OFF TOPIC but relevant:
DaimlerChrysler Launches Computer-Based Selling System
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - DaimlerChrysler AG has begun testing a new computer-based selling system that it hopes will strengthen customer loyalty while saving dealers time and money.
The electronic sales system has been launched as a pilot program at an unnamed Detroit area dealer and will be rolled out to a half dozen others with the intention of taking it to all 4,500 Chrysler-Plymouth, Dodge and Jeep dealers in the United States, officials said Sunday at the National Automobile Dealers Association annual convention here.
The idea is that all the information that was available piecemeal to the dealers and customers before will be found in one, easy-to-use desktop computer system. When the system is up and running, consumers will no longer be told to wait while the sales person goes to confer with his manager in the back room.
''Whether people like to negotiate or don't like to negotiate, they don't like to be taken advantage of,'' John McDonald, DaimlerChrysler senior vice president of sales and service, told reporters.
In a world where 25 percent of all customers already use the Internet to study what vehicles they want, and that figure is expected to double over the next two years, the system is a natural, DaimlerChrysler officials said.
Other automakers are working on similar systems to improve and streamline the buying process for consumers.
DaimlerChrysler's computer system, which also will be accessible to consumers via the Internet, will pull together up-to-the-minute product, pricing, incentive and other database information, said Tom Peyton, DaimlerChrysler retail technologies senior manager.
In other words, a consumer who walks in off the street and wants a green Chrysler Sebring convertible with a particular interior or type of wheels will be able to determine how much it will cost, whether it is on the dealer lot, en route from the factory or needs to be ordered.
The eventual goal down the road is vehicles customized to a consumer's specific tastes and a detailed description of what it costs and when it will be delivered, McDonald said. For now the computer software uses ''fuzzy logic'' to tell the consumer what available vehicles most closely match his or her tastes.
The selling system is meant to improve customer satisfaction by shortening and making easier the buying process, providing accurate information and improving the integrity of the dealer experience, Peyton said. It will be integrated with dealers' existing computer systems.
The ability to add accessories like brush guards and other add-on products, as well as integration with DaimlerChrysler's financial arm, will be added to the system in the next few weeks, he said.
The automaker does not have a time by which the national roll-out of the program will be completed, but the pilot is expected to last six months. |
