The Front-End Fundamentals:

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Pierce Ryan
6 years ago
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1 FFWP4 8 Keys to Driving a ale anufacture anagement oftware Trade/ell ade/ell er ell increase in Details Page (DP) views; and for cars with video, DP views jump 9%. Dealers in the study who practice dealers use tools from companies like Homeet, a and make real-time pricing adjustments. For ew car pricing, read on their market as software like vauto s ew car pricing tool. erchandise & arketing D A L alvage hop customer-centric descriptions for every listing. oid of a I financing options and warranties. any of these dealers use 204 Cox Automotive. All ights eserved. AutoTrader is a registered trademark of TPI Holdings Inc. used under exclusive license. 4_Q2_64 4_Q2_64_Front nd Fundamentals Overview_Brochure_Final.indd -3 9/5/4 2:20 P

2 8 Keys to Driving a ale. election ntil recently, dealers traditionally bought cars more or less based on budget and some canny yet experienced guesswork about what should sell in their market. The risk, of course, is that the golden gut can be unreliable, ultimately eliminating the dealer from contention. Today, the very best dealers are managing both their ew- and sed-selection process using vehicle inventory management tools to help them determine the vehicles that will best sell in their specific market. For sed car dealers, these tools provide real-time, local market supply-and-demand data to make better acquisition, appraisal, pricing and merchandising decisions. For ew car dealers, they combine live market data with incentive management. 2. Acquisition Process The best sed car dealers understand that if they re going to sell more cars, they need to have the right cars to sell in their market. They also understand that traditional acquisition methods can be slow and unpredictable. Instead, they ve turned to technology, process and dedicated specialists or teams to great effect. These acquisition specialists use technology, such as Trade-In arketplace, vauto and solutions provided by anheim to aid in meeting strategic and profitability goals, which take into account time to lot, reconditioning, marketing and pricing. 3. Transportation The era of waiting for a truck to be fully loaded before it hits the road is over because of its effect on holding costs. The best dealers pay for speed and reliability, actually tracking the time from when a vehicle is purchased to its delivery at the dealership. The acquisition specialist or team handles transportation, ensuring that reconditioning status, scheduling and parts are on hand once vehicles arrive at the dealership. To improve transportation efficiency, dealers are using national transportation sers, such as eady Auto Transport, with access to a vast network of carriers for door-to-door delivery. 4. econditioning Once a more leisurely aspect of the sales process, efficient reconditioning is critical to maximizing profit. Best practices for successful dealers today include a recon specialist or team whose responsibility is to move 85% of their vehicles through recon in less than 24 hours. What that entails is doing the majority of reconditioning work in-house, ensuring the most commonly used parts are always on hand and setting up a baseline cost without need for approval. ome dealers even offer consumers the option to choose what they want done beforehand, saving both the dealer and the consumer money.

3 FFWP4 8 Keys to Driving a ale anufacture anagement oftware Trade/ell ade/ell er ell increase in Details Page (DP) views; and for cars with video, DP views jump 9%. Dealers in the study who practice dealers use tools from companies like Homeet, a and make real-time pricing adjustments. For ew car pricing, read on their market as software like vauto s ew car pricing tool. erchandise & arketing D A L alvage hop customer-centric descriptions for every listing. oid of a I financing options and warranties. any of these dealers use 204 Cox Automotive. All ights eserved. AutoTrader is a registered trademark of TPI Holdings Inc. used under exclusive license. 4_Q2_64 4_Q2_64_Front nd Fundamentals Overview_Brochure_Final.indd -3 9/5/4 2:20 P

