5:00 am, June 4, 2015
NEARLY half of car dealers (44 per cent) expect the amount of paperwork handled by car dealerships to increase over the next three years – with 12 per cent anticipating a dramatic rise here.
Already, 57 per cent of dealers say over half of their work is paper-based, and one in five (20 per cent) say that 75 per cent or more is.
These are the findings of new research from EDM Group, the information management specialists.
In terms of why the amount of paper the industry deals with is set to rise, nearly nine-tenths (89 per cent) of dealers say it is because of increased regulation, while 79 per cent believe it is because of changes to company rules and corporate governance.
Matt Collinge
Matt Collinge, associate director automotive at EDM Group, said: ‘The impact of more paperwork not only increases the chances of dealers being exposed to fraud, it can also have a huge impact on customer service levels.
‘Some 59 per cent of respondents to our survey say they expect service levels to fall because of this – some 15 per cent believe the increased focus on paper will have a “very negative” impact on service levels.
‘When you consider the fact over four-fifths (86 per cent) of people who experienced poor customer service from the last car dealer they dealt with would not go back to them, and that 34 per cent of people claim to avoid companies in the sector because they have a poor reputation, the impact of this on sales can be devastating.
‘Many car dealers and finance companies are aware of the risks here and are working with organisations like us to automate much more of the sales process.’
EDM Group currently generates around 10 per cent of its UK revenue from the automotive sector but because of the current challenges facing the industry, the firm is forecasting significant growth from the automotive sector over the next few years.
- EDM Group provides companies with effective and efficient ways to manage the rapidly growing volumes of information flowing into and through their businesses every day. EDM’s automotive clients include three of the top five car marques in the UK, along with leading original equipment manufacturers, suppliers, dealers/retailers, vehicle rental companies, aftercare providers and finance and fleet management companies.
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