Stocking inventory can be a tricky, daunting task, even for veteran car dealers. To make matters worse, the current inventory shortage only adds challenge to the process. Keep reading to discover how the Dealerslink Simplified Stocking Report is helping dealers across the nation fill their inventory needs.

Whether we like it or not, inventory is currently the most restricted we’ve seen it in years, and stocking a lot has become an even more challenging task. Traditionally, determining your inventory needs has been a time-consuming process, involving a large amount of analysis, research, and a bit of guesswork. But thanks to our simplified stocking report, you can save you and your team the headaches and quickly find solutions to any of your stocking difficulties.

Different from a typical stocking report, ours does not break inventory down by price band. Instead, it sorts vehicles by type, ranging from small cars and minivans to half-ton SUVs and one-ton pick-ups. Rather than telling you the value of cars that you need, the DealersLink simplified stocking report tells you what your customers need, allowing you to better cater to your clients and ultimately sell more vehicles.

The DealersLink Simplified Stocking Report provides you with more than just streamlined analysis, however. It yields effective solutions in real-time, analyzing both recent and seasonal sales data trends to tell you how many cars you need to purchase or sell, and how they have performed statistically. Once you know which areas need to be stocked, our platform lets you “drill down” within your inventory, allowing you to see specifically which car models perform best and should be stocked, and which ones do not.

“The simplified stocking report allows store managers, who are responsible for sourcing vehicles, a quick way to identify vehicles by class where the store is low or high on inventory,” describes DealersLink performance manager Matt Childers. “By keeping the report simple, it helps dealers to make quick, informed decisions instead of having to dive through multiple layers of data analytics.  In doing so, dealers can be more efficient and effective when trying to fill inventory holes on the lot.”

Once you know what you need, the DealersLink platform makes it easy for you to find it. Our stocking report is directly integrated with our DealersLink Marketplace, as well as our AuctionLink platform, allowing you to go directly from one to the other, and easily source your next vehicles. With unmatched ease of navigation and a variety of tangible, digestible data points, your lots will be perfectly stocked in no time.

So now that your team has all this extra time, it’s time to decide what you’re going to do with it… visit us online at dealerslink.com to get started.

Broomfield, CO – After years of research and development, automotive software provider DealersLink has just revealed its latest brainchild: AuctionLink 2.0. This searchable auction database combines intel from 92 Manheim auctions and over 200 independent auctions, allowing dealers to gain a combined, in-depth view of the auction market.

Originally developed in 2015, AuctionLink served as a digital auction house within the DealersLink platform where dealers could list and bid on vehicles that were listed by AuctionLink users. AuctionLink 2.0 builds off this feature, but adds an enhanced search tool, allowing users to view and navigate to vehicle listings anywhere in the country. Aimed at promoting efficiency and ease of navigation, AuctionLink 2.0 offers unmatched market visibility for auction listings across the nation.

“The support and innovation with AuctionLink 2.0 are unmatched. It’s much simpler and easier to use than any other product I’ve dealt with. The willingness to adapt to feedback from the support team is something I was never able to get with StockWave and vAuto. If I ever open my own store, DealersLink will be the first place I call.

– Scott Allen, General Sales Manager of Roger Dabbs Chevrolet

Robust in nature, the newest rendition of the AuctionLink platform provides a variety of filters and data points to help dealers navigate to the exact market segment that they’re looking for, offering up to 5 days of advanced market data. Basic search figures include vehicle make, model, and year, with users also having the ability to filter vehicles by distance and zip code.

For an in-depth analysis, each vehicle is given a grade within the AuctionLink 2.0 system, based on a rating from the National Auto Auction Association (NAAA). Ranging from 1-5, each grade reflects on a vehicle’s condition and value, corresponding with a color-coded “traffic light” rating, a red, yellow, and green circle next to each score. With a variety of data points and evaluation methods, AuctionLink 2.0 allows dealers to easily find exactly what they’re looking for.

“AuctionLink 2.0 has been a five-year dream in the making, to build a global auction search for all auctions that complements our 15-year-old dealer-to-dealer marketplace,” remarks DealersLink CEO Mike Goicoechea. “With over 150,000 used vehicles, AuctionLink 2.0 now gives dealers the most complete model of used inventory available for sale on dealer lots or in-lane. We are excited to give DealersLink members a competitive advantage in this era of inventory shortages!”

