Category: Digital tools

Three ways Pinewood DMS is transforming commercial dealers

See how Pinewood DMS is transforming commercial dealers

13 June 2023 No Comments Commercial dealers, Digital tools

With the demand for online shopping, home deliveries and convenience only set for continued growth, commercial dealerships should be capitalising on this opportunity. From improving workshop productivity to improving the omnichannel experience for fleet customers, commercial dealers should be seeking new ways to squeeze extra revenue.

Flexible service communications

To boost the take-up of service bookings and aftersales revenue, commercial dealers must adapt their communications and follow-ups accordingly. It’s essential to find a DMS that supports custom checklists, amendable service intervals and flexible follow-ups depending on the vehicle type. Helping to target the right customers, at the right time and boost aftersales revenue.

Retaining fleet customers is even more essential than in a passenger car workshop, with multiple vehicles likely to require servicing at each visit. Therefore, commercial dealers need the tools to track the effectiveness of communications. With Pinewood DMS, leaders have access to data-rich reports, making it easy to share future communications and optimise performance.

Fully digital service journey

When fleets are being serviced, it is imperative for commercial dealers to maintain clear visibility within their workshop to ensure operations run as efficiently as possible. Digital job cards allow instant access to service details for leaders and technicians alike, reducing the risk of miscommunication. Similarly, digital workshop planners with drag-and-drop allocation ensure the right technicians are working the right jobs.

With a mobile app like Tech+, technicians can perform instant vehicle health checks with detailed service notes. Technicians can also report any urgent work needed, which fleet managers can digitally approve of remotely via eSignature – all in a matter of minutes. Additionally, as part of the digital journey, an online Job Status Tracker provides the fleet customer with a clear view of the vehicle progress in the workshop and off-site with subcontractors.

Working closely with manufacturers

Commercial dealers can also boost their service offering with Pinewood’s range of OEM integrations. Service contracts can be customised and created at sale allowing service invoices to charge into the plan, with the account’s postings all taken care of. Menu pricing is also available, which allows fleet managers to have their own predefined requirements to simplify the preparation request.

No matter the brand or type of vehicle they offer, commercial dealers can instantly benefit from Pinewood’s suite of digital tools. The digital features available in Pinewood DMS, provide customers transparency whilst boosting efficiency across the workshop.

To learn more about how Pinewood DMS makes handling fleets as easy as ever, contact our team today.

Boost profit from used stock with Pinewood DMS. Image shows used car stock feed online.

How dealers are boosting used car revenue

10 November 2022 No Comments Digital tools

Following the new vehicle shortages, lengthy lead times for electric vehicles, and the continued high market value of used vehicles, there’s a serious profit opportunity in selling used cars. To capitalise on this, retailers must digitalise their processes with an aim to offer buyers a bespoke and omnichannel experience. A DMS should support this digital transformation – now a necessity in automotive retail.

There are extra factors to consider when buying a second-hand car – from its condition, to where it’s located in the country, to its mileage. As the cost-of-living crisis prevails, it’s now even more essential for dealers to adapt. Buyers are being more selective, so dealers must make the journey convenient and engaging at every touchpoint…

Go digital – Reach more prospects

Businesses must first address how to turn over stock quickly. The longer a car is on the forecourt, the more costly the sale is to the dealer. When a vehicle arrives on site, the sales team should get it listed online straightaway, otherwise, they could be missing out on hundreds of prospective buyers. Neville Briggs, Managing Director at Pinewood explains –

“Customers want to browse online before they travel to see a car, so dealers need to accommodate. This includes having great quality images and videos, ready to capture interest and drive enquiries. Using our Stock+ app, salespeople can take high-quality images of the car using their phones. They can replace the background, swapping a cluttered forecourt for a clean, standardised backdrop without any professional editing experience.”

With Pinewood DMS, the dealer can immediately upload the listing to their website, or via a website feed, ready to capture the attention of car buyers. A credible system should offer the tools to showcase used stock, both on and offline. But getting in front of prospective customers is just the first step…

Get personal – Convert more enquiries

Next, dealers need to action enquiries. It’s essential to offer more than just a standardised email response to stand out amongst hundreds of online listings.

