GM launched a similar effort, albeit one that uses a slightly different technology, last year with VINView, a partnership between the automaker and logistics company FreightVerify. VINView uses the GM vehicle’s OnStar module to track the vehicle’s physical location and shows a dealer when it has reached each point on the delivery chain. GM said VINView not only would allow dealers to track orders and keep customers updated, but uses a dashboard to let dealers match their ordering to vehicles most in-demand.
Similarly, Volkswagen National Dealer Advisory Council Chairman Tom McMenamin says that his council has been working with the German automaker to improve the accuracy of when an ordered vehicle would be delivered.
“Our [council’s] biggest request right now to the brand is, ‘Hey, we need an effective ETA time that we can tell our customers,” McMenamin said. When a customer asks, “having no answer is not good. Having updates, whether it’s a good answer or not, the customer feels informed, and they’re more likely to be happy going through with the transaction.”
Toyota’s Robertson said that better order tracking has “been a top-five dealer concern” among Toyota and Lexus dealers for several years, especially given the Japanese automaker’s long logistical chains that stretch as far as Japan. The issue “spiked to the No. 1 issue” when COVID-19 struck and dealer stocks began to shrink, he said.
“It sounds real easy, but quite frankly, it’s pretty complicated,” when you consider all of the various outside companies, including suppliers and logistics companies, “associated with building vehicles and moving vehicles,” Robertson said.