To learn more about AuctionLink 2.0 and the DealersLink platform, visit us online at dealerslink.com.

About DealersLink

Founded in the late ‘90s by a team of automotive industry experts, DealersLink has grown to the fastest-growing inventory management company in the nation. The brand is the only true market-data-driven new and used auto dealership management software solution, coupled with a billion dollar’s worth of on-demand, dealer-direct inventory. Using the state-of-the-art DealersLink software, dealers can source, appraise, price, market, manage and exit inventory with the industry’s most powerful all-in-one solution. Constantly innovating and updating their software, DealersLink is helping thousands of car dealers nationwide take their dealerships into the digital era.

In today's day and age, we all know how important it is to stress efficiency at your dealership. Those who make best use of their time and can close the most deals realize the most success. Discover how Trim Exacting is helping dealers save time and ultimately become more efficient.

We all know how time-consuming it can be to figure out a vehicle’s trim that’s new on your lot, especially when it comes to brands like Ford and Toyota. But thanks to the DealersLink trim exacting feature you can get a chunk of your day back.  This state-of-the-art tool uses multiple data sources to identify trims for makes that don’t encode their trim data in the VIN, saving you time, effort, and ultimately money.

What is trim exacting?

When a vehicle is entered into the DealersLink system, its previous data and features are entered into its profile. Typically, it is difficult to tell which trim, or specific layout of equipment is associated with a particular vehicle. Frequently, dealers are stuck having to guess, or manually look at a vehicle’s features.

Trim Exacting eliminates this process by sorting through VIN data, car history, and previous listings to instantly import the exact trim data into a vehicle’s profile, preventing any guesswork on your end.

How does it work?

The DealersLink Trim Exacting tool uses a three-step system to ensure accuracy, analyzing a variety of data sources to find the correct information:

VinDecoder

First off, the tool searches for trim information based on a vehicle’s VIN number, which oftentimes contains a digit that corresponds to trim information. This is a common way that manufacturers provide their trim information.

JD Power/ChromeData

If the VIN doesn’t contain a corresponding number, the trim information is then searched for in our JD Power Database. This feature scans the web for previous listings and vehicle information to find the exact trim data.

Compview MetaData Search

If the previous two steps are unsuccessful, our system then searches our own CompView database for matching vehicles with corresponding features and layouts. Once it has found a matching listing, the tool scans the metadata of the webpage, which typically contains exact trim information.

How does trim exacting help your dealership?

Instead of having to manually search for or determine the trim of a vehicle, our trim exacting feature does it for you with just a click of a button. This not only saves you time and effort but allows you to focus on more important tasks, helping keep your dealership running efficiently.

So, what are you waiting for? Take a demo and see first-hand how our trim exacting feature helps your dealership. Visit us online for more information: public.dealerslink.com.

Broomfield, CO – DealersLink has just announced its latest API integration with popular vehicle history report provider Autocheck. This integration builds off the brand’s earlier vehicle history report integration with Carfax, and now allows dealers using the industry’s two most popular car history report providers to instantly see a vehicle’s history within the DealersLink platform.

Autocheck has been an industry leader in car history reports for over 10 years, supplying vehicle owners and car dealers information on reported accidents, odometer rollback, lemon vehicles, branded titles, and more. As per the brand’s website, AutoCheck’s mission remains to help you understand a vehicle’s history, enable you to compare similar vehicles you may be considering and help you select the vehicle that is right for you.

Key features of this API integration include dirty vehicle history highlights, custom vehicle reports built into the FastBook platform, single-owner status updates, recall alerts, and more. This tool allows car dealers using the DealersLink platform to gain insight easily and quickly into a vehicle’s background, helping them to accurately price, appraise, and sell vehicles.

“Autocheck Pro allows a dealer to be alerted at a glance to issues or highlights on the Autocheck vehicle history reports,” remarks DealersLink Dealer Services Director Devon Peterson. “It saves dealers time by automatically providing simple icon indicators instead of having to view the entire Autocheck report for every vehicle. This stops dealers from missing large vehicle history issues, like frame damage or a branded title that can be very costly if missed in the evaluation process.”

