Dealers may improve operating efficiency, safeguard profits, and shorten selling time by using a few basic strategies and technologies. Before we begin, it’s critical to recognize that each vehicle dealer showroom is unique and so are the requirements. While all dealers sell automobiles, businesses establish their management styles in response to regional realities, local traditions, and consumer preferences.
Recon management software can be used to manage workflows and reduce repetitive tasks for vehicle dealers. Dealership Recon Software is designed to improve cycle time, transparency, vendor management, and revenue generation.
Here are some of the key benefits of recon management software for vehicle dealers:
- Clearly define the actions involved in recon suppliers or contractors.
Combining many providers into unclear phases makes it more difficult to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of both the individual provider and the system. Splitting each vendor, even duplicate vendors, into distinct phases (e.g., Mechanical Shop A, Mechanical Shop B, etc.) enables the GM and recon management to precisely define each vendor’s performance and time to completion. Now you have a system with quantifiable steps that can be enhanced incrementally.
- Organize your transportation via a single provider.
Increased vendor diversity results in increased price and service competition, but it also results in increased handoffs, which are the enemy of efficiency. One vendor should be trained to act as an extension of your organization. Include them early in your auction planning and provide them with access to your auction passwords and inventory management tools. These processes enable faster loading, skipping gates, and getting autos into your process’s in-transit stage with less waiting and fewer calls.
- Establish a “Recon Pack” to keep track of margins
As each vendor reconciles their expenses to this one account, the performance of each automobile in comparison to the average and margins become evident. If you want to take it further, request that your suppliers report to your best vendor as a process leader. After each month, a single check is made to the lead vendor to distribute shares to the other vendors. With the statistics in hand, you may speak more confidently to waiting consumers and even give vendor incentives for quicker response times.
- Designate a single service adviser to oversee internal recon.
Your field commander is in charge of the car’s flow during the internal recon process. It eliminates redundant hands, contradictory directions, and friction within your recon system. Optimizing recon procedures may be strenuous, and dealer operations might be all-hands-on-deck, but every ship needs a captain to chart the path. Appoint a single individual as your recon captain to ensure that your system operates as a cohesive one.
- Assign a group of technicians to serve as an internal service team.
As with a single service advisor, allocating one set of technicians eliminates the issue of whose responsibility it is to service an automobile. Less time spent assigning pick up and preparing it equals more time working on a lot with a profit margin preserved. Again, it may seem self-evident, yet the obvious decision of clearly defining who does what is neglected often.
- Assign a single lot manager/porter to both new and used vehicles.
Defined roles and duties aid in the efficient functioning of activities; as with the other categories outlined, identifying accountable lot supervisors and porters reduces the number of responsibility points and therefore increases efficiency. When managers and porters are assigned a specific area of responsibility, things move much more quickly, and you may begin to identify bottlenecks. Are you able to identify the trend?
- Develop a “Parts Estimate” to avoid internal bottlenecks.
Repair permissions may be delayed if components are unavailable promptly. Often, parts managers are swamped with service shops, part orders, and other responsibilities. By establishing this official step, management is notified of the open item. They will know how much time they have to do this work. Management will know it is necessary to supplement employees or reallocate resources. Finally, this phase eliminates a bottleneck for recon and fixed ops procedures.
Technology has advanced significantly with cloud computing, smartphone applications, Internet of Things trackers, and strong and massive database solutions. Our Simple Recon software is designed to assist dealerships in managing the whole recon process. Our software helps you in managing the recon process, including its flow, the time vehicles spend at each phase, the organization involved, the cost of components and workforce, alerting you to delays and inefficiencies, and even automating the whole process via the use of location data. Call us now for more details!