ARKONA Announces Certification with Subaru of America Inc.
SALT LAKE CITY--Sept. 14, 2004--ARKONA Inc. (OTC BB: ARKN), the emerging leader in dealer management solutions for automobile and powersports dealerships, announces that Subaru of America has certified ARKONA's Internet-based dealer management solution for delivering factory communications to and from Subaru of America's automobile dealerships."We chose ARKONA so we could benefit both financially and technologically," said Kirk Schneider, dealer principal, Nate Wade Subaru, Salt Lake City. "With the new Subaru integration from ARKONA, our employees will be more effective in doing their daily tasks in the service, parts and office areas of the business. ARKONA said they would bring us integration with the factory and they were true to their word."
The corroborative effort between Subaru and ARKONA means that the more than 600 Subaru dealerships in the United States now have the advantage of ARKONA's technology with its lower cost of ownership, and now its ability to seamlessly transfer data immediately and accurately to and from Subaru's corporate systems.
"Integration with a manufacturer's dealer communication system requires their assistance through suggestions and direction. We found Subaru's management and technical personnel to be very helpful," said Richard Holland, president, ARKONA. "Subaru dealers using ARKONA will benefit immediately from the new integration and can be assured that it adheres completely to NADA's STAR specifications."
Subaru dealers using ARKONA will now have the following capabilities with their dealer management system:
-- Financial Statement Entry
-- Parts Order
-- Parts Return
-- Warranty Claims Processing
ARKONA now counts 14 manufacturers with whom they have certification and the company is committed to completing integration with several other manufacturers during 2004 and 2005.
About ARKONA Inc.
Founded in 1996, ARKONA is a public company and a leader in automotive and powersports 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.