OPENLANE, Inc., a leading online auction company in North America for automotive dealers to buy and sell wholesale vehicles, is using the innovative technology and services behind its CarsArrive transportation network to help maximize the efficiency of online auction transactions for dealers and consignors across North America. Since the acquisition of the CarsArrive transportation network in October 2007, OPENLANE has established itself as a transportation leader within the online remarketing industry. By combining a leading technology platform with the transport process, OPENLANE has brought increased efficiencies and end-to-end management of the vehicle purchase and transportation to both automotive dealers and carriers as part of CarsArrive.
Although vehicle transportation is often overlooked when considering an online auction purchase, an August 2008 whitepaper by Boston Consulting Group found that transportation is ranked as the second most important service among both commercial and dealer consignors. Without a comprehensive transportation strategy, the pricing and floorplanning services of any online auction are rendered useless because ultimately, the success of the transaction ends with the buyer receiving the car, and if the buyer has to arrange transportation separately, it can increase the time to delivery and increase administrative headaches with regard to possible delays and any subsequent arbitration of the vehicle.
In 2004, the average distance that a vehicle was transported after having been purchased online on OPENLANE was 450 miles. Currently, through the CarsArrive Network, dealers and consignors are averaging a distance of 740 miles, more than a 70 percent increase in miles traveled. In addition, the load factor on the CarsArrive network is one of the industry’s lowest because the technology is designed to optimize transport loads by matching truck capacity with available local freight, thus maximizing the efficiency of each vehicle shipment as it is dispatched. Through years of refining the transport process and demonstrating a truly networked transport solution, CarsArrive has dramatically increased buying confidence across long distances and widely increased adoption of OPENLANE’s online auctions as a whole.
Transportation Success Starts with Good Leadership
CarsArrive consists of a carrier network of over 4,500 companies, which employ approximately 30,000 trucks. By offering a comprehensive set of managed services handled by dedicated transport account managers, OPENLANE makes vehicle transport simpler and more cost-effective. Michael Briggs, founder of CarsArrive Network and the director of transport solutions at OPENLANE, sits at the helm of the company’s transportation business and is responsible for ensuring that both consignors and dealers are getting what they need from their transportation services, and in particular, for easing the burden of getting a purchased vehicle from one lot to another.
“When you think of the entire online transaction process, there are so many variables that contribute to a seamless and efficient experience,” said Michael Briggs. “But no matter how organized the front-end of the transaction is, the entire sale hinges upon the final delivery of the vehicle. If that doesn’t happen in a timely manner, then the customer is unlikely to go through an online auction to purchase a vehicle again. Through our transportation services and leading-edge technology, we are ensuring that cars are delivered in the most efficient way possible.”
Briggs will be offering his technical expertise regarding the future of transportation in the auto remarketing industry at the upcoming Conference of Automotive Remarketing (CAR), Feb. 25-26, Las Vegas. He will participate in a panel entitled, “How to Reduce Transportation Costs While Increasing Efficiencies,” and identify proven techniques employed by remarketers to improve transportation efficiencies. Joining Briggs on the panel will be other transporters and brokers who will also address what remarketers can do to optimize the vehicle logistics and identify industry best practices. Briggs will be accompanied by industry executives Joe Steinberger, CentralDispatch.com; Steve Wheeler, Ready Auto Transport; Joe Steinberger, CentralDispatch.com; Matt Betz, AmeriFleet; Terry Langness, PARS and Jeffrey Grandstaff, Insight Network Transportation. The panel will take place on Feb. 26th from 2:40 – 3:20 p.m.
In addition, Peter Kelly, CFO of OPENLANE, will be participating in another panel entitled, “Next Generation of Online Remarketing Technology.” The panel, which will be held on Feb. 26th from 2:00 – 2:40 p.m., will examine next generation software capabilities of online remarketing technology and how they will be applied in online remarketing. Kelly will be joined by Steve Kapusta, SmartAuction; Susie Heins, OVE.com; Jason Ferreri, ADESA; Scott Finkle, AuctionPipeline and Brett Adair, Copart.
To register for CAR, please visit the Conference Web site: http://www.carconference.com/.
About OPENLANE
OPENLANE, Inc. is a leading online auction company in North America for automotive dealers to buy and sell wholesale vehicles. The company offers end-to-end auto remarketing solutions to auto manufacturers, captive finance companies, lease and daily rental companies, financial institutions and wholesale auto auctions throughout the United States and Canada. OPENLANE powers online remarketing programs for American Honda Finance, Audi Financial Services, Avis Budget Group, Chase Auto Finance, Chrysler Financial, Ford Motor Credit, Porsche Financial Services, Volkswagen Credit, among others. For more information, please visit www.openlane.com or call +1 (866) 969-0321.