“It is much easier for me. I am on the road a lot and always had to log into the site from my phone to counter or accept offers, now all I have to do is answer by text!” remarked Jacob Kern of Kern Automotive Group in Marietta, Ga.
ATLANTA— Wholesale inventory management just became a whole lot more convenient. With the introduction of OVE Text Notifications dealers can fully negotiate transactions via text. Buyers and sellers are now able to accept, decline or counter an offer by text message, in addition to replying via the OVE online platform or Manheim mobile app. Manheim is the first in the industry to offer a two-way text feature.
Dealer clients have shown enthusiasm for the new two-way text feature, which allows them to make inventory transactions at anytime from anywhere, allowing them more time to focus on their customers. Since the launch of two-way text in January, more than 5,000 dealers have signed up and more than 2,800 vehicles have been sold via text.
“It is much easier for me. I am on the road a lot and always had to log into the site from my phone to counter or accept offers, now all I have to do is answer by text!” remarked Jacob Kern of Kern Automotive Group in Marietta, Ga.
A second enhancement offering greater convenience and more competitive bidding is OVE Daily Sales. Dealer vehicles now run for 24 hours from 4 p.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern, seven days a week. All Daily Sales vehicle listings start and expire together each day. At 4 p.m., the vehicle sells, is relisted or comes down from the site, based on the seller’s specifications. Live inventory is now relisted in minutes versus hours. Added in March, Daily Sales are expected to increase competition and make it easier to make the right inventory choices, as buyers and sellers gain a clear view of their cash flow and inventory on a daily basis.
“This approach offers a more aggressive bidding environment and provides greater urgency for sellers to price right and for buyers to buy right away,” said Stephen Smith, VP of product management, Manheim. “Daily Sales benefits all clients, with the ability to track cash flow for bought and sold vehicles each day, allowing greater confidence in bid activity.”
OVE is one of the industry’s largest digital marketplaces, with more than 7,500 dealers participating and over 240,000 vehicle listings a month. OVE transactions are up 21 percent over last year’s performance and March was the highest month on record.
“We’ve been on the cutting edge of selling cars online since the late 90s, and we continue to define and deliver a trusted digital marketplace that makes it easy for our clients to manage inventory,” said Grace Huang, SVP Inventory Solutions.
About Manheim (www.manheim.com)
Manheim® is North America’s only complete wholesale-to-retail inventory solutions provider. Through Manheim, dealer and commercial clients have access to the largest wholesale used-vehicle marketplace which offers 113 physical locations and on-the-go mobile auctions in addition to digital auction channels. It further drives dealer success through Wholesale and Retail Solutions that help dealers get maximum value at the auction and then deliver retail-ready vehicles to the dealership. Manheim registers nearly seven million used vehicles annually and facilitates transactions representing nearly $50 billion in value. Headquartered in Atlanta, Manheim N.A. is a Cox Automotive™ brand. For more information, visit http://press.manheim.com.
About Cox Automotive
Cox Automotive, Inc. is transforming the way the world buys, sells and owns cars with industry-leading digital marketing, software, financial, wholesale and e-commerce solutions for consumers, dealers, manufacturers and the overall automotive ecosystem worldwide. Committed to open choice and dedicated to strong partnerships, the Cox Automotive family includes Autotrader®, Dealer.com®, Dealertrack®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, NextGear Capital®, vAuto®, Xtime® and a host of other brands. The global company has nearly 30,000 team members in more than 200 locations and is partner to more than 40,000 auto dealers, as well as most major automobile manufacturers, while engaging U.S. consumer car buyers with the most recognized media brands in the industry. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc., an Atlanta-based company with revenues of $18 billion and approximately 55,000 employees. Cox Enterprises’ other major operating subsidiaries include Cox Communications and Cox Media Group. For more information about Cox Automotive, visit www.coxautoinc.com.
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