iMotors Transforms Auto Procurement With Wireless AvantGo Enterprise Deployment; Online Used Car Business Takes One Week to `Go Mobile' With AvantGo
11 December 2000
iMotors Transforms Auto Procurement With Wireless AvantGo Enterprise Deployment; Online Used Car Business Takes One Week to `Go Mobile' With AvantGo
SAN MATEO, Calif.--Dec. 11, 2000--AvantGo, Inc., a leading provider of mobile infrastructure software and services, today announced that iMotors, the first online direct seller of certified used cars, has deployed AvantGo Enterprise(TM) to give its nationwide team of buyers wireless access to and interaction with the company's customer order database via mobile devices. Using AvantGo, iMotors transformed its purchasing process to a mobile solution in just one week, dramatically improving the speed of its business transactions and increasing its customer satisfaction.With new orders streaming in each day, iMotors' procurement team around the country now has the ability to view a car at an auction and then sort orders, on the spot, for a matching customer request. With AvantGo Enterprise, iMotors has decreased order fulfillment time, eliminated duplicative work among buyers and exceeded its customers' expectations by delivering the requested vehicles more quickly.
"iMotors buyers focus on exceeding customer expectations, which presents a technology challenge to our development team," said Christophe Mercant, director of procurement and logistics systems at iMotors. "We need a mobile solution that is easy to develop, deploy and manage on a daily basis, and one that provides information access by our teams whether a real-time connection is available or not. AvantGo is the only solution that delivers on these requirements."
Using AvantGo Enterprise solutions to extend its existing Web-based application, iMotors was able to add value to its existing corporate information systems and provide critical information to buyers, any time, anywhere without using proprietary development tools and without a lot of expense.
From Paper World to Wireless World in One Week
iMotors' unique no-inventory model creates huge cost advantages, but makes rapid procurement absolutely essential. From the beginning, iMotors has depended on its mobile team of buyers to quickly locate and purchase the specific used cars requested by its customers. However, initially the buyers lacked the best tools for the job. Armed with printed spreadsheets, the iMotors team had to manually sort through a lengthy list of customer orders during each auction, slowing down the purchasing process and creating the potential for oversights.
As the number of orders and the number of buyers trying to fill those orders increased, improved communication and real-time order status updates became more important. With AvantGo Enterprise, iMotors is poised and ready for future growth due to AvantGo's proven scalability. In addition, iMotors will take advantage of AvantGo Enterprise's multi-platform offering by using a mix of Palm OS and Pocket PC/Windows CE-based mobile devices to capture and interact with the information they want and need.
According to Stan Ratcliffe, general manager of AvantGo Enterprise, "iMotors' use of AvantGo Enterprise illustrates the power of our solution to deliver real-world inventory management applications to wireless devices. More and more, our customers are extending the capabilities of their conventional business applications through the use of wireless, mobile devices by salespeople, construction workers, doctors, delivery personnel and factory workers. AvantGo is bringing the promise of wireless computing to life today with practical applications that illustrate concrete business benefits."
About iMotors
iMotors was launched in September 1999 as the Internet's first and only used car company, allowing customers to buy thoroughly tested, inspected and certified used vehicles entirely online. iMotors is a privately held company, backed by a renowned group of investors with successful track records at leading land-based retail and Internet/e-commerce businesses. For additional information, visit www.imotors.com or call 888/IMOTORS (466-8677).
About AvantGo, Inc.
AvantGo, Inc. is a leading provider of infrastructure software and services that power the mobile economy. AvantGo Enterprise software enables businesses to increase the value of their corporate information systems by extending existing enterprise applications and critical information to employees, customers and business partners. The company also provides the AvantGo mobile Internet service, a hosted network that enables hundreds of businesses to deliver their content and applications to more than 1.2 million mobile consumers. AvantGo is a pioneer in delivering real-world solutions for both wireless and off-line use. For more information, please visit www.avantgo.com.
Cautionary Statement
Except for historical information, all of the expectations and assumptions contained in the foregoing are forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to customers' willingness to adopt the products. For additional information regarding these and other risks associated with the company's business refer to the company's reports filed with the SEC.
AvantGo, AvantGo.com and the AvantGo logo are trademarks of AvantGo, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.