Having tools and software that can help streamline operations and increase efficiency is essential for any car dealer. Among the most valuable tools you should not miss in your dealership is GPS and geofencing software.
GPS and geofencing technology have made it easier for many car dealerships to manage their inventory better, track their cars, and curb theft within their lots. Incorporating it into your business can give you an added advantage over your competitors and help increase your sales and profits.
What are GPS and Geofencing?
A GPS, or Global Positioning System, uses satellites to accurately track your car’s location. On the other hand, geofencing is a feature that relies on GPS or radio frequency identification (RFID) to define a virtual boundary around a car. This software alerts you via text or push notification when anyone enters or leaves a designated virtual area while driving your vehicle.
Once you install a GPS tracker on your cars, you can use geofencing to create a virtual boundary around them. You can always edit, disable or enable the feature any time you need to.
Benefits of GPS and Geofencing
Here are the top five GPS and geofencing benefits for dealership inventory:
Manage Inventory
Increased efficiencies in inventory management is one of the main reasons you need software that incorporates a location-aware tracking feature like geofencing. Geofencing provides automatic, real-time updates on the location of your cars and their usage levels.
If you operate a large dealership, you know how difficult it can be to locate vehicles from your lot on time. Geofencing can help you reduce customer wait times by giving you instant access to information about the car a client needs. Less waiting time means an increase in customer satisfaction.
Safety Against Inventory Theft
Over 700,000 vehicles get stolen in the U.S annually from the road, parking lots, and dealerships, according to the FBI. This report shows how important it is to enhance the security of your inventory.
Having robust surveillance systems in place can help prevent and mitigate theft, but no system is foolproof. Fortunately, using technology that makes your stock invisible to thieves can be a powerful deterrent.
When you combine geofencing with other security features, such as alarms or cameras, you can have an almost-impregnable inventory management system. Your cars will be physically secure and virtually unseen by would-be criminals.
Automated Real Time Alerts
GPS and geofencing allow you to automate alerts and be instantly notified when your vehicles move. Whether a car leaves your lot, is involved in an accident or theft, or even sold, you’ll know right away.
Automated real time alerts will help you quickly respond to problems as they happen. You can even tailor notifications to include specific rules for employees. For example, you can receive alerts when a member of your staff leaves work without logging out of their account.
Improve Employee Communication
Besides tracking and monitoring your inventory, GPS and geofencing make it easier to stay in touch with employees 24/7 regardless of your location. This software features instant messaging and in-built task management capabilities.
You can assign tasks easily and request employees to respond to emergencies on time. This brings about efficiency that benefits both your employees and your business.
Insurance Cost Reduction
Like we said before, installing inventory monitoring software, significantly lowers theft cases. Moreover, recovering a stolen vehicle that has GPS is much easier.
Making your inventory less vulnerable to theft and vandalism can help you save big on insurance. According to several insurance companies, premiums for dealerships with GPS and geolocation tools tend to be lower than for those without.
The Takeaway
If you’re looking to improve your inventory management at a dealership, consider implementing geofencing. By using GPS and geofence software, you can track every vehicle in your yard while also controlling access to it. Best of all, once you have a clear record of each car’s location, you can execute better decision-making processes based on sales growth forecasts and business trends.
Contact Safepoint GPS for all of your GPS and geofence software needs.