This launch comes on the heels of a record-breaking first and second quarter of 2021 for DealersLink. The brand plans to build off this success as it moves into the second half of the year. The automotive software leader has already forecasted a variety of product launches, feature updates, and brand improvements for the coming months. For information about DealersLink and its variety of product offerings, visit us online at public.dealerslink.com

It’s a great time to be looking for a job, but not such a great time to be hiring. Although society has begun to return to its usual state, employers are struggling to find talent in a tight labor market, especially within the automotive field. Keep reading to discover our tips on helping your dealership find the right kind of hires.

A sense of normalcy has finally returned to the lives of many Americans. Bars and restaurants have reopened, masks are no longer required in most places and many employees are back in the office. However, within the working world, conditions are far from standard, as employers across the nation are scrambling to find employees and fill positions. That’s right, our nation is in the midst of a labor shortage, the likes of which haven’t been seen in decades, and the automotive industry is no outlier.

According to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. employers had 9.3 million job openings at the end of April, the highest this statistic has been seen since it was first measured in 2000. Furthermore, automotive publication Ford Authority cited that 72 percent of franchised auto dealers said that finding and hiring the right employees was a current challenge. The labor shortage has given workers a sense of power that they have seldom seen before and, employers are placed in a difficult situation. With minimal layoffs and higher quitting rates, many workers are confident that they can find better employment elsewhere.

So, what does this mean for you, the car dealer looking to hire?

Ultimately, it’s time for your dealership to rethink its hiring process. Finding the best talent has always been a key to success for any car dealer, but with the job market tighter than ever, it’s crucial that you’re finding the right kind of people. Keep the following in mind when looking to hire:

Perfect your job descriptions: With the job market so tight, you’ll likely need your employees to take on different or more fluid types of roles. Make sure your job descriptions are clear about what your dealership is looking for, that way you’ll make sure to attract the right kind of candidates.

Time is of the essence: Once you find the person you’re looking for, act fast! With so many employers looking to hire and a limited talent pool, it’s likely your candidate will have several offers. If you don’t capitalize quickly, they will soon find work elsewhere. Make sure your hiring team has a standardized system in place so the hiring process can run smoothly and prevent missed opportunities.

Think outside the box: While car dealers are typically looking for candidates with automotive experience, in today’s market that won’t always be possible. However, there’s plenty of talent out there that, with a bit of training, can do more than fulfill your needs. Don’t be afraid to look for experienced candidates outside of your industry.

To discover more resources for your dealership, visit us online at: public.dealerslink.com/resources-for-new-and-used-car-dealers/.

Broomfield, CO – DealersLink has announced that they will be a leading sponsor of this year’s Montana Auto Dealers Association (MTADA) Family Convention on June 18th - June 20th at the Great Northern Hotel in Helena, Montana.

After postponing last year’s conference because of COVID-19, this year’s MTADA Family Convention aims to provide automotive insight amongst a leisurely atmosphere, drawing in hundreds of automotive dealers from across the state of Montana and the surrounding region.

Speakers at the event include comedian and business mogul Michael Burger, Dr. Nathan Meller, and Bill Walters, President Emeritus of the Texas Automobile Dealers Association.

The Montana Auto Dealers Association has been partnering with dealers across the state for 107 years, and its board and staff are dedicated to bringing the highest quality service to its members.

DealersLink has long had a presence within the region and is proud to continue to support Montana dealers to source, appraise, price, and sell more vehicles with its advanced inventory solutions. It plans to continue sponsoring similar events in an effort to expand its presence in the region and build a dealer exchange around its Marketplace offering.

Representing DealersLink at the event is John Hatfield, Regional VP of Sales and an automotive industry veteran.

For more information about the convention visit:

https://public.dealerslink.com/events/mtada-family-convention/

About MTADA

The Montana Automobile Dealers Association is made up of 99 franchised new car and truck dealers in Montana. The association and its members strive to uphold the highest standards of honesty and integrity and continuously work together to improve the car buying experience for Montana consumers.

About DealersLink

DealersLink® provides industry-leading evaluation, pricing, inventory management, syndication, and analytics. It has been eliminating wholesale transaction fees for 15 years with over $1 billion in used inventory available to dealer members 24/7. Members use the marketplace daily to stock their lots with clean reconditioned units, locate hard-to-find vehicles for their customers, sell inventory without incurring wholesale losses. For more information visit: DealersLink.com

DealersLink Contact:

John Hatfield

sales@dealerslink.com

(844) 340-2522

Broomfield, CO – DealersLink has announced they will be a pivotal sponsor of this year’s Alabama-Mississippi-Tennessee Car and Truck Dealers Convention, on June 20 - June 23rd, at the scenic Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort, in Miramar Beach, Florida.

