a phase of the work in progress is a tech performing repairs or a vendor detailing wheels — or any of the many recon tasks between — each is siloed from his or her teammates. They are focused on the vehicle in front of them.
The Time to Line Recon Money Maker Explained
Consider two typical dealership reconditioning operations processing 100 cars a month. One transforms cars using the time-to-line (T2L) recon profit model while the other relies on whiteboards to track each vehicle’s progress. Financially, the difference in incremental gross between the two is $300 per car.
Gross is Hiding in Plain Sight
It is surprisingly easy for gross to be hiding in plain sight at any dealership, but a quick holding cost calculation can identify the magnitude of the profit not being realized compared to the direct benefits, which in turn makes a compelling case for proactive attention to your time to line.
Tools for Managing Your Financial Portfolio
How’s your financial portfolio performing these days? How would you know unless you have access to detailed reports illuminating for you each fund’s performance? Don’t you want to know how your investments are doing overall as well as compared to the market?
