What do you want out of your Inventory Tool?

[ddavis]

Joe, It has always required more than spending some money and putting up a website.

Somebody needs to know how to market vehicles and be willing to put in the effort. If you have 500 new and used vehicles that need to be edited and it requires 5 minutes each, that represents over 40 hours.

If you wonder if your competitors are cutting costs, just do a search on AutoTrader and Cars.com ...they are.

 

[JamieS]

DD, nothing has changed.

VIN explosions are but the beginning, you still need a sharp data person out there looking at each unit, digging thru the options and recording them all. I hope my competitors cut costs and hand it off to the boyz in cleanup.

Management gets out... what they put in.

Half-assed is as half-assed does.

Sorry if this is too OT but I felt compelled to reply here.

I've been spending A LOT of time working with our photogs who are also responsible for adding comments to each vehicle. It has definitely been a challenge to say the least. Walking them through the vehicles for training, showing what to look for, what to focus on, even to think about what type of buyer would be shopping for that type of vehicle and tailoring the comments to match. So in about a month our comments have gone from this:

Florida Fine Cars is pleased to present this beautiful 2007 BMW 528i. This vehicle is equipped with Navigation System, Park Assist, memory driver seat, power windows, leather interior, CD player, Ice cold AC, alloy wheels, automatic transmission, and much more.

To this;
This beautiful Audi has a clean CarFax that reported NO accident and only ONE owner! Also qualifies for the CarFax buyback guarantee, and is equipped with standout features such as S-tronic with paddle shifters, Audi symphony radio with Bose speakers and satellite radio. This TT is also fitted with black leather interior with suede inserts, heated and power seats, power convertible soft top, and fog lights. Extended warranties are available. We have more than 500 cars in stock but at this price this TT wont last long!

So still a work in progress but definitely getting better.

 

[ddavis]

Sorry if this is too OT but I felt compelled to reply here.

I've been spending A LOT of time working with our photogs who are also responsible for adding comments to each vehicle. It has definitely been a challenge to say the least. Walking them through the vehicles for training, showing what to look for, what to focus on, even to think about what type of buyer would be shopping for that type of vehicle and tailoring the comments to match. So in about a month our comments have gone from this:

Florida Fine Cars is pleased to present this beautiful 2007 BMW 528i. This vehicle is equipped with Navigation System, Park Assist, memory driver seat, power windows, leather interior, CD player, Ice cold AC, alloy wheels, automatic transmission, and much more.

To this;
This beautiful Audi has a clean CarFax that reported NO accident and only ONE owner! Also qualifies for the CarFax buyback guarantee, and is equipped with standout features such as S-tronic with paddle shifters, Audi symphony radio with Bose speakers and satellite radio. This TT is also fitted with black leather interior with suede inserts, heated and power seats, power convertible soft top, and fog lights. Extended warranties are available. We have more than 500 cars in stock but at this price this TT wont last long!

So still a work in progress but definitely getting better.

Very nice description but what do you want the customer to do? Always finish with a call to action.

 

[jay.lynch]

It has been interesting to see the evolution of the inventory management tools. Traditional inventory management tools and many of the newer tools certainly butt heads relative to market strategy and execution. While I believe there is a good conversation here I only want to say that I believe the truth is somewhere in between – ouch that hurts.

Based on my readings I believe many of you are looking for a merchandising , listing, and pricing tool that also does inventory management. Having said that, it is nice to see your impact on the market and how the market is responding to meet your needs.

 

[joe.pistell]

Jay,

This is an older thread and you speak in generalities. Be more specific. You write"

" ...Traditional inventory management tools and many of the newer tools certainly butt heads relative to market strategy and execution."

Which traditional tools and which new tools are you referring to?

 

[joe.pistell]

Sorry if this is too OT but I felt compelled to reply here.

I've been spending A LOT of time working with our photogs who are also responsible for adding comments to each vehicle. It has definitely been a challenge to say the least. Walking them through the vehicles for training, showing what to look for, what to focus on, even to think about what type of buyer would be shopping for that type of vehicle and tailoring the comments to match. So in about a month our comments have gone from this:

Florida Fine Cars is pleased to present this beautiful 2007 BMW 528i. This vehicle is equipped with Navigation System, Park Assist, memory driver seat, power windows, leather interior, CD player, Ice cold AC, alloy wheels, automatic transmission, and much more.

To this;
This beautiful Audi has a clean CarFax that reported NO accident and only ONE owner! Also qualifies for the CarFax buyback guarantee, and is equipped with standout features such as S-tronic with paddle shifters, Audi symphony radio with Bose speakers and satellite radio. This TT is also fitted with black leather interior with suede inserts, heated and power seats, power convertible soft top, and fog lights. Extended warranties are available. We have more than 500 cars in stock but at this price this TT wont last long!

So still a work in progress but definitely getting better.

How has your project been going?

If your looking to mix it up, heres a another spin:

This [adjective] [year] [make] [model] and is [verb: very well, nicely,...] equipped with [adjective] [trim level]. The new owner will enjoy years of fun and enjoyment with standout features such as [HOT FEATURES: S-tronic with paddle shifters, Audi symphony radio with Bose speakers and satellite radio]. This [model] is also fitted with black leather seating with suede inserts, that are heated and are 6 way power adjustable. The power convertible soft top is in [adjective] condition, and the fog lights are there on those dark and difficult nights.

This well equipped [make] [model] is going to make some one very happy for years to come, it has a squeaky clean CarFax and only ONE owner! It also qualifies for the CarFax buyback guarantee and no charge too! For those who like even less worries, Extended warranties are available. We have more than 500 cars in stock, c'mon down and test drive this [adjective] [model], it's priced to sell and wont last long!


I love Comment Generating... Just playing around this morning

 

[joe.pistell]

Remove [tokens], it Looks Like:



This stunning 2010 Audi TT and is very well equipped with the awesome Premium Plus trim package. The new owner will enjoy years of fun and enjoyment with standout features such as S-tronic with paddle shifters, Audi symphony radio with Bose speakers and satellite radio. This TT is also fitted with black leather seating with suede inserts, that are heated and are 6 way power adjustable. The power convertible soft top is in near showroom condition, and you'll love the fog lights for those dark and difficult nights.

This well equipped Audi TT is going to make some one very happy for years to come, it has a squeaky clean CarFax and only ONE owner! It also qualifies for the CarFax buyback guarantee at no charge too! For those who like even less worries years down the road Extended warranties are available. We have more than 500 cars in stock, so c'mon down and test drive this head turning TT, it's priced to sell and wont last long!

 

[jay.lynch]

Jay,

This is an older thread and you speak in generalities. Be more specific. You write"

" ...Traditional inventory management tools and many of the newer tools certainly butt heads relative to market strategy and execution."

Which traditional tools and which new tools are you referring to?

Hi Joe,

I appreciate your comments. I had noticed this older thread had been revitalized and had some interesting opinions. Having said that, I suppose I was trying to avoid taking this thread down the road of tit for tat on inventory management. I was referring to AAX and First Look as opposed to say a Vauto and Vin Solutions.

Certainly, both sets of tools acquire their primary data differently and suggest diffent methodologies in both stocking and pricing. I think if you look at where we are headed, regardless of which school you follow, the primary challenge is going to be the acquistion. You may have noticed that ALG is projecting that used car availability will continue to under perform demand through 2016.