With an all-in-one system like Pinewood DMS, the sales team can respond to enquiries with a personalised video tour, building trust with the customer from the first interaction. As no third-party systems are needed, all communications are instantly visible on the CRM record and easy to report on. Mark Lambird, Managing Director at Eastbourne Motoring Centre explains –

“We definitely sell more cars by sending videos out. People interact and buy a lot quicker if they can physically see the car in a video. We can talk over the features and benefits. It’s been a real positive.”

The entire journey should be seamless – combining digital and physical touchpoints. From taking an eSignature for a test drive to offering multiple ways to pay – including card, cash, online or open banking, Pinewood DMS facilitates a customer-led experience. It’s essential for used car dealers to find a DMS that leverages their business – balancing customers’ needs for convenience, information, and face-to-face interaction. The rewards are substantial…

Be flexible – Drive extra profits

Retailers that don’t adapt – often when their DMS doesn’t provide the right tools – risk losing sales. It’s key to monitor results to maximise success. Using the reporting tools in the system, or for larger groups, Business Intelligence, the leadership team can adapt their strategy accordingly. This includes benchmarking best-performing branches, identifying which models are selling profitably, minimising time to turnover used stock, and as a result driving profit margin.

Stine Hagen, Corporate Business Development Manager at Porsche Norway explains –

“Pinewood DMS has given us the perfect tool to monitor and steer all aspects of used car sales. With the use of Pinewood BI linked to the system, leaders went from spending hours on KPI reports to having them live on their computers and phones at all times. This is an excellent tool for leaders to see what needs their attention.”

Additionally, relying on a system requiring add-ons can make the process tricky and compromise the customer experience. Dealers must integrate their in-store and online touchpoints, allowing customers to interact and transact how they choose at any point. Providing a flexible and bespoke sales journey is now a necessity rather than a nice-to-have, so dealers must use their DMS to adapt and reap the rewards.

Dealers can boost their bottom line with the support and features provided with Pinewood DMS

Three ways that dealers can boost their bottom line

23 June 2022 No Comments Best Practice, Digital tools

Following the pandemic, with seemingly never-ending chip shortages and the drive towards sustainability, dealers are being forced to adapt – or suffer serious impacts on their bottom line.

The global chip shortage has made it near-impossible to access new stock. The rising popularity of electric vehicles, containing fewer serviceable parts, has impacted aftersales revenues and earning potential. Supported by the right DMS, business leaders can uncover additional revenue, improve efficiency across their group, and cut costs.

Act on opportunities from data-rich reports

Whether managing one or multiple branches, leaders want visibility. A DMS should show how every branch and team performs, with useful reports to indicate where opportunities lie.

Neville Briggs, Managing Director at Pinewood Technologies explains –

“Many of our customers have adapted processes and found new ways to boost revenue based off the insights in Pinewood DMS. Dealers must identify and respond to market changes which effect margins, efficiency, and ultimately profits. We encourage our customers to make the most of our intuitive reports and BI tools.”

Many groups have refocused efforts on used sales to facilitate the rising demand. Meanwhile, by encouraging Aftersales teams to upsell more work during vehicle health checks, dealers have bridged the revenue gap.

Embrace digitalisation or get forced into the slow lane

Customers demand flexibility, so dealers should aim to improve their service offering both online and in-store. A digitally-focused DMS will optimise the omnichannel experience – catering for customer expectations of today.

Digitalising traditional dealer processes helps to streamline workflows and boost convenience – positively impacting the bottom line. Most leading systems have digital tools available, from accepting eSignatures, to storing documents digitally, to enabling customers to pay online.

In the workshop, Technicians are now largely reliant on mobile DMS apps – often faster and more efficient than working from a PC. With Pinewood’s Tech+ app, Technicians can send a VHC video to the customer straight from the ramp, add write-up notes to job cards, and immediately see if a customer approves recommended work. Dealers are boosting productivity and workshop revenue as a direct result.

Don’t complicate it. Choose a DMS which has the tools you need built-in

Switching between multiple systems can be costly, difficult to maintain, and a barrier to productivity. Therefore, its key dealers invest in a DMS that will leverage their business – with the tools they value and rely upon, built-in.

As explained by Dougal Keith, Managing Director at DM Keith Motors –

“The DMS is used in absolutely every area of the business, replacing lots of different systems that we had – that was fundamental in the decision process for us. Pinewood’s system has revolutionised our workflows. It’s fundamentally changed the way we operate as a business, more efficiently and more effectively. It’s very easy to learn and implement and has driven cost out of the business.”

