HOW NEXT GENERATION DMS SYSTEMS CAN HELP YOU MEET THE DEMANDS OF TOMORROW’S CUSTOMERS
Without it, the modern dealership just wouldn’t function. Whether it’s managing accounts, performing payroll functions, tracking customer deals, coordinating appointments, managing leads and prospects, sending follow up or reminder notices or notifying customers of special promotions, the Dealer Management System can do it all. And yet many stores and their staff are often not aware of its true capabilities nor how to effectively use them. The situation has been exacerbated in recent years, not only by the rapid advancement in technology but perhaps even more so, by the ever increasing expectations demanded by dealership customers.
And as Generation Y becomes an ever bigger part of a dealership’s client base, those expectations are expected to continually grow, if not accelerate.
For DMS providers, time has hardly been standing still. Within the last decade there have been a growing number of innovations, driven by the need to provide quality and cost-effective solutions for dealers.
At SERTI Information Systems — recognized as one of the fastest growing DMS providers in Canada, that’s driven the need to constantly innovate and work closely with its dealer clients to help them deliver the optimal experience for each store’s customers. Nino Malka, National Sales Manager at SERTI, says that purchasing or switching DMS providers is a huge undertaking and can prove very stressful. “There is a lot to consider,” says Malka “and we take the process very seriously.” To help ensure the process goes as smoothly as possible SERTI provides thorough migration of data along with guided installations performed by experienced technicians. It also places a very strong emphasis on comprehensive training programs, tailored to each store in order to help staff get the most out of using the DMS system.
Aristo, from PBS is one of a new breed of DMS systems
McNeill says that in order for dealers to really get a grasp of what their DMS can do for them, it’s important to understand what the store’s customer experience really entails. “You want to be in a position where you have an effective system to manage that experience, is simple to use for dealership staff, provides the tools to operate the business profitably and incorporates the flexibility for change.”
And for PBS, these were key considerations when it began developing its next generation system, Aristo, back in 2005. “With Aristo, we took the step of focusing on the dealership’s customers, taking them into consideration when we designed the system.”
McNeill says that today, the ability to change and adapt is absolutely critical for a DMS platform. “It needs to be able to move with the store. There are many outside influences that dictate change and you have to be able to respond.” McNeill cites some areas prone to frequent change are the way that stores handle customer information, track service ROs or order parts.
Ensuring a smooth process
With higher customer demands and greater competition among auto brands at the retail level than ever before, there’s increasing pressure on dealers to meet these needs and to ensure that a store’s DMS is able to provide smooth operation across all facets of dealer operations. As a result slick integration between departments as well as third-party providers is absolutely critical.
For Reynolds and Reynolds, this was a fundamental consideration when developing its next generation Retail Management System, using the ERA-IGNITE platform.
Tom Schwartz, Director, Corporate Communications at Reynolds and Reynolds, says the company was already well down the path of developing its next-generation system before the Great Recession in 2008-09, though the economic slump had the effect of amplifying the need to bring it to market. “With fewer dealerships and fewer staff, there really was a push for greater productivity and efficiency to meet the demands of today’s customer retail experience.”
And going hand in hand with that was a need to build a system that was seamless in the way it operated, taking the concept of DMS integration to an entirely different level. “In our industry today, integration is perhaps an overused term,” says Ian Reilly, Vice-President of Sales, Reynolds and Reynolds Canada.
Reilly says that when looking at their DMS needs and the concept of integration, dealers need to ask themselves which approach works best, blending different tools together to try and achieve the desired outcome, or focusing on a single tool that holistically does everything you want it to do. “It’s easy to be seduced by the shiny new widget that does certain things,” says Reilly, “fall in love with it and then trying to force that widget into other things.”
He says that Apple’s approach to technology, although well-documented, is still a very effective benchmark. “Whether its iTunes or an iPad, everything works well together, it’s seamless.”
