Case Study - Reno Nevada Car Dealership
Posted Date: 2/24/23
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HOW DOES ODS WORK?
Onsite Dealer Solutions (ODS) supplies labor force staffing for car dealerships make ready departments by hiring our own Employee Technicians that come and work at your location, with your team, “On-Site”.
Our W2, background checked, and fully insured employees include detail department managers, car reconditioning specialists, automotive detail experts, porters, as well as car wash attendants and a range of other needed personnel for various dealership roles.
Once up and running, an efficient detail and make ready department can be a real Profit Center to a dealership. ODS not only hires, trains, and insures our team, but provides them uniforms, chemicals, equipment, and incentivized salaries so our specialists not only come ready to work but come with motivation to work hard.
By ODS providing an outsourced labor team that operates a make ready department, the true benefits are twofold. First, it saves a boat load of time, energy, and money by not having to advertise, interview, train, and find your own employees while paying all the costs that come with onboarding.
Secondly, and as equally important, it allows your fixed operation manager more time to effectively manage your fixed operations without the headaches that come with staffing, schedules, and managing production value. Working from cost, as a sublet provider, our staff and your valued managers can focus on real dollars and issues with larger income producing departments.
OPENING A NEW LOCATION IN A NEW STATE
We thought we would walk you through a case study for a recent new customer that came to us from Nevada, a state we didn’t already operate in.
Opening a new store in a new state is not something ODS jumps right into. We pay careful consideration to whether we can staff effectively in your location while operating at a high level for your dealership.
It’s important to take the time to ask specific questions that can help us both determine if we are a good fit for one another based on specific needs and location. Below, is how the process looked for this customer:
CASE STUDY - INTRODUCTION AND FINDINGS
Before proposing any recommended solutions, ODS goes through a comprehensive labor analysis that helps identify how a dealership operates internally. In this case, this Reno Nevada dealership reached out to us and we, through a series of questions and answers, developed an understanding of their business.
Some of the top items we both identified as real concerns was their current staffing implementation was costing them money. Simply put, they were over-staffed with labor that had no incentive to do multiple details a day or to stay late and knock out one more car.
Essentially, they were paying these individuals as hourly employees, not a flat rate, or a commission-based payment structure. This models outcome was not only costing the dealership significant time and money, but it emboldened human nature to step in and do the minimum work necessary, stifling both hustle and innovation.
Ultimately, the labor solution they were using created poor speed to market on their pre-owned inventory which cost them significant dollars at the end of each month. Easily stated, they were “throwing money at their problems” and creating even more issues in the process.
OTHER FINDINGS
Before proposing any recommended solutions, ODS goes through a comprehensive labor analysis that helps identify how a dealership operates internally. In this case, this Reno Nevada dealership reached out to us and we, through a series of questions and answers, developed an understanding of their business.
Some of the top items we both identified as real concerns was their current staffing implementation was costing them money. Simply put, they were over-staffed with labor that had no incentive to do multiple details a day or to stay late and knock out one more car.
Essentially, they were paying these individuals as hourly employees, not a flat rate, or a commission-based payment structure. This models outcome was not only costing the dealership significant time and money, but it emboldened human nature to step in and do the minimum work necessary, stifling both hustle and innovation.
Ultimately, the labor solution they were using created poor speed to market on their pre-owned inventory which cost them significant dollars at the end of each month. Easily stated, they were “throwing money at their problems” and creating even more issues in the process.
OTHER FINDINGS
In addition to the above findings, we also uncovered that the number of detailers on staff per day was too high based upon their sales numbers. Through years of looking at car dealership labor costs and sales numbers, ODS can quickly advise what the right detail staffing number should look like day to day.
We also identified this dealership's lot inventory had an Average Day in Recon (ADR) that was hovering around 7+ days and that they were spending a bunch of money for chemicals, supplies, and uniform/towel expenses.
Finally, we asked if they were married to any of their other vendors and after getting under the hood so to speak, we identified two services we could potentially help them with.
CASE STUDY RESULTS
In August of 2022, Onsite Dealer Solutions implemented our overall strategy and filled 20+ positions to staff this Reno Nevada dealership properly.
As a byproduct of ODS using production-based pay plans, we were able to:
- Do More Work in Less Time
- Do More Work with Less Staff
- Produce Higher Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Scores
- Create Better Vehicle Detail and Recon Results
Over the course of the last 7 months, we have also improved a host of scenarios that are ultimately improving the dealership bottom line.
For example, ODS has helped cut the Average Day in Recon (ADR) from 7+ days to 2 days, creating an average savings of $300 per vehicle which is equivalent to a $900,000 savings per year.
In addition, we looked at their window tinting operation and how they handled their inventory photography, two outside vendors that they didn’t have meaningful ties to. By employing our own team to handle these services we now realize an additional $300,000 in annual savings.
As for the high chemical, supplies, towel, and rag service expenses they were incurring, we embedded these expenses into our mutually agreed per vehicle charge upfront saving even more to the bottomline.
A final service solution that has helped this dealership tremendously is the implementation of our proprietary inventory and vendor management software, called SERV Automotive. SERV is a DMS integrated solution that helps the dealership manage their billing, ordering, invoicing, vendors, and inventory management better.
LEARN MORE ABOUT ODS
We encourage you to visit more of our website to get to know us better. If you'd like to see what ODS can do for your dealership, a good place to start is to click on this link to receive your own personalized labor analysis.
If you have any questions for Onsite Dealer Solutions and our team, you can reach us at 913-912-7384 or if you prefer, you may email us here.
For example, ODS has helped cut the Average Day in Recon (ADR) from 7+ days to 2 days, creating an average savings of $300 per vehicle which is equivalent to a $900,000 savings per year.
In addition, we looked at their window tinting operation and how they handled their inventory photography, two outside vendors that they didn’t have meaningful ties to. By employing our own team to handle these services we now realize an additional $300,000 in annual savings.
As for the high chemical, supplies, towel, and rag service expenses they were incurring, we embedded these expenses into our mutually agreed per vehicle charge upfront saving even more to the bottomline.
A final service solution that has helped this dealership tremendously is the implementation of our proprietary inventory and vendor management software, called SERV Automotive. SERV is a DMS integrated solution that helps the dealership manage their billing, ordering, invoicing, vendors, and inventory management better.
LEARN MORE ABOUT ODS
We encourage you to visit more of our website to get to know us better. If you'd like to see what ODS can do for your dealership, a good place to start is to click on this link to receive your own personalized labor analysis.
If you have any questions for Onsite Dealer Solutions and our team, you can reach us at 913-912-7384 or if you prefer, you may email us here.