The convention unites the knowledge and intellect of hundreds of auto dealers from the three-state region, for a fully immersive weekend of automotive discourse. DealersLink is honored to be a sponsor of this cumulative effort from the Automobile Dealers Association of Alabama (ADAA), the Mississippi Automobile Dealers Association (MADA), and the Tennessee Automotive Association (TAA).

DealersLink has long been a dealer advocate company in the region and is proud to continue to provide industry-leading dealership inventory solutions that help source, appraise, price, and sell more vehicles. It plans to continue sponsoring similar events in an effort to broaden its presence in the region and continue to expand its dealer to dealer vehicle exchange Marketplace.

DealersLink is excited to be sending a team to the event for the first time ever!

For more information about the convention visit:

https://public.dealerslink.com/events/alabama-mississippi-tennessee-car-and-truck-dealers-convention/

About ADAA

The Automobile Dealers Association of Alabama, Inc. is a non-profit trade association representing and serving the interests of Alabama's 300 franchised new car and truck dealers.

About MADA

Formed in 1941, MADA represents a collective voice for the dealers with advocacy, exclusive member benefits, and promoting the automobile industry.

About TAA

The mission of the Tennessee Automotive Association (TAA) is to protect, promote and advance the welfare of our members: retail car and truck dealers, valued associates, and finance members, and all member customers.

About DealersLink

DealersLink® provides industry-leading inventory management, evaluation, pricing, syndication, and true market analytics. It has been eliminating wholesale transaction fees for 15 years, with over $1 billion in used inventory available to dealer members 24/7. Members use the Marketplace daily to stock their lots with clean reconditioned units, locate hard-to-find vehicles for their customers, and sell inventory without incurring wholesale losses. For more information visit: DealersLink.com

DealersLink Contact:

Travis Wise

sales@dealerslink.com

(844) 340-2522

It’s no secret that the prolonged global shortage of semiconductor chips needed for new vehicles has continued to escalate, dramatically impacting inventory levels throughout the marketplace. Estimates indicate there will be over one million fewer cars built on a worldwide basis in 2021, and per Glenn O’Donnell, VP of Research at Forrester, the shortage could last until 2023.

This issue was created by a “perfect storm” from the COVID pandemic, where demand for electronic goods, and subsequently computer chips, was intensified. Added to this, multiple supply chain shipping problems perpetuated an intense backlog of needed parts for car manufacturers.

In the words of Jim Farley, CEO of Ford Motor Company, “… (this is) perhaps the greatest supply shock,” he has ever seen.

The point gets further proven by the fact that pre-owned vehicles are appreciating in value – a phenomenon rarely, if ever, seen in the modern era. With less inventory available, demand has skyrocketed, and so have prices.

Dramatic evidence can be seen across dealerships throughout the nation, where car lots are visibly depleted of inventory. Andy Keys, General Sales Manager at Wendle Ford in Spokane, Washington, says, “We are sitting at about 35 new vehicles on the ground of Fords. We usually have 200 to 250.”

So, what are the solutions?

The simplest, but most frustrating answer is time. There are efforts to start making more semiconductors in the U.S., but this will take time to ramp up to meet the vastly depleted supply.

New vehicle production pauses are also in effect. Auto manufactures, including Ford, GM, Honda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota, and VW have paused production on models which are less-in-demand, and models that require more chips. While this may help semiconductor manufacturers with the needed time to “catch up” to demand, this approach obviously places additional strains on the auto industry.

The optimal answer is exploring additional and more strategic sources for inventory. Products like online auctions, customer trades, and the DealersLink Marketplace make it easy for dealers to buy quality inventory that their market demands.

“The DealersLink Marketplace enables dealers to see the entire market with transparency, regardless of their business locations. Clients can stock their lots with clean, reconditioned units, locate hard-to-find vehicles for their customers, sell inventory with incurring wholesale losses, and read the market with industry-leading analytic tools.”

