Dealers compete for used vehicle inventory with digital tools

Paul Lips, ADESA’s chief commercial officer, said digital purchasing is often linked to how some dealership groups structure their buying operations.

“What we’ve seen are the dealership groups that have moved more to a centralized model and using either internal or external analytical tools to tell them which vehicles to buy; they tend to be adopting the digital channels faster for acquisition,” Lips said.

Of course, with the Internet, inventory from all corners of the country ends up in front of dealers’ eyeballs and across multiple channels. One way ADESA has adapted to this is by centralizing its own inventory consulting group, which previously was focused on the company’s individual digital channels or even its auctions.

Nick Johnson, used-vehicle director at Luther Automotive Group in Minneapolis, told attendees at Used Car Week that digitization of the wholesale market has evened the playing field between small and large dealers for access to nationwide inventory.

But, just…