Consultants Help Dealers Identify Improvements to Increase Efficiency and Profit

There is no denying the significant investment car dealers make with the software that runs their stores. But most dealerships only scratch the surface of their software’s true business potential. Knowing the right workflow for a task isn't the same as understanding how to transform your business operations.

That’s why CDK Professional Service - Consulting exists. Here are five ways our consultants can lend an assist when you might not know you need one.

1. Consultants Clean and Standardize Data

Dashboards and metrics only matter if your data is accurate. For instance, if your CRM lists phone numbers for 100 customers, but half of those are disconnected landlines, your cold call results may seem disproportionately low.

Database cleanup and standardization are important when merging systems and upgrading software, but they’re especially important during mergers and acquisitions of other storefronts. This work is time-intensive, but by using CDK Solutions Consultants, dealers can save 30% to 40% in reconciliation time and ensure OEM compliance. Dealership Accounting is complex, requiring careful attention to detail and an immense amount of staff time. Even small errors can add up over time. Clean data leads to accurate numbers and metrics, which ultimately leads to smarter business decisions. 

2. Consultants Turn Numbers Into Context 

Software dashboards can track every important metric for a dealership’s success, but without context, they're just numbers. A used vehicle sitting on your lot for 30 days may seem like a long time until you realize the industry average is closer to 39.

CDK Consultants bring an average of 18 years of experience with CDK systems, plus a decade or more of dealership management experience. They’ve been in your shoes, and they can use that experience to improve processes and put pieces of the puzzle together so workflows are seamless. And CDK serves 55% of DMS business nationwide, so consultants can benchmark your metrics against industry standards.

Dealers often prioritize fixes based on bandwidth or the loudest squeaky wheel. CDK Consultants identify issues based on the root causes, not perception, and ensure today’s fix isn’t tomorrow’s problem. This knowledgeable, unbiased opinion helps dealers make the improvements they need to catapult their business forward.

3. Consultants Improve Operational Efficiency and Profitability

Consultants can help streamline processes, like reducing parts obsolescence, increasing warranty revenue, and managing a dealer's OEM chart of accounts annually.

Services like these not only save dealerships time but, in many cases, help dealers identify potential profit opportunitiesoften missed due to complex, time-intensive processes and workflows.

4. Consultants Provide Strategic Change Management

Implementation or onboarding teams set up systems, but consultants prepare teams for change. CDK Consultants work with dealership leadership to communicate the strategic vision, help teams understand how new processes fit into the bigger picture and ensure faster time to value.

Dealership personnel can be overwhelmed by changes or resistant to new technology. Consultants bridge this gap, and when employees understand the bigger picture behind why they're making changes, adoption rates and engagement improve dramatically.

5. Consultants Offer Peer Council for Dealer Leadership

Dealership managers can often find it difficult to find support for peers at their level. Many consultants had leadership roles in dealerships before making the move to consulting. They keep up with the industry movements and challenges and provide a safe space for leadership to have confidential discussions without concern for competitors. Some consulting providers, like CDK, also offer access to peer groups that provide anonymous data composites so members can gauge their performance against the group. In addition, dealers can choose to take part in moderated meetings where they can compare performance metrics and discuss challenges among their peers

Ultimately, CDK Consultants allow dealers to dig deeper into optimizing systems and processes to ensure they have the best chances at success. Some services are predefined and provide specific deliverable that quickly accelerate value within particular areas of the dealership, while others are quarterly or biannual on-site assessments that give dealers unbiased viewpoints of their greatest strengths and opportunities. When dealerships are squeezed for time and resources, such as when end-of-year sprints or churn threaten to weaken processes, CDK a la carte services can provide support on those projects as needed.

Consultants don’t just help you use software. They help you transform your business, and every engagement aims to improve efficiency, reduce costs and increase profitability.

Learn more information about CDK Consulting Services.