Open integration offers dealers the flexibility to develop their own best in class

"Automotive retailers should determine their own tech agenda and select the applications that work best for their business rather than adopt a single ‘eco-system’ through one supplier" Autofinity’s CEO Andy Whitehair.

As large suppliers snap up smaller companies with applications typically developed to meet specific dealership tasks, Autofinity has adopted a dealer group led strategy with integration as an alternative to the traditional one-stop-shop ‘ecosystem’ approach that has become common in the sector.

Its core product ViHUB integrates multiple third-party systems into a single interface, providing complete oversight, control, and marketing capabilities for dealership stock. Currently, an upgrade is underway with an enhanced dealer-centric dashboard ensuring ViHUB reflects the needs of frontline users.

“At Autofinity, our ambition is to create one unified hub where dealers can manage all their independent and hitherto disconnected systems as one. Automation eliminates double-keying, reduces manual input and boosts efficiency whilst avoiding inconsistent information such as different pricing appearing for one vehicle marketed in different portals.

“Multiple disconnected systems where information is siloed and not shared has long been an issue in the sector and our integration platform has been developed to simplify the daily challenges that arise as a result.

“With some larger suppliers now building ecosystems of proprietary tools, we believe open integration offers a genuine and preferable alternative. It means dealer group leaders can make their own decisions about which applications to use for specific tasks; it overcomes the issue of duplication such as when a group favours one application but an OEM specifies another to meet manufacturer standards; and legacy licences are not a problem because ViHUB acts as a bridge between unconnected systems.”

ViHUB also pools information for each vehicle from multiple applications creating one rich data source which ensures consistency and enables vehicles with missing or wrong information in group stock to be flagged for rectification.

Autofinity is now applying its retail knowhow to the wholesale market with its new aggregation platform ViSOURCE. ViSOURCE brings together stock and data from across the market — from private sellers and OEMs to auction houses and digital platforms — to give used car buyers a single, comprehensive view of available vehicles.

“We believe dealers would prefer to create their own ecosystem rather than have no choice but to operate a particular application because it forms part of a larger supplier’s portfolio. Open integration provides dealers with the opportunity to select specific applications to meet their needs without having to compromise. It also provides them with flexibility as some OEMs will insist on certain applications whilst other dealerships will have legacy licences which may be required to run their course. An integration platform such as ours enables these systems to ‘communicate’ whilst information and uploads are automated.

“We are confident open integration will continue to offer dealer groups and dealerships, which may have different priorities and requirements even within the same group, the most logical solution by allowing the creation of their own best-in-class suite of digital tools.”