Western Washington Toyota Dealers Select The Cobalt Group as the Sole Endorsed Provider of E-Business Products and Services
SEATTLE--Jan. 27, 2003--The Cobalt Group, the leading provider of e-business software and services to the automotive retail market, has been selected by the Western Washington Toyota Dealers Association (WWTDA) as the sole endorsed provider of e-business products and services for its 19 member Toyota dealers in western Washington state.
Members of the WWTDA will now be able to utilize Cobalt's industry-leading Nitra technology, exceptional customer service, and in-house consulting from Cobalt experts to train and advise on best practices. Cobalt also offers WWTDA members a broad range of support, including its field-based dealer advocates and Cobalt's proactive eCare team.
"Our Internet business is essential to our success, and we expect it will play an ever-increasing role in our dealerships in the years ahead," said Brad Miller, owner of Toyota of Seattle. "Cobalt understands our need for proactive service as well as product offerings to help each member dealership become more profitable."
The e-business solution created for WWTDA includes products built on Cobalt's high-performance Nitra platform, offering unparalleled technology, flexibility and power for WWTDA dealers. Nitra, exclusively endorsed by the National Automobile Dealers Association, offers the most comprehensive site management, publishing, storage, and administration capabilities in the industry.
Cobalt Nitra platform offers users reliable, professional and easy to use tools for dealers. Products include:
| -- | Website Manager: The most comprehensive site management and publishing capabilities available in the industry. Users can edit text, change images, add links, revise the site's look and navigation, and publish the changes in real time from any Internet-enabled computer. |
| -- | Marketing Library Manager: Provides a secure location to store, manage, and share custom images and text for use on dealer websites. |
| -- | User Administration: Flexible security model makes Web site content easy to manage and update. |
"Cobalt's Nitra provides the Western Washington Toyota Dealers Association the tools they need to succeed in today's competitive automotive market. Cobalt's Dealer Advocate service combined with eCare, Cobalt's technical support team, brings them a world-class level of customer care," said Terry Smail, Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer of The Cobalt Group.
Cobalt Nitra is the first J2EE-based enterprise software platform developed specifically for the automotive retailing industry. It enables manufacturers and dealers to easily manage and maintain their online retailing programs from anywhere at anytime and gives them increased flexibility in branding their dealerships online through convenient access to manufacturer-provided images and text.
About The Cobalt Group
The Cobalt Group works exclusively in the automotive retail market to help manufacturers and dealers develop integrated e-business programs by leveraging its industry leading technology, broad range of services and deep domain knowledge. As the automotive e-business leader, Cobalt is uniquely positioned to help its customers maximize their overall operating efficiencies and profits.
Cobalt offers a broad range of products and services developed specifically for the automotive marketplace including enterprise software for manufacturers and dealers; customer relationship management (CRM) software applications; online automotive commerce applications; the industry's largest OEM parts locating and marketing service; and dealership e-business best practices training, consulting, and process compliance analysis.
Cobalt operates a dealer network larger than any other technology provider in the automotive retail industry including 12,000 franchised dealers and more than 70 of the 100 largest dealer groups. Cobalt is the only software technology provider ever endorsed by 17 manufacturers and the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA).
With headquarters in Seattle, Wash., Cobalt has offices in several major U.S. cities, and a field sales and services force in 30 states, including all major U.S. metropolitan sales areas (MSAs).
For more information, please visit www.cobaltgroup.com or call 800/909-8244.