Manheim Online Reaches 10,000 Dealers and Commemorates Surge in Growth By Taking Service to New Heights
20 September 1999
Manheim Online Reaches 10,000 Dealers and Commemorates Surge in Growth By Taking Service to New Heights
Manheim Online Achieves a Company Milestone and Offers Enhanced Services
Providing the Highest Level of Quality for its Subscribers
ATLANTA, Sept. 20 -- Manheim Online(TM)
(http://www.manheim.com ), the leader in auto-related electronic commerce and
an extended service of Manheim Auctions, announced today that it has reached
10,000 subscribers -- a major milestone for 1999. Since the re-launch of the
Manheim Online Web site in March, Manheim Online has added 5,000 subscribers
-- a surge of growth that has surpassed expectations. To maintain its quality
service, Manheim Online is also offering enhanced features ensuring that
subscribers continue to receive value for their money. In fact, basic
subscribers will be able to enjoy basic service along with the New MOL
features at the same price for the remainder of the year.
Editor's Summary
* Manheim Online today announced that it has reached a milestone with
10,000 registered dealers.
* Manheim Online is also unveiling new services including enhanced
features and tools to reward subscribers with continued quality service
and convenience.
* Manheim has enhanced the service by offering Lanes Online, free
inventory listing, inventory valuation system and inventory kiosk.
Enhanced Features Deliver Better Services
To meet the rapid subscription growth, Manheim Online is enhancing their
services, delivering faster online access and a more user-friendly interface
ensuring that customer service is not compromised.
"We expect to experience more sales growth during the 4th quarter than all
of 1999. To stay one step ahead of this incredible growth, we are increasing
the number of technical support staff so that it's more efficient for us to
provide all the help our subscribers may need," states Jay Cook, manager of
technical support at Manheim Online. "We are constantly monitoring the
quality of service we provide, regardless of how many members we serve. We aim
not to lose sight of quality customer service at the expense of growth."
Manheim Online Meeting the Dealers' Needs
Along with providing subscriber features online and technical support,
Manheim Online proactively seeks feedback on their services through
face-to-face meetings with the people that matter most -- the dealers
themselves.
"On a regular basis, I fly out to the auctions and meet with dealers to
see what their automotive needs are and always checking to see if Manheim is
providing for that need," Mike Ellsworth MOL Product Consultant said. "It's
very important for me to know what works for them and what doesn't. We want
to provide the best possible online experience for our subscribers, be it a
well-developed Web site, comprehensive information or great tech support."
* Lanes Online: This service allows dealers to register their lane and run
numbers automatically via the computer.
* Free Inventory Listing: Benefiting from the recent merger between
AutoConnect and Trader Online, dealers are now able to post their
listings on AutoTrader.com, a site linked to Manheim Online, as free
advertising.
* Inventory Valuation System: By tapping into Manheim's Market Report --
subscribers can compare their vehicle inventory costs to auction
averages -- car by car.
* Inventory Kiosk: A useful feature that is highly utilized by members is
the Inventory Kiosk where subscribers can display their vehicle
inventory in the dealership showroom.
Dealers Reaping the Benefits of Manheim Online's Enhanced Features
"Through Manheim Online, I can check for pre-sale listings, select the
auctions most suitable for me to attend and find out the kinds of cars that
are available there," explained Randy Blackmon of the Blackmon's Used Cars in
Alabama. "It takes the stress and guesswork out of my visit to the auction
and I can really focus on getting the best deals for me and my customers.
This is really perfecting the system so that 'real' people can get the most
from technology."
About Manheim Online
Manheim Online, an extended service of Manheim Auctions, is the world
leader in auto-related electronic commerce. Manheim Online has been named one
of the top 10 electronic commerce sites on the World Wide Web by PC Week
magazine. Additional information regarding Manheim Online and Manheim
Auctions is available on the Internet at http://www.manheim.com .
About Manheim Auctions
Founded in 1945, Manheim Auctions, Inc. (http://www.manheim.com ) is the world's
largest operator of wholesale automobile auctions with 87 locations in North
America, the United Kingdom and France. In 1998, Manheim offered for sale
more than 6.5 million vehicles. The actual value of vehicles sold was in
excess of $36 billion. Manheim is a leader in automotive Internet commerce as
a supplier of web sites and transaction services to auto remarketers. In
1998, the value of vehicles sold via Manheim's wholesale CyberLots totaled
more than $216 million. Manheim also provides vehicle reconditioning and
certification, an Internet-based vehicle value guide, dealer floor plan
financing, dealer business software and government auction services. Manheim
is a partner with the Dealer Services Division of Automatic Data Processing
(ADP), offering free Internet used car listings to dealers and consumers via
AutoConnect, the world's largest source of used car classified advertising
(http://www.autoconnect.com ).
Manheim is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc. In addition to Manheim,
Cox includes Cox Newspapers, Inc., Cox Broadcasting, Inc., and publicly traded
Cox Communications, Inc. and Cox Radio, Inc. Cox Enterprises also provides
online news, information and entertainment services via the Internet through
Cox Interactive Media.
Manheim Auctions and Manheim Online are either registered trademarks or
trademarks of Cox Enterprises in the United States and/or other countries.