Velocity Vehicles is a Polaris dealership located in Whitney, Texas. Jeff Parent, managing partner, purchased the dealership in 2015.
For the twenty years of operation prior to Parent acquiring the dealership, everything had been managed through an inefficient pen and paper system that ultimately affected the customer experience.
Because there was no insight into real-time inventory, there were times where while one order for a unit and accessories, such as a windshield, was being written up, another order that included the same windshield was just sold by another sales person. Looking for inventory availability involved searching a facility of about 10,000 square feet, while customers backed up at the parts counter.
Receiving inventory was a process of manually placing a checkmark next to each item on the receiving document, and placing the paperwork on the desk to be filed in a box. According to Parent, “It became very cumbersome. We knew we had to make a change.”
When Parent initially brought up the idea of switching from pen and paper to a Dealer Management System (DMS), he didn’t encounter any resistance from his younger staff. However, staff that had been with the dealership up to 22 years instantly put up a wall, reluctant to learn a new system.
That didn’t stop Parent. Once Velocity Vehicles moved forward with DX1, even the long-term staff found the platform very easy to work with. Said Parent, “It’s like anything. Day one, day two, you’re going to have a couple of stumbles. But by the time we got to the end of the first week, we were rolling with it and I don’t think anybody wanted to look back once they saw how easy it was to get inventory into the system.”
“One of the biggest changes I’ve noticed is that we aren’t wasting a lot of time by running out back to check on inventory. That information is available in DX1.”
Jeff Parent, Managing Partner
Before, an inquiry about a tire would result in a trip out back. Now, availability and pricing is at their fingertips in DX1.
Parent continues, “I can’t stress enough how much easier life is with DX1, versus having 50 sheets of parts paper and five or six sheets of machines that you have to go through every day to figure out what needs to be ordered. And, you can even order your parts right in DX1. You’re off and running.”
“We didn’t have to enter a single number. Scan the barcode. The part is in DX1. How do you beat it?”
Jeff Parent, Managing Partner
Having purchase history at their fingertips has also helped to improve the customer experience. Before, customers looking to purchase oil, filters or other items for a unit previously purchased at the dealership, would be asked to provide the vehicle model. If the customer wasn’t certain, the dealership staff had to dig through a paper file to access the customer’s purchase history. Now, with a few clicks, the parts team is able to pull up the customer’s purchase history, identify the model and fulfill the customer’s order, personalizing the experience and cutting back on the wait time for all of the customers at the parts counter.
“Going from pen and paper to DX1 is going to be the huge change that everybody will see the value in.”
Jeff Parent, Managing Partner
For other dealers considering the switch from pen and paper, Parent finishes with, “You’re going to see that you can assist customers faster. Although everybody can scribble pretty quick, with DX1, you can provide your customers with an easy to read, printed professional slip versus handwritten scribbling. And, you’re no longer that guy at the end of a busy day who has to try and decipher handwritten transactions to try and figure out part numbers and what was sold. Instead, in DX1, you’re going to see exactly what you’ve got.”