4 Front-nd Fundamentals Good Practices Better Practices Best Practices election The right inventory at the right price sed car manager leads vehicle selection management tool generally used management tool, store & market data used Disposal plan for trade vehicles ew car ordering is as strategic as sed car acquisition ew and/or used car managers responsible for product mix ew car ordering is as strategic as sed car acquisition management tool & market data used to set buy list trong understanding of vehicle specifics, including turn rate and market-day supply Acquisition Process How to buy, not just sell, cars ome traditional acquisition methods still used (trade-ins, curb purchases, ser lane opportunities) I check tool used prior to purchase ome non-traditional acquisition methods (e.g., We buy cars campaign, digital auctions, Trade-In arketplace) pecialized acquisition team (not sed car manager) acquires vehicles Follow-up process for desired vehicles (80 days) Acquisition & strategy managed by a team that focuses on profitability All acquisition methods used (traditional & non-traditional) Timeline for each phase of vehicle purchase (transport, reconditioning, marketing, pricing/adjustments, sale) Transportation The fastest destination to your dealership Transporters sourced via Internet election based on speed & cost Track & monitor speed to delivery Acquisition team secures transportation election based on speed, reliability, quality & cost peed to market monitored closely Pay-for-speed & reliability focused econditioning status, scheduling & parts ordered Avoids full-haul focus if it delays high-demand cars econditioning It s all in the details Often handled by sed car manager Technician selected because of quality & speed Centralized handling to help lower costs, improve speed & quality reconditioning manager handles Internal and customer pay rates are level-set Parts kits & other typical parts always on hand econ team reports to G, focuses on recon only ajority of recon done in-house 85% of cars through recon in <24 hours recon list provided (repairs made, sers updated, recalls handled) to consumers to choose what they want done pays management tool generally used ame price in all locations where the vehicle is listed ew car pricing based on manufacturer-supplied & third-party website information Demand-based pricing tool used Infrastructure to change pricing to hit strategic turn levels specialist reports to general manager Priced to sell rather than negotiate tool used to make real-time pricing adjustments anufacturer & third-party sites used to price ew vehicles very image sells your story inimum number of photos (9 2) Photos taken in-house by staff or intern ome video used professionally staged on a neutral backdrop ore photos & angles (<24), including imperfections Photos & video uploaded quickly Photos uploaded to various sites before vehicle arrives at dealership p to 45 images, including imperfections, close-ups & details ideo with vehicle virtual walk-around, YouTube placement Leverage in-house merchandising facilities Tell them what will sell them ileage & condition Boilerplate copy I explosion plus brief info Consumer-centric language (how features fit lifestyle, etc.) nique features of vehicle explained Package features explained, no I explosion Customized content that appeals to lifestyle; vehicle history report Third-party validation (e.g., 204 otor Trend Car of the Year ) Certified, financing options, warranty Deliver the experience the customer expects Process to handle phone calls, chat, s & walk-ins Process to handle lot traffic Process for sourcing pecialists are well-trained & coached Ability to handle multiple traffic types (walk-ins, , etc.) Transparent business model (e.g., no-haggle pricing) Flexible sales process to provide customized customer experience One person handles entire transaction, including F&I ngages in all communications: text, , phone, chat, social Transparent business model (e.g., no-haggle pricing) Flexible sales process to provide customized customer experience Practices derived from qualitative analysis of the dealer community & high-performing dealers by AutoTrader.

5 FFWP4 8 Keys to Driving a ale anufacture anagement oftware Trade/ell ade/ell er ell increase in Details Page (DP) views; and for cars with video, DP views jump 9%. Dealers in the study who practice dealers use tools from companies like Homeet, a and make real-time pricing adjustments. For ew car pricing, read on their market as software like vauto s ew car pricing tool. erchandise & arketing D A L alvage hop customer-centric descriptions for every listing. oid of a I financing options and warranties. any of these dealers use 204 Cox Automotive. All ights eserved. AutoTrader is a registered trademark of TPI Holdings Inc. used under exclusive license. 4_Q2_64 4_Q2_64_Front nd Fundamentals Overview_Brochure_Final.indd -3 9/5/4 2:20 P

Game Changers Driving Wholesale Efficiency & Inventory Velocity

Game Changers Driving Wholesale Efficiency & Inventory Velocity Susie Heins VP, Enterprise Dealer Partnerships Cox Automotive Atlanta, GA 404-568-4278 susie.heins@coxautoinc.com 2 The views and opinions