• - Travis Wise, Senior Vice President of Sales at DealersLink

Visit us online for more information: https://public.dealerslink.com/

Broomfield, CO – DealersLink has announced that they will be a pivotal sponsor of this year’s North Carolina Auto Dealers Association (NCADA) Family Convention on June 13 – June 16 at the historic Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

Entering its 85th year, the annual NCADA Family Convention combines automotive intellect with a leisurely atmosphere, drawing in over 600 car dealers from North Carolina and the surrounding region.

Both the conference and NCADA are dedicated to providing the highest quality service in education, insurance, and dealer promotion for North Carolina dealerships.

DealersLink has long had a presence within the region and is proud to continue to support North Carolina dealers to source, appraise, price, and sell more vehicles with its advanced inventory solutions. It plans to continue sponsoring similar events in an effort to expand its presence in the region and build a dealer exchange around its Marketplace offering.

Representing DealersLink at the event is Michael Wood, Regional VP of Sales and an automotive industry veteran.

For more information about the convention visit: https://ncadaconvention.wordpress.com/activity-guide/

About NCADA

As found on the NCADA site, their mission remains “to use our collective power to proactively preserve, protect and enhance the economic life, relationships, and image of our members and the association itself.”

About DealersLink

DealersLink® provides industry-leading evaluation, pricing, inventory management, syndication, and analytics. It has been eliminating wholesale transaction fees for 15 years with over $1 billion in used inventory available to dealer members 24/7. Members use the marketplace daily to stock their lots with clean reconditioned units, locate hard-to-find vehicles for their customers, sell inventory without incurring wholesale losses. For more information visit: DealersLink.com

DealersLink Contact:

Michael Wood

sales@dealerslink.com

(844) 340-2522

If you follow the automotive industry, you’ve likely heard that vehicles are appreciating at unprecedented rates right now. What you might not know, however, is how your dealership can fully use these conditions to its advantage. Keep reading to learn what has caused this unheard-of spike in vehicle prices and how dealers across the nation are using it to realize massive gains.

With the COVID vaccine becoming more and more prevalent, Americans are finally starting to return to some sense of normalcy as mask mandates relax and businesses begin to fully reopen. For the automotive industry, however, conditions are far from typical with inventory tighter than ever and car values skyrocketing. But dealers who have been actively buying and selling vehicles during the pandemic are now reaping the benefits, as cars on their lots are appreciating at never-before-seen rates.

There is not a simple explanation behind these conditions. Rather they are a product of a variety of different factors:

1. Trouble on the Line: The COVID-19 situation affected automotive manufacturing in a variety of ways, one of which being a lack of computer chips and parts, ultimately leading to less car production. With less supply of cars, demand and prices have naturally gone up.
2. Rental Fleet Inventory: Instead of selling aged inventory, rental companies are now holding onto their used vehicles for longer, meaning less inventory being placed back on the market.
3. Fewer Lease Returns: Leasers are choosing to buy or extend their leases instead of leasing them back to the dealership, causing less inventory to be available for sale.
4. Stimulus Checks Galore: Be it PPP loans, stimulus checks, or other types of government aid, consumers are receiving money from the government like never before, meaning they’re buying inventory like never before.

With fewer vehicles available but higher demand, dealers with low inventory are scrambling to acquire vehicles as they watch prices inflate. At the same time, those who have been actively making transactions are seeing their hard work pay off as their appreciating lots significantly gain value.

“With less inventory available, dealers are seeing their lot values skyrocket,” describes DealersLink Senior VP of Sales Travis Wise. “There are two types of dealers out there: those who have been buying inventory and seeing the benefits or those who haven’t and have been suffering.”

A dealer who has actively been making transactions vs. one who hasn’t

A recent article from AutoRemarketing confirms this “spike”, noting how the Manheim used-car price index surpassed the 200 mark in mid-May, its highest level since 1997. Additionally, the article notes that the number of unsold vehicles fell from 2.34 million at the end of March to 2.23 million at the end of April, a drastic drop.

So, what do these conditions mean for your dealership? Ultimately, this recent spike emphasizes the importance of continuing to actively make transactions, be it buying, selling, or trading vehicles. The more inventory that dealers interact with, the more money they will ultimately make.

An easy way to do this is through the DealersLink marketplace, the largest dealer-to-dealer vehicle exchange in the country with over $1 billion in retail-ready inventory. Nationwide, dealers use the marketplace to streamline the way they buy, sell, and trade inventory without the typical fees or long-term contracts. To learn more, visit our dedicated marketplace page.