With so many factors influencing the bottom line, businesses need complete visibility and control, to help identify and action profit opportunities. Choosing the right DMS is essential – dealers must be sure they’re equipped with the data and tools they need to succeed.

To see how Pinewood could help your business, visit www.pinewood.co.uk

Background replacement

Dealers are creating professional online content directly in their DMS.

14 May 2021 No Comments Digital tools

Following the acceleration of digitalisation throughout the pandemic, more people are warming to the idea of shopping online for their next car – and the likelihood is, that it’s here to stay. Pinewood Technologies have added new user-friendly editing tools to Pinewood DMS including photo background replacement and audio enhancement to encourage this new approach to customer engagement.

Neville Briggs, Managing Director at Pinewood explains:

“Now customers have had a taste for buying online and the convenience it brings, it’s likely this will continue. Even if buyers prefer to transact in-store, the majority will be looking for an omni-channel experience. They want to browse online before they travel to see a car, so dealers need to accommodate. This includes having great quality images and videos, ready to capture interest and drive enquiries.”

Photo background replacement

For online listings, cars with a neutral background are better for catching attention, and without the delay of a professional photographer or an overseas conversion service to return your images, backgrounds can be hard to change without physically moving the vehicle.

Now, salespeople can replace the backgrounds of images taken in Pinewood’s Stock+ app, swapping a forecourt for a clean, standardised backdrop. With zero editing experience needed, they can even add their franchise branding to create professional looking photos in moments – supporting consistent, quality listings that are available online immediately.

It’s often difficult to find a spacious area when photographing vehicles in the dealership and if the listing is amongst hundreds of others online, it needs to stand out. Gone are the days of shuffling cars – Pinewood’s photo background replacement is convenient, easy to use and effective – leading to a faster turnaround of stock and capital.

Audio enhancement

The next step of the journey is equally crucial – the follow-up. Any dealer can respond to enquiries with a formulaic or impersonal email. The ‘tuned-in’ sales team will go the extra mile, responding with engagement and a personalised video.

To support this, Pinewood have added audio enhancement as an extra feature of their video suite. Videos recorded in Pinewood’s apps will automatically be enhanced, reducing background noise, adjusting loudness, and improving the overall clarity and sound quality.

Scott Albiston, a Sales Executive at Pebley Beach has been testing out the latest feature, with some great results: “Audio enhancement works really well for us, especially recording videos on a busy main road – It’s a day and night difference!”

Capture, edit, send, sell.

As always, there’s no switching between systems – photos and videos can be recorded directly in the Pinewood DMS apps and are uploaded for access online in next to no time.

Now, more than ever, customers demand an engaging omni-channel experience. As the UK re-opens for business, dealers can use their available tools to focus on converting more leads and providing a seamless digital experience for their customers.

The Next Step Towards the Paperless Workshop

20 April 2021 No Comments Digital tools, Feature, Paperless

Pinewood Technologies have made it easier for dealers to prepare their warranty claims with new Write-ups in their Tech+ app. Technicians can add digital notes to jobs on their phone whilst they work on a vehicle, highlighting any new issues found and corrections made – saying goodbye to printed job cards.

Not only have Write-ups helped with reducing paper in the workshop, but they also give Manufacturers a clear view when auditing for Warranty Claims, with no need to trail through mountains of printed job cards. Write-ups can have specific headings depending on the franchise and are visible in Pinewood DMS, including a timestamp and record of any edits, providing full visibility across the business.

Gavin Crolla, Divisional Warranty Leader at Mercedes-Benz Leeds explains –

“Previously when submitting warranty claims or providing information to customers, we would waste so much time looking through filing cabinets and struggling to read handwriting. We now have a permanent digital history of our Write-ups neatly archived against job numbers in the DMS. It meets our audit standards with name and date stamps so we don’t need to worry that our claims will be rejected. The information can be reviewed forever-more, massively reducing our paper usage.”

Dealers have faced many challenges during the past year and digitalisation has clearly been an important factor. Whether it’s booking a service on the website, signing job cards digitally or paying for a service online – car buyers are embracing the impact of the digital world and dealers are seeing a massive improvement across their businesses when implementing the tools available to them.

Write-ups are available now in Pinewood DMS – the latest addition in Pinewood’s Digital Journey.

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