For some dealers, the recent purchase of Dealer Solutions by ADP was seen as a "narrowing of the playing field"-or a bad thing. Actually this purchase might be good for all three parties: ADP, Dealer Solutions and dealers.
ADP acquired Dealer Solutions to obtain their innovative technology. This moved ADP ahead by years in developing their "next generation" system based on the Dealer Solutions database and user interface. Dealers were originally attracted to Dealer Solutions for a variety of reasons, including the Windows NT platform and client/server technology. There were a few problems with this technology regarding data access, security, and speed. ADP plans to enhance the Dealer Solutions system by switching from the Intel platform to the faster running Alpha chip that their millennia system uses. They will also change from "fat client" PCs to the lower cost and maintenance of the thin client. In addition, they will use an improved version of NT that provides better support and speed for the clients. At this time, they will not market the existing Dealer Solutions product until these enhancements are made. ADP will continue marketing its current UNIX Elite products, even after the new system is ready.
Dealers have mixed feelings about the new purchase. One of the most recent Dealer Solutions installations, Dodge Country in Wisconsin, was a former ADP client. According to dealer Larry Carey, the support from DSI has been excellent, and if ADP lets DSI run "as usual" without changing their philosophy, then it will be very positive.
In the past, the "big three" computer companies have purchased smaller computer companies with the objective of increasing their customer base. They would purchase the company and their installed dealer client base and then convert those dealers to their core product line. Since Dealer Solutions only has an installed dealer client base of 25-30 dealers, ADP must have a different agenda planned, which means new technology and a more open system for dealers.
What makes a computer system "open"? One of the first criteria is the ability to share data between the in-house system and third party products. For example, our company downloads the customer database to Microsoft Access and Outlook for a Customer Retention system from ADP, R+R, UCS and EDS systems. Moving the data into these Microsoft products involves a tremendous amount of data extraction and conversion. If these systems were truly open, the entire database file could be exported, or even better, "linked" to the file on the PC. ADP's Elite Plus Professional now allows dealers to extract data to Microsoft Access. Reynolds and Reynolds has developed a solution called Performance Path that enables third party vendors to exchange data between systems. They currently have seventy vendors that are in various states of qualifying and Reynolds and Reynolds hopes to have five to ten of these vendors integrated by the next NADA. Some examples of linking are parts locators, service pricing guides, and standalone F&I systems. Although the price is high for the vendor (starting at $10,000 plus a monthly support cost), the benefits to the dealer means less "rekeying" of data back into the Reynolds and Reynolds system. Both EDS and ADP have already interfaced their systems with numerous third party vendors. UCS has taken a different path towards open systems by marketing their latest version with a LAN. According to Donny Holender, UCS VP of Sales for the Western Region, over 90% of dealers who see this new open LAN system purchase the upgrade. They have over fifty installed in the West. The savings for dealers comes in less port expense for traditional UCS clients that required a port for every terminal, printer, or communication device. In addition, the PC's that are installed normally come with a three-year maintenance contract from the manufacturer, so a dealer is not required to pay support on those units.
What can dealers do to push for open systems? The biggest hindrance to any computer company that wants to provide services to the automotive industry is the manufacturer. Each factory has its own requirements and certification for computer vendors and some manufacturers only allow communication with one or two select vendors. For our systems to be truly open, the manufacturers need to eliminate their certification process and merely publish their file specification requirements for data transfer. A small group of manufacturers have taken steps in this direction by creating file standards and communication protocols. Dealers need to let manufacturers know that open systems are important for future cost savings, product development, and protection of their computer equipment investments.
Sandi Jerome is the manager for consulting service for Jeff Sacks & Associates.