Car manufacturers, that’s who; mainly for control purposes. In Europe, before the Block Exemption Regulation, automotive manufacturers used to force dealerships to use a DMS. This way, the car manufacturer could control the sales and purchases of the dealers, and decide to increase or decrease quotas for them. It also helped them determine the optimal quantities to produce, which could vary by season, by model, and even by region. Most major car manufacturers would not allow their dealers to sell other brands at the same site.
Another reason for using a DMS was so manufacturers could control the quality of the services provided by the dealers—making sure they only used genuine spare parts and that they followed the work procedures defined for specific processes. A unique system for all dealers would also provide them with the right tools to be efficient in their relationship with the car manufacturer (e.g., spare parts ordering tools, warranty management, vehicle repair history).
Dealers need a DMS to grow efficiently. Let’s say a dealer started a family business decades ago; if everything went well, it acquired five or six new dealerships in the region. Later it would expand even more. The problem: the six or seven dealerships were now using three or four different systems. This raised some very big problems. Their only options:
* Gather a team of programmers and build a completely customized solution that would make all systems talk to each other and exchange information in a seamless manner. This would mean a lot of work, and even with a huge budget, they might not be able to produce the end product—not to mention that any dealership they acquired in the future would force them to review their existing solution.
* To keep the best of all solutions they were currently using, which would mean that all other dealerships would have to implement that same system. This would mean new licenses to purchase, a possible new infrastructure to set up, training to be completed, change management, and more.
* If none of the existing solutions were good enough to make all dealerships work together, they would still have the option of implementing a new solution, which would replace all existing ones.
Another reason for using a DMS was so manufacturers could control the quality of the services provided by the dealers—making sure they only used genuine spare parts and that they followed the work procedures defined for specific processes. A unique system for all dealers would also provide them with the right tools to be efficient in their relationship with the car manufacturer (e.g., spare parts ordering tools, warranty management, vehicle repair history).
Dealers need a DMS to grow efficiently. Let’s say a dealer started a family business decades ago; if everything went well, it acquired five or six new dealerships in the region. Later it would expand even more. The problem: the six or seven dealerships were now using three or four different systems. This raised some very big problems. Their only options:
* Gather a team of programmers and build a completely customized solution that would make all systems talk to each other and exchange information in a seamless manner. This would mean a lot of work, and even with a huge budget, they might not be able to produce the end product—not to mention that any dealership they acquired in the future would force them to review their existing solution.
* To keep the best of all solutions they were currently using, which would mean that all other dealerships would have to implement that same system. This would mean new licenses to purchase, a possible new infrastructure to set up, training to be completed, change management, and more.
* If none of the existing solutions were good enough to make all dealerships work together, they would still have the option of implementing a new solution, which would replace all existing ones.
No comments:
Post a Comment