#INVENTORY PLUS HOW TO#

They mention that Inventory+ is a stronger, quicker inventory tool that gives them an easier way to market online. “Compared to other inventory providers, you get more tools for what you’re paying for,” Dios says. Since moving to Inventory+, the Lynnes stores have realized a 30% increase in their used-car volume. “Inventory+ definitely has more competitive intel on how my competitors are pricing in my market, giving me a strong edge when it comes to my inventory,” Dios says, referring to the system’s TrueTarget pricing tool.įor example, if one of his stores adds a Nissan Altima, he uses TrueTarget to more strategically price his unit to drive traffic to his store. Now, I only live within Inventory+.”Īside from using Inventory+ for appraisals, the Lynnes stores use the tool to price their used-car inventory competitively. “I used to have to jump between Reynolds & Reynolds, CarGurus, vAuto, and more. “I’m in and out of the system from the beginning of the day until the end of the day. “The managers use Inventory+ when they’re working a deal to start an appraisal and then look at the appraisal details when I’ve completed my valuation.”ĭios, on the other hand, uses Inventory+ throughout the day. “Inventory+ is extremely well thought out and user friendly,” Dios says. The GSMs at each store use Inventory +'s mobile app to start appraisals at a customer's vehicle on the lot, then book out potential trades using the tool on their desktop. It’s easy to use and not complicated,” Dios says. “The managers have taken to Inventory+ extremely well. Militscher not only helped onboard the group to Inventory+, he helped train general sales managers on best practices. “Darren, our strategic growth manager, always picks up the phone. “Our implementation has gone extremely well,” he says. With Inventory+, we can make changes on the fly.”ĭios worked with his dedicated strategic growth manager (SGM), Darren Militscher, to get all three of his stores onto Inventory+.

To complete one task, you’d have to move between multiple screens in the system. There was a lag in data, and the analysis of data wasn’t as in-depth. “There were a few obstacles in other systems that weren’t present in Inventory+. When Dios took over as used car director, he decided to switch from vAuto to Inventory+. Jose Dios, the group’s used car director, has tried multiple inventory management systems throughout his tenure, including Inventory+ for about 12-plus years. Lynnes Auto Group operates three rooftops - Hyundai, Nissan, and Subaru stores - located on the same New Jersey street. They know about Zillow for real estate, so we just tell them that this is like that for the automotive industry and that really helps.” “We’ll print it out, hand it to the salesperson and have them show the customer. “We do it all the time when we’re in the middle of a sale and our cars are aggressively priced,” JT said. JT and his team also use the reports while negotiating with customers during the sales process. “TrueTarget is really, really nice to have because it helps me make the most money possible on each car.'Īt Motors Northwest, the impact of TrueTarget can be felt beyond the standard appraisal process. “It’s really important to know how I do with a Ford Mustang, but also how my local market does with a Ford Mustang,” JT said. To stay out of that “race to the bottom,” Motors Northwest relies heavily on TrueTarget to make informed pricing decisions that take all factors into account and help protect their profit margins from the start.

#INVENTORY PLUS HOW TO#

All they want to do is tell you how to become the cheapest car out there and sell as quickly as you can, for the cheapest possible price,” JT said. “Your competitor turns everything into a race to the bottom. The biggest flaw in the wholesale approach is that it aims to help dealerships turn over their inventory quickly but sacrifices profit margins to do so. And Inventory+ leans toward the retail side of marketing and selling your car,” JT said. “Maybe you have to lean one way or the other, but I would tell you your competitor’s solution leans into the wholesale side of buying, marketing, and reselling your cars. The new tool didn’t allow JT and his team to do that, which impacted their ability to retail their inventory the way they wanted. “We send our cars out to a reconditioning place and have photos taken of them, and then we write a custom description for every single car that comes into inventory.” “We write a description for every one of our cars,” JT said. The decision to come back to Inventory+ started with key part of Motors Northwest’s used car retailing process that served as an indicator of the fundamental difference between to two competing products.

Inventory plus