Motoring News

Car dealers looking to boost their financial position have been told that they may want to cut back on the number of software systems that they are currently running.

Pinewood has indicated that many dealers opted to use software systems in the past as a way of managing their sales diaries and customer relations, according to Fleet Directory.

However, many dealers opted to use standalone data management systems (DMS), alongside manufacturer IT.

But with times changing, new technology sees the DMS and manufacturer IT run more smoothly together and dealers would be better off making the switch to prevent unnecessary cost and complication, it has been suggested

The publication reveals that Neville Briggs, managing director at Pinewood, said: "The main issue is that these standalone systems can’t communicate with other dealer IT, so it is not unusual to find two or three databases being run side by side that cover the same information.

"This creates a lot of unnecessary work such as rekeying."

He added that the new developments mean that dealers do not need to run high quantities of software, which will help reduce both their software and hardware bills, while also preventing work from being unnecessarily duplicated.

"The better DMS and manufacturer IT systems have now plugged the holes in the capabilities that allowed the market for these standalone systems to emerge," Mr Briggs explained.

Meanwhile, car dealers may also want to spend some time ensuring that the information held on their databases is accurate in case they may need to get back in touch with customers they have built a relationship with in the past.

Information provider HPI has revealed that a quarter of the contact details held by dealers are wrong, meaning that they could lose out on some potential sales.