The Reynolds and Reynolds Co. on Jan. 15 introduced a new family of solutions and services it says is designed to help automotive retailers and car companies make better use of information, strengthen their relationships with consumers and improve operational efficiencies.

This new suite of solutions will be built on Microsoft's .NET technology, signaling, according to Reynolds, "the beginning of the end for the auto retailing industry's

closed technology systems, and the beginning of a future that will include dramatically improved integration and cooperation between auto retailers, car companies and automotive consumers."

"When Buzz Waterhouse (chairman, CEO and president of Reynolds) joined the company two years ago, he made a promise to transform the way Reynolds provided technology solutions to dealers and car companies; and he also promised to transform the auto retailing industry -- with the goal of reducing its vast inefficiencies and improving its profitability," said spokesperson Jenny Fuerst. "This news delivers on that promise."

The Reynolds Generations Series encompasses more than 100 applications and services relating to all aspects of dealership operations, including Web services, contact management, sales management, finance and insurance, service and parts operations, and business and employee management.

Its first release, available in April, incorporates advanced customer relationship management (CRM) solutions and reporting tools that provide new customer insights and information when and where automotive retailers

and car companies need it, Waterhouse told the Automotive News World Congress.

Based on application service provider (ASP)-based modules, these solutions are available in April along with Reynolds' professional services, support and education, according to Waterhouse.

The new family of solutions is built on an open architecture platform utilizing Microsoft .NET technology. The .NET platform is based on a

family of products including Web services, programming tools, and servers built on Internet industry standards. According to Reynolds and Reynolds, it provides for each

aspect of developing, managing and using next generation applications.

The platform allows the Reynolds Generations Series to be offered as a series of modules, each with a full complement of services and technology options, packaged so that automotive retailers can adopt new capabilities as their

business demands change, according to the company.

"In our work with more than 18,000 customers -- both automotive retailers and car companies -- several themes have repeatedly emerged," said Lloyd "Buzz" Waterhouse, Reynolds' chairman, president, and CEO. "At a very basic level, automotive retailers want to make better use of the information they have already collected so that they can sell more cars. They want to develop better relationships with their customers, the automotive consumer. And they want to improve their operational efficiencies so that they can make more money."

"Car companies want to build strong brand loyalty, improve their delivery chain efficiency and obtain timely consumer information so that they can build the cars people want," Waterhouse said. "And consumers want a positive experience that makes the most of their time and allows them to easily obtain the information they're seeking.

"The Reynolds Generations Series is the automotive industry's first suite of solutions and services that fully addresses each of these needs," he said.

Built on Microsoft .NET architecture

Through a strategic alliance with Microsoft, Reynolds is utilizing .NET technologies for the enhancement, development and deployment of the

Reynolds Generations Series. These technologies deliver a complete framework for building Web-based services, according to Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft.

"Reynolds and Reynolds is using .NET to provide automotive retailers with new tools that will fundamentally enhance the way they interact with customers," Ballmer said. "By helping establish deeper relationships with customers, .NET Services such as .NET Passport

and .NET Alerts will create significant new opportunities to increase sales while increasing customer satisfaction."

With .NET Passport and the Reynolds Generations Series, dealership employees can choose to receive alerts or reminders about new sales leads and key customer activity events such as a lease expiration, according to Reynolds and Reynolds. In future releases, consumers will be able to utilize .NET Passport and .NET Alerts

to request alerts from the dealership to change their oil, get a tune-up or rotate their tires.

Reynolds and Reynolds said this streamlined communication will provide up-to-the-minute, relevant information for both dealership employees and consumers on virtually any Web-enabled digital device they own.

Flexible Approaches, New Capabilities

The Reynolds Generation Series will help automotive retailers and car companies take advantage of changes in technology to achieve the following:

- Build and maintain customer loyalty through CRM programs that provide real-time, transaction-based information sharing

- Combine and connect information systems through a common technology platform --once information is captured, it can be utilized across multiple applications

- Leverage open standards and protocols such as XML and HTTP

- Add new features and capabilities on their own schedule through phased modules.

According to Reynolds and Reynolds, these capabilities will be delivered through practice area-based solutions and service modules affecting every aspect of an automotive retailers' operations, ranging from strategic planning to Web brand management, customer contact management, finance and insurance, service and parts operations management and business and employee management.

