Inventory Management Software

[mazdamx]

Hi:

What are the top 5 software solutions for inventory management?

Thanks,
Brad

 

[Alex Snyder]

That's like asking someone what his favorite color is.

There are tons of inventory management solutions. I would say the two most used are ADP and Reynolds DMS systems, but if you're looking for niche inventory merchandising solutions then that's a bit different.

HomeNet is a popular choice. Almost every website provider and most CRM companies have solutions. You've got companies like Dealer Specialties and others with staff that actually does some of the inventory merchandising for the dealership. There are other products that measure and suggest merchandising characteristics like vAuto, First Look, and AAX.

What are you looking for specifically?

 

[Jeff Kershner]

You might want to be more specific with your question. General questions like this seem to go ignored since there have been several technical topics of conversation around this same subject.

http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f14/anybody-using-kbbs-cdmdata-digital-lot-solution-1194.html

http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f14/firstlook-vs-vauto-1089.html

http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f14/how-do-you-use-your-inventory-tool-how-can-you-maximize-roi-your-inventory-tool-59.html

You have HomeNet, eBizAuto, eCarlist, DealerSpecialties, from the Merchandising and distribution side to name a few. Many website providers also have their own services as well.

Then you have Market and Pricing Management services like vAuto, AAX, FirstLook, eCarlist - again to name a few.

We could use this thread to name any and ALL Inventory Management Software and Services.

Add to the list - who are you using and why??

IF YOU ARE A VENDOR - You have permission to use this thread to pimp out your service and offerings (something we don't do very often).

 

[CyberDealer]

We, Cyber Dealer, actually provide inventory management services on the Homenet platform. We provide full service (digital photography, merchandising, window stickers, image merchandising...) for dealers on a national level. Since we moved our technology over to the Homenet platform, everything seems to work much better - Exports, Pricing, Comment Append, Automated Comment Builder, Merchandising reports, Inventory water reports. We've been in this business since 2003 and have seen many changes. Digital photography has come a long way as well, which is our top priority - Awesome digital pictures. Homenet has always kept up with changes and provides cutting edge solutions and support that allow us to provide top notch service for our dealer clients.

Thanks to Jeff for allowing us the opportunity to "pimp out" our service!

Cyber Dealer

 

[alexfsch]

IF YOU ARE A VENDOR - You have permission to use this thread to pimp out your service and offerings (something we don't do very often).

Thanks Jeff. I'd like to chime in representing CDM. CDM stands for Collect, Distribute, and Manage. We're an inventory management/marketing solution with DIY and full service offerings designed to help dealers efficiently collect inventory data and photos, distribute that information to whatever online portals it needs to go to, and manage updates from a single location once it gets there.

Our products are used at thousands of dealerships in the U.S. and Canada. As a Kelley Blue Book company, we help U.S. dealers leverage the 80+ years of trust that the KBB brand and values hold through online and on the lot marketing.

In terms of DIY product suites, our DigitalLot Solution tends to be used by mid sized to larger dealerships and groups. Our proprietary hardware/software solution allows dealers to accelerate their time to market, cut unnecessary work out of getting inventory online, and improve data accuracy.

If a dealer is looking for a more affordable, web-based DIY suite, we have AutoOffice. AutoOffice is also used as the management portal for the DigitalLot Solution and CDM Dealer Services.

In addition, we have a full service offering, CDM Dealer Services that is still expanding, but is well represented in almost half of U.S. states. Dealer Services reps visit dealerships to collect vehicle data, photos, and post window stickers and hang tags. CDM Dealer Services is a corporate-run organization - we do not franchise, which means training and quality control are consistent. I started with CDM on this side of the business in early 2004 in the Dallas metro.

We have a wide variety of additional tools and services that can be added on to our product suites that can be found through the below links.

You can learn more about CDM's DIY solutions here:
800BlueBook : Dealer Solutions : CDM Solutions : CDM Data

... And more about our full service offering here:
800BlueBook : Dealer Solutions : CDM Dealer Solutions

 

[ed.brooks]

Although I feel ever so slightly dirty doing it, and only at Jeff's prompting, I'll 'shill' a bit for vAuto (I can't bring myself to use the other word).

While the first thing that comes to many dealer's minds when they think of vAuto is our pricing analytics, we offer much more. Our Live Market View offers a Real-Time view of what's happening in a dealers specific market. Constantly knowing the Supply / Demand ratio of each car helps a dealer make better informed, more consistently successful decisions on which vehicles to stock, how much to pay for them and finally, how to price each vehicle.

The Live Market Suite

Get the premier software solution that dealerships nationwide are already using to achieve record results in any market.

