How A DMS Extension Can Improve Your Bottom Line

Many dealerships make the mistake of investing in the most robust DMS software, only to find that they don’t use or even need half of the advanced features. Furthermore, some team members may not use the software because it’s either too complicated or doesn’t meet their needs – regardless of whether you provide additional training on the software. If team members are required to use a DMS software that doesn’t solve their problems, another issue can occur within departments – frustration, confusion, and low morale.

If this sounds familiar, hope is not lost. You can keep your existing DMS software and take advantage of a DMS plugin such as Workflow 360’s Production Efficiency Platform for auto dealers. Here’s how it can improve communication within departments and improve your dealership’s bottom line.

Sales & Inventory

Sales and inventory management in the automobile industry is quite complex and fast-paced. With so many vehicles moving through the service bay and customers inquiring about a particular vehicle, it’s imperative that dealerships stay on top of their inventory.

While many dealership management software available have the necessary information and functions, such as customer information, updated inventory, email integrations, etc, many sales reps and sales managers are dissatisfied with their DMS because it lacks the connectivity needed to communicate across departments.

A DMS plugin collects data in one place accessible to all departments and real-time reporting on the status of a vehicle, which helps solve high inventory and production costs. More sales do not translate to higher revenue if more working hours are needed for that sale but, when your workflow process is optimized with a DMS plugin, it will naturally translate to a healthier bottom line.

Service & Parts

What would your dealership’s end-of-year reports look like if there were minimal constraints, bottlenecks are solved, and vehicles exit the service bay quicker with more billable hours? This is what our clients experience when integrating our Production Efficiency Platform in their current DMS.

Managers can effectively close gaps in communication between departments, which means service techs and the parts department can communicate more efficiently. Our DMS plugin allows for easy two-way SMS communication between the service department and customers with pictures and videos conveniently saved in their files. This allows for quicker approvals, reducing that downtime.

Along with real-time reporting, service advisors can also start a task and put it on hold instead of the step-by-step task completion that is so often required by most dealership management software. A productive and steady workflow overall, minimal constraints and bottlenecks, and excellent communication between departments and with the customer can only lead to increased revenue, better employee morale, and customer satisfaction.

Overall Dealership Operations

Last but certainly not least, you can see how a DMS extension goes down the pipeline and improves a dealership’s overall operations, including communications, accurate real-time reporting, data management and accessibility, populated data and analytics.

What a DMS lacks is the ability to customize and with each dealership operation requiring a distinct set of DMS components, a responsive DMS plugin is needed to improve the workflow process.

Workflow 360˚ is a flexible and intuitive platform that is customized to your processes and meets the needs of your dealership.