Can your dealership support online sales ?

With dealer forecourts set to remain closed for the current time the shift to online sales is increasing. This brings challenges with it, but also opportunity.

Going forward we are likely to see more operating models where the first time a buyer will see the physical vehicle they have purchased is when it arrives on their doorstep. You may even have taken their existing vehicle as a part exchange.  There are ways that technology can be utilised in real-time to help confirm vehicles conditions and manage expectations.

There are some things that will need to be a given : ensure a safe hand over following all social distancing policies, and ensure that all clients are delighted with the product and process. You can track a £5 delivery from Amazon to your doorstep with regular messaging updates in case of changes / delays, this should be an essential part of any vehicle delivery service too.  You need to be happy that the vehicle was delivered to the right place at the right time and have an early view on the condition of any part exchange vehicle that you have agreed.

Here is how we are doing it at DMN :

Collection from your location

• Have you got a dedicated vehicle handover area ?
• Are you able to disenfect the vehicle prior to possession being handed over ?
• Can our driver access the site and facilities safely and not pose any risk to themselves or your team ?
• Do you have an operational plan on how to access your site for collections and deliveries ?

Social Distancing

• Your client will receive an email the day prior given them details for their security identifying the driver and an ETA
• Pre arrival telephone contact on the day by the driver to confirm and update their ETA
• On arrival driver will contact your client and announce their presence and make any further access arrangements.
• We will also confirm on site attendance to you via our MiVIS app.
• The driver will wipe all key touch points including keys with antibacterial wipes and sprays
• Mask and gloves will be worn by the driver and they will have access to hand gel
• Documents and keys will be handed over without direct touch contact
• A minimum of 2m distance from clients will always be observed

Vehicle Delivery

• Our driver will confirm the condition of the vehicle at the point of delivery and an email will be sent direct to your client and your sales team from our MiVIS app with all the relevant details and supporting images
• Our driver will wait while you contact the client (if you so wish) to confirm everything is to their satisfaction.

Part Exchange Process

• Our driver will complete a full vehicle appraisal on site with the data sent in real-time to your office for review
  • Full supporting images
  • Detail of any damage
  • Confirmation of odometer reading
  • List and images of all documents
• Once you receive the data, you will be in direct contact with our driver to ask for any additional images or commentary on the vehicle condition
• Our driver will not leave site until you are completely satisfied and is advised to proceed by your office

Prove of delivery and collection location

• Your client will not be asked to sign our drivers device due to potential cross contamination off the handheld device
  • MiVIS as geotags enabled so we know where the transactions take place
  • The driver will also image the vehicle in the location to support geotagging data