The modules in the Reynolds Generations Series will be made available over the next year, each building on the capabilities of the last and providing the real-time, proven integration necessary for seamless business support.

A key component to the Reynolds Generations Series is the training and support the company is offering to automotive retailers, according to Reynolds and Reynolds.

"CRM technologies will fundamentally change -- and, we believe, improve -- the already strong relationship between the customer and the automotive retailer," said Christopher Fletcher, vice president and managing director

of Aberdeen Group's CRM practice. "Reynolds and Reynolds, with its Reynolds Generations Series, has developed a robust service offering supported by world-class technology which will build on and integrate with Reynolds' back-office solutions for the retailer. The Generations Series will enable a retailer to leverage the multiple channels of customer

interaction -- including the Internet, e-mail, the telephone, and the showroom floor -- and make them an integral part of the total customer experience."

Waterhouse said that the Reynolds Generations Series builds on the company's strengths. "The Reynolds Generations Series builds on Reynolds' position as the dealer management market share leader in North America ... our unsurpassed

portfolio of products and services ... our deep industry knowledge and know-how ... our award-winning customer service and support ... and the largest customer-facing organization in the industry," Waterhouse said. "We have leveraged these best-in-class attributes into a single, integrated offering wrapped with value-added solutions that will enable automotive retailers and car companies to reach new levels of success."

Technology and Automotive Leaders on the Reynolds Generations Series

"Our most recent survey on dealership satisfaction with dealership system providers highlighted software integration and flexibility as key criteria of their satisfaction," said Don Gentry, chief information officer for the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA). "We are pleased that Reynolds and Reynolds is responding positively to that survey by incorporating integration and flexibility improvements into its new DMS solutions."

"The Reynolds Generations Series advances a key goal shared by Reynolds and Reynolds and The First American Corporation: that of fundamentally improving the finance and insurance process by allowing real-time transactions to take place on individual F&I managers' desktops with dealerships," said Parker S. Kennedy, president of The First American Corp. "The joint expertise of Reynolds, First American CREDCO, and First American CMSI is moving automotive retailing toward a paperless F&I environment in which the consumer's loan application is accepted by the

bank within moments, the contract is sent and approved electronically, and payment is made through electronic funds transfer to the dealer as the car is driven off the lot."

"Hewlett-Packard supports the Generations Series' ease of migration, investment protection and state-of-the-art, open technology with the space-saving HP Netserver platforms and HP Vectra desktop PCs," said Duane Zitzner, president of Hewlett-Packard Computing Systems. "As a longstanding provider of computing solutions and services to Reynolds and Reynolds, we look forward to continuing our relationship to deliver ever-stronger, more flexible information solutions to automotive retailers and car companies."

"The Reynolds Generations Series is a huge advance for automotive retailers," said Linda Cerrone, dealer principal at Crest, Inc., Woburn, Mass. "Reynolds has listened to its customers and has incorporated the perspectives of a wide variety of franchises. Its biggest advantage is its flexibility -- it allows retailers to grow at their own pace and select the pieces that make sense for their business. It will make the lives of retailers easier and help them to flourish."

"Reynolds and Reynolds is taking a leadership role with the Reynolds Generations Series," said John Peabody, system administrator at Rothrock Motor Sales, Allentown, Pa. "It's geared toward the future of automotive retailing and anticipates where dealers are going, where car companies are going and

where consumers are going. It integrates dealership operations from top to bottom and front to back -- the entire dealership benefits from information relating to contact management, accounting, parts and other areas that only has to be captured once. With the Reynolds Generations Series, dealers will spend less time managing data and trying to tie

everything together and more time selling cars and pleasing their customers."

"WorldCom is pleased to work with Reynolds and Reynolds to provide a flexible, tiered approach to meet the growing e-business requirements of

the automotive industry," said Brian Brewer, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for WorldCom. "The Reynolds Generations Series, in conjunction with WorldCom managed Web and application hosting solutions, addresses industry needs for high performance, security and reliable Internet access in a Net-centric computing environment."

About Reynolds and Reynolds

Reynolds and Reynolds, headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, is a provider of integrated information management solutions to the automotive retailing marketplace.

The company's services include retail and enterprise management systems, networking and support, e-business applications, Web services, learning and consulting services, customer relationship management solutions, document management and leasing services.

To learn more about the company, its products and its services, visit www.reyrey.com.

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