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Inaccurate and inconsistent vehicle information contained in as many as 300 disparate dealership systems is stifling growth, creating inefficiencies, and leaving dealer groups open to non-compliance irregularities.
Autofinity’s CEO Andy Whitehair said: “The multiple systems in the dealer’s eco system have specific purposes and tasks to fulfil but are not compatible and nor are they set up to collate rich data on each vehicle.
“One of the dealer groups we are talking to has undertaken a systems audit across its 35-strong dealership group representing six brands and they have found in some of their businesses, as many as 300 systems are in use. It could well include applications like Outlook, but even so, that’s a phenomenal amount of information sitting in systems, which invariably don’t talk to each other.”
Autofinity reported that because of staff having to input data manually into the variety of systems in operation, vehicle information such as price and spec is mis-keyed which, if finance quotation software is in use on online marketing channels, can see dealer groups fall foul of Financial Conduct Authority regulations.
Meanwhile, often inadvertently, the business becomes reliant upon individual experts who have developed a deeper understanding of one particular system, which is dangerous when they leave the business.