8:24 am, February 24, 2025
When a customer walks into a dealership, their in-store experience and safety immediately become the business’ responsibility.
Staff need to deliver an efficient, positive buying journey, where the shopper can quickly and easily take a look inside any car they wish to browse, while also ensuring they’re safely authorised to go out on test drives.
While this takes place, dealerships must ensure all keys are kept secure, even when out of their cabinet, to guarantee safety.
Many companies still rely on outdated or unsecured key storage solutions, such as wall hooks, or unlocked cabinets and drawers, making keys for vehicles freely accessible to anyone.
This lack of control reduces efficiency and increases security and safety risks on the forecourt, as lost or misused keys can lead to unauthorised vehicle access, risking vehicles becoming stolen or damaged and in worst case scenarios, endangering colleagues, customers and other road users.
An intelligent solution
To overcome this, advanced electronic systems help dealership managers review all vehicle activity or set specific rules, allowing access to keys based on factors such as job role or responsibility, or possession of certain qualifications or licences.
Only those who are certified to do so, can give access to shoppers wanting to take it out on the road. As such, these systems enable dealerships to cut the risk of potential accidents or theft, both on the shop floor and out on the road.
These systems also streamline operations. With a reliable electronic key management system, teams always know that keys are secure in their correct position, or they know who last accessed keys that are in use, eliminating wasted time spent searching for them, and keeping vehicle use organised and traceable.
On top of this, the ability to track the exact time a key was used, and by whom, adds transparency, ensuring that the right people are held accountable should an incident occur or a key go missing, and managers can review all activity from any internet device.
Customisable and cloud-based systems
Customisable, electronic key management systems offer several access tools, including pin codes, fingerprints, or cards.
This adaptability allows dealerships to choose the access method best suited to their needs, which can change depending on if they have one central key cabinet or several cabinets that keys can move between.
What to look for
When exploring new key management options, dealerships should prioritise solutions offering the latest solid-state hardware, alongside flexible, easy to use, remotely monitored and updated cloud software, offering automated backups and reports.
It’s also vital to ensure robust support services, seamless integration, quick staff training, and ongoing remote maintenance – like those available from KeyTracker.
For example, our site surveys can determine which system best matches the dealership’s layout and operations, while regular health checks ensure the system is working well to avoid any disruptions.
Effective key management goes beyond simple record keeping; it’s a fundamental step in building an efficient, safety-first culture within any dealership.
Additionally, it helps ensure the customer’s shopping experience remains positive throughout their time on the forecourt and out on a test drive, by driving efficiency and simplicity throughout the browsing process.
Explore electronic key management systems today to begin benefitting from a safer, more efficient forecourt and a more responsible working environment.
