ADESA Canada, a subsidiary of Indianapolis, Ind.-based ADESA Corp., an ALLETE company, has launched LiveBlock, a new eBusiness solution allowing remote dealers to participate in a live, physical ADESA auction through real-time, audio/video feeds and interactive bidding. The company says this technology seamlessly combines Internet bidders with the action on the auction floor.
“We have built LiveBlock to interface with our existing eBusiness and auction management systems, allowing us to respond to the needs of our customers and maximize the attention each vehicle run receives,” said Benjamin Skuy, chief operating officer for ADESA Canada. “The flexibility and scalability of this system fits with our strategy to deploy this technology across Canada.”
Fully integrated with DealerBlock, ADESA Canada’s online auction product, LiveBlock has been developed with the Live Global Bid (LGB) streaming audio and video technologies, a proven platform for online, interactive auctions.
“With LGB technology, we have been able to move quickly to address the needs of our customers, making vehicles available to a much wider audience via the Internet,” said Trevor Henderson, director of eBusiness for ADESA Canada. “By integrating LiveBlock with DealerBlock, we have provided a seamless portal for our dealers, who are already comfortable with our eServices capabilities.”
ADESA Calgary launched the technology during a DaimlerChrysler sale on March 13. With ADESA Canada’s marketing reach, the event was promoted across Canada via auction-specific promotions.
“This was a very successful event with incredible participation from the Internet," said Maurice LeBlanc, senior manager of vehicle remarketing for DaimlerChrysler Canada. “Numerous dealers are bidding and buying online and they are excited about the system and what it offers. It has exceeded our expectations and we look forward to the roll-out of LiveBlock across Canada.”
LiveBlock is expected to be available in most ADESA Canada auctions by the end of the second quarter of 2003. For more information, please visit www.ADESA.ca.
ADESA Canada is a subsidiary of Indianapolis, Ind.-based, ADESA Corp. ADESA Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE: ALE). Through its network of subsidiaries, ADESA operates 53 wholesale vehicle auctions and six heavy-duty commercial vehicle auctions strategically located across the United States, Canada and Mexico. The ADESA network of services includes several other related businesses in the vehicle remarketing industry including ADESA Impact total loss management (with 26 auction locations), Micro 21 dealer software, AutoVIN inspection services, PAR North America remarketing services and Automotive Finance Corp. (AFC). For further information on ADESA Corp., call 1-800-923-3725 or go to www.adesa.com.
