Why is RBM of Atlanta implementing MyDealerLot? What do you hope to
accomplish with the technology? MyDealerLot is one of those products that benefits the dealership at multiple
levels. For management, it is a great inventory tracking tool. With its integration with
our data management software (DMS) – RBM of Atlanta uses ADP – we can
track a vehicle from the time it is released to us by the vehicle manufacturer, its
location on our lot, how often it has moved (and with integrated key control, who
moved it) and, very importantly, if it is not on our lot. Additionally, we get some
great reporting tools that I will address in question 6. For the sales consultants, it allows them to quickly locate a vehicle on our lot.
With so many models, colors, options, etc., MyDealerLot allows a sales
consultant to quickly drill down – with a few clicks of a mouse – through our
inventory, find the vehicle that matches the customer’s specifications and know
where to find it on an 8 acre site. Compared to most current system, this not only
enhances the customer’s perception of the sales consultant’s professionalism it
also enhances the consultant’s confidence. It can make a big difference. For the service department, its integration with a key control system saves time
(and money) by allowing the technician to quickly locate the vehicle on the lot
and initiate vehicle prep or maintenance.
How do you all currently manage inventory and locate automobiles on your lot? At our current Mercedes-Benz dealer in Atlanta, we download our vehicle
inventories into Symbol PDAs with barcode readers that have a custom Smart
Device application. We walk the lot (11 acres at that site) and scan each vehicle,
noting its location. After completing the lot check we upload the data from the
PDAs into a SQL database and run discrepancy reports from an ASP.Net
application. It is accurate but labor intensive.
If I remember correctly, I understand you are pretty familiar with RFID and had
been investigating it for some time. Why is RFID an appealing technology for car
dealerships? There are two main areas of convergence where I see real opportunity car
dealers to utilize RFID technology: inventory control and customer service.
Car dealers, especially luxury dealers have a substantial investment in
inventories – vehicles and parts being the largest. The best dealers are
constantly searching for improved methods to locate and monitor their
inventories. MyDealerLot, provides excellent tools that improve upon our current
system for vehicle inventory control. (Some of the tools are addressed in question
6). RFID parts inventory tracking at the dealership level, while available, is still
in the early stages. We are monitoring emerging systems that may be cost
effective at the dealership level.
The second is customer service. As an example, we could replace our current
barcode based system on loaner cars with RFID embedded tags that register the
return of the car as it enters our property. The alert that we send to the cashier
and service team to get ready for Ms. Bacheldor’s arrival (say, pull your car
around and pre-print your invoice) would be that much quicker and the loaner
car team could greet you by name as you step out of the car. Little things, but
important to a Mercedes-Benz client (and dealer).
I understand you will start with 250 autos tagged. How many ultimately do you
expect to tag? I hope a lot!! Most dealers try, on average, to maintain around a 60 day supply.
So inventory is based upon sales. We have high confidence that we will grow the
Mercedes-Benz brand in the North Metro Atlanta market and could reach much
higher sales numbers quite quickly. That, combined with looking for ways to
incorporate technology into other aspects of our business, like tracking our
loaner cars, should substantially increase the number of tagged vehicles. A long
way around to say that we hope we need to double our order in a short period of
time.
Where are the readers and/or exciters positioned? We have planned a total of 13 location receivers with 4 entrance-exit monitors
that will determine directional travel of vehicles in and out of the dealership. The
readers will be located on the corners of the lot attached to light posts and on the
building (non-penetrating) to provide the required vehicle triangulation.
What kinds of data/information will you be collecting and tracking (i.e., inventory,
sales, etc.)? We will be able to have a real time inventory picture 24 x 7 that will provide
vehicle status (incoming / on ground), configuration information, consumer
guide data, and location information. Additionally we will be able to perform
inventory counting by exception and have sales information associated with each
vehicle. We will also be able to have better visibility and accuracy of the
inventory’s aging data.
