Month: May 2022

Pinewood supports electric vehicle retailers to maximise workshop returns

Pinewood supports EV retailers to maximise workshop returns

17 May 2022 No Comments Electric Vehicles

It’s no longer a debate of whether electric vehicles will take off or turn out to be a passing trend. With the UK Government insisting that 50% of new vehicles will be zero emissions by 20281, and 100% by 20352, the change is now a reality.

According to Pinewood Technologies, dealers must make use of the tools in their DMS to uncover new profit opportunities and stay ahead of the curve when it comes to electric vehicles. Pinewood have been working with dealers across the Nordics where 84% of all new cars sold across Norway in January 2022 were electric vehicles3.

Stine Mundal Hagen, Corporate Business Development Manager for Porsche Norway said: “Pinewood DMS has given us the perfect tool with which we can monitor and steer all aspects from trade ins, car sales to service and used cars. Combining this with the financial capabilities of the system, we have reached new levels of process excellence in our operations. Pinewood’s extensive experience in the retail car industry has greatly helped us in our quest for increased value and service for our customers.”

It’s no secret that hybrid and electric vehicles have fewer serviceable parts and longer service intervals than traditional petrol or diesel cars. Because of this, electric vehicles may appear less profitable for workshops on the surface. However, dealers can prepare their teams with alternative ways to bridge this revenue gap.

Timely communications

It’s vital that dealers use their DMS effectively to maximise profits. Service Advisors must ensure every customer receives regular reminders, with a link to book their car in. Mark Davis, Dealer Principal at Brighton Honda explains that being able to set contact plans and send branded service reminders in Pinewood DMS is essential for his business –

“The customer experience is great with Pinewood DMS. We can send text reminders in a touch of a button from the service department. It’s really brought us into the 21st century with what people now expect with their online experience.”

Increase upsell 

After securing the booking, Service Advisors are presented with a golden opportunity – to upsell more cosmetic repairs, like dents and paintwork. With a system like Pinewood DMS, dealers can create custom checklists and adapt services by brand or vehicle type, helping Technicians to identify and upsell more additional work.

Save time managing multiple teams

Servicing electric vehicles requires working with batteries, so dealers will need to expand or upskill their aftersales teams to include electrical engineers. Inevitably, dealers need a system that handles multiple labour rates – especially if the workshop caters for both hybrid/ electric and petrol/ diesel engines. Many systems on the market are not equipped to handle this, so dealers must weigh up the implications and challenges if their system falls into this category. Without a sufficient DMS, dealers will need to manually calculate the labour rates – which can be inefficient and time consuming.

Planning ahead to maximise productivity

Vehicle retailers must consider the extra safety precautions needed to run an electric vehicle workshop – such as handling high voltage batteries, and accessing specialist tools and equipment. This will involve building separate workstations for EV teams, safely distanced from the petrol/ diesel vehicle bays. The changes will affect the workshop diary, so it’s key to get a DMS that can handle this, to maximise productivity and draw the best possible returns.

For example, Pinewood’s Workshop Planner makes it easy to manage different skillsets and service teams, or schedule repairs based on productive hours for each area – saving hours and boosting efficiency for EV Workshop Controllers.

The future for EV dealers…

With electric vehicle sales only set to increase, dealers need to have the right tools in place to maximise revenue and profits. With close relationships supporting dealers in the leading electric vehicle markets worldwide, Pinewood offers a strong solution for EV retailers.

If vehicle retailers are interested in learning more about Pinewood’s EV offering, visit: www.pinewood.co.uk/contact-us

 

REFERENCES:

  1. Sharpe, T. (2022, April 8). Government proposes that half of all new car sales must be EV by 2028. Retrieved from AM-online: https://www.am-online.com/news/market-insight/2022/04/08/government-proposes-that-half-of-all-new-car-sales-must-be-ev-by-2028
  2. COP26 declaration on accelerating the transition to 100% zero emission cars and vans. (2022, Apr 8). Retrieved from gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cop26-declaration-zero-emission-cars-and-vans/cop26-declaration-on-accelerating-the-transition-to-100-zero-emission-cars-and-vans
  3. Hill, J. (2022, February 3). Norway’s stunning new EV numbers: 84% of new car sales in January all electric. Retrieved from The Driven: https://thedriven.io/2022/02/03/norways-stunning-new-ev-numbers-84-of-new-car-sales-in-january-all-electric/
Pinewood offers electronic signatures to customers, with Scrive

Pinewood DMS integrates with Scrive eSign

12 May 2022 2 Comments Announcement, Paperless

Scrive, the European pioneer in automating contract-based business processes, is bringing momentum to the digitalisation of the UK automotive industry. Working closely with Pinewood Technologies, Scrive is now offering its electronic signatures within the DMS – supporting dealers to provide the ultimate digital omnichannel experience.

Within the automotive sector, Scrive also works with VW, KIA, Europcar, and BMW Financial Services. By co-operating with Pinewood, one of the leading solutions for dealer management, Scrive is making a significant contribution to closing the last gaps in digital manufacturer and dealer processes. The challenge of switching to digital processes in the automotive industry is great. Above all, compliance with manufacturers and the desire of customers for digital omnichannel processes requires smart solutions.

Offer car buyers the optimum buying experience

Many customers today want a digital omnichannel process when buying a car. The digital showroom has become increasingly important, along with the option to buy a vehicle partially or completely online. For this, dealers need an innovative digital system that enables a contemporary customer experience. Pinewood, as a provider of such software, is now closing the last digital gaps in its solution. This includes the use of eSignatures – businesses need to manage finance documents, vehicle orders, job cards, and invoices.

Without digital signatures, dealers would need to print out, sign in person (or through the post), and scan every document back in – then store these in a physical folder. Digital signatures simplify the workflow, save time, and reduce costs. Pinewood has thus solved an important problem in the industry with the integration of Scrive. Franchise operations, used car dealers, and truck and motorcycle distributors benefit from significantly simplified customer management and the complete digital purchasing process.

Pinewood chooses secure eSignatures from European provider Scrive

Scrive is one of the few providers that meet all eIDAS requirements for a qualified electronic signature, which is fully equivalent to a handwritten signature in legal terms. They use blockchain technology to seal every digital document, to ensure that it’s secure against fraud and forgery. Scrive is compatible with various hardware and software and works on all devices. This allows customers to conveniently provide an eSignature from any location.

Customers can sign finance agreements in the Pinewood DMS apps or remotely, using Scrive’s integrated eSignature service. The use of eSignatures eliminates manual steps in dealer processes, to save valuable hours. Dealers eliminate the need to enter data, print, and re-scan documents back in – so deals are increasingly quick and easy to complete.

Neville Briggs, Managing Director of Pinewood, explains the background to the decision to work with Scrive:

“Sending documents for signature via email was the main service we needed. In addition, we now also enable sending via SMS to give retailers multiple options for sending messages – depending on how their customers want to transact. Working with the team at Scrive was really easy. They know their product and the market extremely well. They also offer a competitive pricing structure that works for our customers. We look forward to getting more dealers on board and seeing the results.”

Victor Wrede, CEO of Scrive, also emphasises the importance of the collaboration:

“Our goal is to provide our customers worldwide with a cost-effective and user-friendly way to send digital documents for e-signing, making the entire car buying and service process 100% digital. We will see success when dealers provide their customers with the digital omnichannel experience they are looking for.”

Scrive eSign is available now to Pinewood users. Contact us today for more information.

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