Stocking

With this real-time view of the fastest moving vehicles in your market, you can align your inventory to the demands of actual buyers — everyday. No matter where market preferences shift, you’ll know first. And the more you beat your competition to the cars people want, the less you’ll have to beat them on price.
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Appraising

Know the real value of any car by seeing what identical vehicles are selling for in your live retail market. Car-to-car. Trim-to-trim. Equipment-to-equipment. Get into more cars right, and see how much more aggressively you can price while still making a profit.
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Pricing

See exactly where you rank against actual competing vehicles in your market. Price every vehicle to maximize your turn while also maximizing your profits. Drive more traffic to your showroom by competing effectively for the top spots on customers' shopping lists.
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Merchandising

Make sure your cars look as attractive online as they do on your lot. Great pictures. Compelling descriptions. Consistent pricing. See every one of your placements, all from one screen. Whether you want a car to be “a great deal†or “worth every pennyâ€, the better your presentation, the better your chances for success.
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RealDeal

RealDeal is the industry’s first third party price validation and delivery system that allows you to show your buyers how your price competes against the prices of matching vehicles for sale in your area. RealDeal is powered by vAuto and uses the same Live Market technology that brought transparency to the way you price, stock, appraise and merchandise your used inventory. With RealDeal, vAuto empowers you to promote that sense of transparency – and fairness – to individual buyers or the whole marketplace.


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[AutoArchitech]

What Cyber Dealer said, except Baltimore Washington area and since 1995! Before there was a HomeNet...

 

[mattwatson81]

VinSolutions has been an industry leader and innovater in inventory management since 2003.

Dealer Inventory Management Solutions for Auto Car Dealers by VinSolutions

Here are some of our key advantages:

1. VinCamera - Simply the easiest way to take pictures of your cars.
2. Mobile inventory management from any mobile device, plus an iPhone app
3. Dynamic vehicle comments - Automatic comment generator that blends your description of the car with our intelligence and it can change the comments every day as information about the vehicle changes auto-magically
4. High resolution photos -The only vendor in the industry to support super high resolution photos
5. Video - Upload vehicle walkaround videos and distribute them online, including Youtube. VinCamera makes it easy to capture them.
6. Certified DMS access with all major DMS providers. ADP list Reynolds list
7. Available market pricing and book out module. (KBB, NADA, Black Book, Galves)

 

[mazdamx]

Thanks, that definitely helps! I will checkout the DMS mentioned here and let you know if I have any other questions.

 

[rcaldwell15]

I'd like to also provide additional information about the inventory management solutions available in the market today, I can speak specifically to DealerTrack AAX. I’ll try to be brief, but feel free to reach out if you have any questions or would like more information.

DealerTrack AAX offers all the tools and services you need to significantly increase turns and profit at every step of the used vehicle process. AAX delivers the tools you need to create effective plans for stocking, sourcing, pricing, appraising and merchandising your inventory.

Smarter Stocking
Stock for Fast Turns that Earn with DealerTrack AAX. Profitable used vehicle inventory stocking decisions require focus on vehicles that turn faster and earn more - in your store, your group and your market. DealerTrack AAX delivers tools and guidance to help you create a comprehensive plan, monitor and improve overall performance, price competitively and make the most profitable trade and buying decisions.

Efficient Sourcing
Source the right vehicles, achieve more turns that earn and reduce wholesale losses. DealerTrack AAX helps you find the vehicles you need at costs you can profit from by pinpointing the best sourcing opportunities in your store, your group, your region and through the major auctions, from one centralized source.
Optimized Pricing
Price Competitively and Profitably with DealerTrack AAX. To price competitively and profitably you have to leverage actual transactional data plus the most up-to-date Internet listings. DealerTrack AAX lets you see all of the pricing for similar vehicles in your local market, while also delivering feedback on your pricing performance. As a result you maximize profits, reduce wholesale losses and ensure you are not unnecessarily cutting into the margins on your top performers.
Effective Appraising
Access Critical Data for the Best Appraisal Decisions with DealerTrack AAX. DealerTrack AAX gives you direct access to the most trusted and current used vehicle valuation sources to determine the appropriate value and identify if the trade is a match to your store or your group. By following a proven process backed by data, you set the right tone with your customers.
Superior Merchandising
Quickly and Efficiently Market Your Inventory with DealerTrack AAX. Advertising your dealership begins with having the right used inventory on your lot. Not only does DealerTrack AAX provide you with the tools to identify and stock the right vehicles, DealerTrack AAX also provides tools to streamline and consolidate your Internet Marketing Strategy. Through DealerTrack AAX you can update your Internet listings quickly and easily, saving time and reducing errors.
To learn more, visit our website: DealerTrack AAX or call us at 888.479.2308.