DIGITALLOT? SOLUTION DOUBLING USED VEHICLE SALES AND INCREASING PROFITS OF CURRENT DEALERS

LAS VEGAS, NADA CONVENTION BOOTHS # 4321 and # 5563, January 31, 2004 - Today, Kelley Blue Book announced that it will acquire Minneapolis based dealer solutions companies CDMdata and CDM Dealer Services™. Through this acquisition, Kelley Blue Book will bring under its trusted brand the only single source solution for used vehicle sales and inventory management and the most advanced used vehicle marketing technology available today.

 

DigitalLot Solution
DigitalLot enables dealers and other organizations with large inventories to quickly, accurately and efficiently sell more vehicles in a shorter period of time. Because it is a single source solution, the time it takes to book-in and market a used vehicle is dramatically reduced from more than 25 minutes to about five minutes. With increased accuracy and efficiency, dealers currently using the DigitalLot Solution are on average selling 10-20 more used cars a month and increasing profits by $10,000-18,000 a month.

Currently 500 U.S. dealerships are receiving the benefit of the DigitalLot Solution, a superior, one-button, easy-to-use combination of both hardware and software. The complete DigitalLot Solution includes the iTab? hand-held pen tablet, which comes preloaded with the DigitalLot software program and a Web based component called AutoOffice?. It marks the first time dealers can take advantage of a single package solution rather than work with multiple technologies and vendors to manage a vehicle throughout the sales cycle.

"Kelley Blue Book works with over 11,000 dealerships today. During the development of our latest release of KARPOWER?, we worked closely with dealerships and found that many of them had as many as four individuals entering used car data into several different applications," said Mike Romano, director of dealer strategy, products and services. "With that process, uploads to the Internet were not consistent, and the overall process was inefficient. With the addition of the DigitalLot Solution to our product mix, Kelley Blue Book now offers any size dealership a solution that simplifies the inventory management process, ensures accurate real-time inventory posting to the Web and improves the car buying process for their consumers."

"Dealers understand that consumers go to their Web site to research available inventory and expect to find timely and accurate information," said Paul Johnson, president, Kelley Blue Book. "The DigitalLot Solution enables dealers to easily accomplish the entire process including pictures in a matter of minutes per vehicle. As a result, dealers will see increased sales and profits, and a substantial increase in customer satisfaction."

"DigitalLot helped us sell 55 more used cars the first month, increasing our profit by about $130,000. In 2003 we increased our profit by well over $1.5 million," said Mark Kanter, Internet manager at Bill Jacobs Automotive Group in Chicago. "Our dealer group was struggling to keep our online inventory accurate. The service company we were using was not providing a service that allowed us to keep our Web site and other retailing Web sites up to date. DigitalLot is the best all inclusive solution on the market today."

DIGITALLOT SOLUTION PRODUCTS
iTab - Automotive Inventory Tool
The iTab is a handheld pen tablet that quickly collects and accurately manages used vehicle data. It is the only all-in-one tablet that includes a detailed software program, a VIN scanner and digital camera with the ability to store more than 150,000 vehicle records and 32 photos per vehicle. iTab's software automatically matches photos to corresponding vehicle information, eliminating data entry errors and mismatched photos.

DIGITALLOT SOLUTION PRODUCTS
iTab - Automotive Inventory Tool
The iTab is a handheld pen tablet that quickly collects and accurately manages used vehicle data. It is the only all-in-one tablet that includes a detailed software program, a VIN scanner and digital camera with the ability to store more than 150,000 vehicle records and 32 photos per vehicle. iTab's software automatically matches photos to corresponding vehicle information, eliminating data entry errors and mismatched photos.

DigitalLot - Vehicle Information Software
DigitalLot software within the iTab captures a very extensive variety of vehicle information, including VIN information; used vehicle values; standard, optional and dealer installed equipment, as well as photos. Currently, DigitalLot includes vehicle pricing and data from Kelley Blue Book, NADA, Polk and Chrome, updated regularly to ensure timeliness and accuracy. DigitalLot also has the ability to create numerous reports, customized buyers' guides and window stickers compatible with most manufacturer and certified pre-owned program guidelines.

AutoOffice - Web Based Automotive Management Tool
AutoOffice is the online component that captures vehicle information from the iTab's DigitalLot software and enables dealers to manage their inventory across a number of online retailing sites in real-time. Once vehicle data is 'synched' or uploaded from the iTab into AutoOffice, information can quickly be submitted to the dealer's own Web site as well as a number of retailing and auction sites simultaneously with one click. Through this online tool, dealers can control the online marketing of their entire inventory and update vehicle information on every Web site in which it is listed with a few mouse clicks. CDM offers an option to host a dealer's inventory Web page if needed. AutoOffice can also be integrated into any DMS system so that sold inventory can be removed or marked 'sold' automatically, ensuring that consumers only view a dealer's available inventory.

The DigitalLot Solution is also offered as a service through CDM Dealer Services. Professional employees of CDM Dealer Services will come to a dealer's lot several times a week and handle the entire management lifecycle of the vehicle from the time it arrives on the dealer's lot until the time it is sold. CDM Dealer Services is currently available in select cities. Future expansion into additional markets is currently being planned.

Benefits Overview (As reported by current users)
Average time savings with DigitalLot over other products and services

 

• 20-30 minutes per vehicle

 

Average Increases

 

• 10-30 percent increase in Internet leads per month
• 10-20 more vehicles sold each month
• $10,000-18,000 increase in profits per month

 

Product Pricing
The most popular program is the three-year lease program currently priced at $695 per month. The lease program includes the iTab hardware, the pre-loaded DigitalLot software, the Web based AutoOffice program and a printer for reports, buyers' guides and window stickers. Dealers also have the option to buy the entire solution outright. Pricing for the full service is based on number of vehicles and frequency of CDM Dealer Service visits.

Demonstrations of the DigitalLot Solution will be available at the 2004 NADA Convention in Las Vegas at the CDMdata Booth #5563. For information about the DigitalLot Solution or additional pricing information, call 1-866-379-CDM1 or visit www.cdmdata.com.