- Ecommerce data inconsistencies could mean mis-selling a car to a consumer
- Dealer data is being keyed in multiple times which means mistakes are being made
Two out of every three dealers were ill equipped to manage the dramatic move to selling cars online when the pandemic first hit in 2020.
Just one third of dealers running a full ecommerce solution were able to value and buy a client’s part exchange online, take deposits from drivers on used cars and apply for finance and e-sign contracts. The rest were left struggling to deliver a manual click and collect service.
“The first step in a modern ecommerce strategy is to optimise the quality and consistency of your data. This means data touch points either with a consumer online or an internal salesperson must be identical,” Andy Whitehair – Autofinity CEO.
“Many dealer groups have legacy systems in place which includes a DMS and OEM systems. Therefore, multi-site groups with multiple IT systems risk selling the same used car in an inconsistent fashion.”
Ecommerce exposes a dealer’s business warts and all whether they are selling cars, parts, or accessories online. If inventory data is inconsistent across all dealer selling channels consumers could be mis-sold a car and dealers will be forced to take it back or worst-case scenario they will receive a visit from the Motor Ombudsman.
Two years on dealers are investing hundreds of thousands in new ecommerce websites without ensuring their inventory data is consistent across its retail businesses.
We see the most data inconsistencies coming from the same information being keyed in manually two or three times which encourages mistakes to be made. That compares with dealers who put an automated inventory platform at the heart of their operation where information is updated automatically across multiple systems.
“Our job is to work with a dealer’s web supplier and other systems providers to knit everything together via our ViHUB inventory platform. We provide the ‘real truth’ that powers every online transaction throughout the dealer’s business.”