ARKONA Announces BMW Integration for DCS 2000; Certified Interface Enables BMW Dealers to Exchange Data with Manufacturer
SALT LAKE CITY--March 12, 2003--ARKONA Inc. (ARKN), a growing force in dealer management solutions for new and independent automobile dealerships, announces certified integration of the ARKONA Dealership Management System (DMS) with BMW. This integration is a significant benefit to BMW dealerships and is a result of months of cooperative effort between ARKONA and BMW of North America.ARKONA's philosophy is to continually evolve its DMS solution by adding functionality, features, enhancements and OEM integrations. The new certified integration with BMW is indicative of that philosophy and is provided to ARKONA dealership clients with no initial or recurring cost.
"We needed improved dealer management system technologies to help us rein in the costs of computer systems while providing greater insight to our dealerships so we can make informed decisions," said Eddie Devault, CEO, Chapman BMW, Chapman Automotive Group. "ARKONA has given us that advantage. Now, BMW integration gives us timely information and allows our personnel to be more efficient in their daily tasks saving us even more money."
BMW dealers will have the following functionality with their ARKONA dealer management system:
| -- | Parts Orders -- Transfer stock orders, supplemental orders and VOR orders |
| -- | Parts Return -- Download parts returns |
| -- | Financial Statement Reporting -- Submit financial statements |
| -- | Warranty Claims -- Submission of warranty claims and service repair orders |
| -- | DIMMAS -- Automatically transfer the daily report of parts inventory activity |
"This certified integration represents another significant addition to the ARKONA product suite. BMW dealerships using ARKONA will have a seamless exchange of information between the dealership and BMW," said Richard Holland, president. "We appreciate the spirit of cooperation between BMW of North America and ARKONA. Integration puts more control into dealers' hands by streamlining the flow of information and adding entirely new levels of information access that are critical to managing their dealerships.
About ARKONA Inc.
Founded in 1996, ARKONA is a public company and a leader in automotive management solutions. ARKONA's Dealer Management System also leads the market in technologically superior e-business solutions for automotive dealers that fully integrate back office systems with a retail Web presence. In this market ARKONA is the premier Application Service Provider (ASP). For more information, visit the ARKONA Web site at www.arkona.com.
This release may contain forward-looking statements as well as historical information. Forward-looking statements, which are included in accordance with the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, may involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the company's actual results and performance in future periods to be materially different from any future results or performance suggested by the forward-looking statements in this release. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. The company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements found herein to reflect any changes in company expectations or results or any change in events.