Every home has a drawer filled with old technology—remote controls, flip phones, charging cords, solar calculators, and compact discs. These items were built for another age and are no longer suited to provide any real benefit, but still we hold onto them. Is your dealership doing the same thing with its DMS technology? Most dealerships have used the same DMS for decades, even though it was built for a previous era of car buying. The truth is, modern DMS platforms offer very real benefits over older, legacy systems, including the following five hallmarks of a modern DMS.
Hallmark # 1: Cloud-Based Structure
These days, any piece of software not hosted in the cloud cannot be considered modern. The benefits of cloud-based platforms and SaaS delivery are clear. When your DMS is delivered through the cloud—and not hosted on a local server—you get automatic upgrades and the security of redundant data storage on remotely located servers.
Hallmark # 2: Open Third-Party Integration
Today, dealerships can’t rely on a single technology provider to meet all of the demands of modern business. DMS platforms that can’t connect to new, innovative software solutions are holding dealerships back. And, even when they allow integrations, legacy providers often charge high integration fees that hurt dealership profits. Modern DMS platforms, with their open architectures, let you choose the vendors that are best for your business and they work to limit data access fees.
Hallmark # 3: Data Visibility
Digital Age DMS platforms allow dealerships to access their data anytime, anywhere, and from any device. More importantly, they always provide real-time data and up-to-the-minute numbers. Legacy platforms, on the other hand, rely on intermittent batch updates, so it’s hard to be sure that the information you’re seeing is real.
Hallmark # 4: Ease of Use
The best part about modern technology is that it’s easy to use. Because modern DMS platforms have vastly improved their interfaces, navigation structures and workflows, they are easy to learn, easy to train, and easy to use. That means, you can make hiring and retention decisions based on what’s best for the business, not the limits of your DMS.
Hallmark # 5: Efficient Workflows:
One of the biggest problems with old systems is that they were built to align with outdated customer preferences and antiquated dealership processes. Modern DMS platforms align digital workflows with natural, real-word processes. By eliminating the need to jump between multiple screens, enter duplicate data, and dig for information, modern systems make your employees more efficient and your customers more satisfied.
Most DMS platforms were not built for the Digital Age and are not providing the capabilities necessary to satisfy today’s car buyers. But, instead of junking those legacy platforms, many dealerships simply patch up and work around their limitations. To keep up with the changing automotive industry, it’s important to evaluate your current DMS against the hallmarks of a modern system and to modernize when necessary.
To learn more about the five hallmarks of a modern DMS, download our guide, “Was your DMS built for the digital age?”
