Fixed Ops Journal - April 2021 - F4

FIXED OPS JOURNAL

HELP IN THE HUNT

Service drive can lift dealerships as source of used-vehicle inventory
Blame microchip shortages and other supply chain issues that are
pinching production. And that could result in a sort of dealership déjà vu.
" It's causing many [dealers] to kind of go back to that 2020 view of the
importance of the service drive, " Grace says.
Yes, fixed ops might be called upon again to help carry the front of the
store as they did during the pandemic. But in addition to more repair and warranty work, Grace says
the service drive could help the
dealership bottom line by being " a
source of inventory acquisition "
for the used-vehicle lot.
Grace uses data to point dealerships " in the right direction of who
are the right people to sell [what's
currently on the used-car lot] or
who's driving what I know I could
move inside of seven days, " he
says. Pre-owned vehicle sales were
IAN GRACE
" really paramount to the success of
automotiveMastermind
many dealers last year because it
was the only source of customer
engagement. "
Grace says service drives should do an assessment to see what type of
data management solution fits them so they are not " flying blind talking
to that customer. "
" If you don't have a data-driven solution, you're really at a disadvantage, " he says.
Most manufacturers will be impacted " in some way, shape or form inventory-wise this year, " Grace says.
This may result in a shortage of new vehicles and eventually, a shortage of used cars as well. To survive, dealerships need to be in a " farm
and hunt " mode of looking for good used cars - and the service drive is
fertile territory.
" If you want to really approach things so that you can be ready to
adapt in a dynamic environment, " Grace says, " you need to have the
right tools, the right people and the right processes in place, especially
around the service drive. " 

" It's causing
many [dealers] to
kind of go back to
that 2020 view of
the importance of
the service drive. "

n oft-told story of 2020 was how
the pandemic brought back into
focus the importance of fixed
dan.shine@crain.com
operations at franchised dealFixed Ops Journal
erships. The pandemic
forced states to temporarily close businesseditor
es, including auto sales departments across
the country. But service departments were
considered essential and remained open, bringing in money to keep
dealerships afloat until restrictions eased later in the year.
Ian Grace, senior director of partner performance at automotiveMastermind, thinks the crisis that hits the industry in 2021 will be a lack of
vehicle inventory.

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DAN
SHINE

APRIL 2021

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Fixed Ops Journal - April 2021

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