When it came to ERA-IGNITE, rather than wrap a Windows interface around the old ERA platform, the choice was taken to build an entirely new architecture, right from the ground up. This had the added benefit of integrating functions that weren’t previously possible, such as Retail Management Intelligence (RMI). “What we’ve done, is taken all the reporting within our tool and centralized into one specific area,” says Tom Schwartz. “It now provides the flexibility to slice and dice the data at a level we couldn’t do before.”
Other built-in features such as Computer Assisted Instruction, provide an easier process for dealership staff to learn the functionality of the new Retail Management System, improving utilization and helping the store achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction.
Training and feedback
Effective training not only serves to drive DMS utilization it also provides valuable feedback when it comes to enhancing system functionality. At SERTI, Nino Malka says that a good deal of innovation is the direct result of feedback and use of the system among dealership personnel in the field.
PBS places a strong emphasis on training, not only on-site at dealerships, but also by hosting workshops as well as an annual conference that’s unique to the industry. Additionally via PBS University, dealership staff can go online and take courses that provide both a thorough understanding of the capabilities of the system and also how to effectively communicate with their customers. “It’s important to understand that your DMS is an ongoing investment, both in terms of people and technology,” says Lynn McNeill. “It’s also part of our commitment to our customers.”
SERTI’s Nino Malka concurs. “While we understand the need to innovate, we remain open to the needs of our dealer customers who want to ensure they continually strive for greater productivity on a day to day basis,” he says.
One size doesn’t fit all
The “needs” is a key point. Even today, dealerships tend to have a unique way of operating, reflected in their processes and culture, whether they’re single point stores or part of a group. And that’s an important consideration from a DMS perspective. Because one store might find a particular approach works well, the same might not be true for another. This applies not only to the DMS system itself and those who use it but how it operates, such as via an in-store server, or cloud-based network.
SERTI’s Nino Malka says there are both pros and cons to cloud-based servers. “The benefits include no server maintenance, plus the software is always up-to-date,” he says. However, the downside is that because the data is stored off-site at a remote location, gaining access to it is not always easy. “Dealers need to make sure clear procedures are established with their service providers so stores can access their critical data when they need it.” Malka also notes that long term costs can also be greater than on-site servers due to the communication infrastructure required.
Lynn McNeill, notes that even today, Internet connectivity can pose a problem for cloud-based networks, particularly in more remote areas of the country, such as Northern Alberta and Northern Ontario. “If you’re in a situation where you lose communication with your OEM for an hour or two, if you have a server in-house, you’re still able to generate parts and service invoices,” he says.
McNeill notes that where cloud-based software really comes into play is for dealer groups with multiple stores. “Let’s say you’re a multiple brand dealer, with perhaps a Honda and a Chrysler store. Running the DMS software as a group, where you can share information is where the cloud can really be effective.” For those that choose to go this route, PBS offers special software to handle scenarios where databases can be copied back and forth across two different servers to make sure dealerships are able to stay in tune with each other, while minimizing the impact any Internet connectivity problems have on in-store operations.
Both McNeill and SERTI’s Malka see the trend in adopting cloud-based systems as a growing one among dealer groups but at the end of the day note that dealers themselves need to understand what their own requirements are. “You have to take the time to try and understand what you want to accomplish,” says McNeill “and which is the best way to do it.”
The concierge approach
Often, a challenge for many stores, is being able to harness the capability of their DMS to deliver that true “concierge” experience that today’s auto retail customer demands. And with Generation Y becoming an ever more important part of a dealership’s client base with each passing day, providing the tools and skills to do that is crucial.
For Reynolds and Reynolds, it’s integrated approach to the Retail Management System has resulted in technology such as RFID tags located in the service drive through, allowing dealership staff to know who each customer is and be fully prepared to receive them before that customer even gets out of their vehicle.
“It enables dealership staff to address customer needs immediately,” says Ian Reilly, “without requiring that deep dive into the system. It’s part and parcel of what the Retail Management System is today. If you think about ordering pizza, chances are the company knows exactly what your last order was. Why should the automotive retail experience be any different?”
