BLOG: Sourcing the Right Stock Online
Sourcing the Right Stock and the Evolution of Purchasing in the Wholesale Space
As the global leader in wholesale vehicle remarketing and part of the world’s largest automotive company (Cox Automotive), we’ve seen an incredible migration to online buying across the UK. When Simulcast and other live streaming options were introduced in the early 2000’s it was evident some people didn’t trust the system; an uptake was slow. However, the pace has rapidly accelerated and as an industry we saw online sales increase to nearly 30% in some segments. We expect this trend to continue and 5 years from now I wouldn’t be surprised if 25% of all dealer stock, 50% of corporate/fleet stock, and nearly 100% of all manufacturing product was sold online!
There are multiple reasons why this trend is progressing so quickly but perhaps the most important is buyer confidence. In the last 5 years the remarketing industry invested millions of pounds in new conditions reports, inspections systems, and world class vehicle imaging systems to ensure a buyer knows the exact condition of a vehicle before it goes through the lanes. This has evened the playing field between in-lane and online buyers and created an environment of confidence for customers who can’t physically “kick the tyres”. With that said there’s still opportunity ahead and expect more innovation in this space in the coming months and years.
Our customers are also making smarter buying decisions and using more intelligence to do so. For years customers strictly leveraged CAP and Glass’s Guide to guide their decisions and a vehicle at 95% of Cap Clean always was the right choice if compared to another at 95.6%. However, this line of thinking risks failing to capture retail demand and often times the vehicle selling for a higher CAP value is the right purchase for a dealer to maximize profitability. At Manheim we’re working hard to help our customers make smarter buying decisions, and whether it’s buying in-lane, online, through placing proxy bids, or leveraging Manheim as a stock finding service our goal is to ensure we maximize profitability for our customers.
In the next few years you’ll see a significant amount of innovation to deliver a better experience for our customers. This will include integrating smart technology within the buying process, developing quicker ways to register for sales and a faster, more efficient check-out process. Perhaps more immediate though is the exciting launch of continuous vehicle availability which will take place this year. By placing vehicles for sale through various integrated sales channels we’ll create more opportunities for our customers to purchase the right vehicle, for the right price, and ultimately make the right profit. More to come on this so be on the lookout!
Thanks for reading!
Jonathan Schwartz
Manheim Remarketing