Ten year old DMS technology is undermining customer experience

6 September 2005

 

Outdated DMS technology is one of the key factors behind poor franchise dealer customer standards - according to research by DMS provider Pinewood.

 

A survey by the company has shown that the average age of core technology behind the dealer management systems in use by most franchise dealers is more than 10 years.

 

This places the sector firmly in the dark ages in IT terms and years behind the technology used in other retail industries.

 

Neville Briggs, managing director, said: "Any customer or prospect that walks into a dealership has wide experience of service standards from many different industries. Too often, however, they find their experience at the dealership doesn't stand up to comparison with what they might receive from their bank or a high street shop. We believe that the dated technology dealers are using is largely to blame for this.

 

"Dealerships are trying to match customer standards in industries that invest massive resources every year into IT with technology that dates back to when East 17 were topping the charts. It is little wonder that they are struggling."

 

Examples of new technologies that are passing many dealers by include DMS-based CSI infrastructures, online credit card processing, text and e-mail notification of services, and advanced methods of data mining for marketing purposes.

 

Briggs explained: "The problem here is a historical one. For many years, motor manufacturers specified to dealers exactly which DMS systems they could use and, as a result, the leading DMS providers were handed an effective monopoly, soon became complacent and eventually failed to innovate.

 

“Dealers therefore came to expect very little from their DMS. It was almost seen as nothing more than part of the cost of running a franchise, and expectations that it would actually help the efficiency of the business were very low.”

 

Briggs says that this scenario has created an attitude among franchise dealers where IT opportunities are treated with suspicion and where technological innovation is rare.

 

He explained: “Dealers feel that they have invested in IT in the past and got little in return, so why should they bother again? This contrasts strongly with other retail industries where IT is seen as an investment that will create new efficiencies, higher service standards and new business opportunities.

 

“It is only over recent years, with manufacturers loosening the process for DMS approval and, now, block exemption removing the ability of manufacturers to name specified systems altogether, that higher levels of competition have been created in the DMS market and companies like ourselves have been able to bring in new innovations.

 

“The challenge is to get franchise dealers to recognise that investment in advanced DMS systems will produce results.”

 

 

For further details please contact Simon Wells at
Paperchase Public Relations on 01283 711311
or e-mail simon@paperchasepr.co.uk