5 key requirements to your Dealer Management System

Equipment dealers have many different business processes. To properly automate this, you need an excellent Dealer Management System that supports all departments of your company. These are 5 important (functional) requirements to your Dealer Management System:

1. Carefree finance & administration

Financial and administrative processes must be perfectly organized. This does not only apply to equipment dealers, but to every company. If you opt for an accounting system, you can be sure that you have this part covered, but you will miss the specific functionalities that are in a Dealer Management System. The best solution? A Dealer Management System based on a system that includes finance & administration. With Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central you have a strong generic solution that can be enriched with functionalities for equipment dealers. In addition, you have localizations for your country or region and through updates you always comply with legislation and regulations.

2. Streamlined purchasing & sales

In a Dealer Management System, the entire process from equipment purchase to equipment sales must be streamlined. When purchasing from the manufacturer, you want to know exactly from which models you can choose, and which configurations are possible. You want to import this information quickly and correctly into your Dealer Management System, for example by using an interfacing. There must be the possibility to add more features yourself, through a work order, for example customer-specific wishes. And all this while still having a complete overview of the machine / object. At the time of sale, you may also offer a service contract, arrange transportation, handle the trade-in of another object, and send an order confirmation and invoice. Can your Dealer Management System handle all this?

"By perfectly organizing and automating the service department, you work efficiently and service actually acts as a competitive advantage with which you retain customers."

3. Smartly set up parts management

Spare parts are of crucial importance to equipment dealers. They generate turnover, contribute to good service and provide interesting opportunities for cost saving and/or improved customer service. In a Dealer Management System, you want to have perfect insight into your parts inventory. What inventory levels should you maintain? What replacement parts can you offer? How are you going to supply the service vans? In case of multiple locations; do you choose for centralized or decentralized parts ordering? You can use the help of an industry specialist when confronted with these challenges; the business consultant of your Dealer Management System can explain the advantages and disadvantages of each choice and help you with the optimal parts management strategy.

4. Extensive rental & lease

Rental (& lease) of equipment is very unpredictable and requires flexibility and extensive options in your Dealer Management System. Often you do not know exactly when a machine / object will return and in what state that is. Rental also involves transport and sometimes service and inspections. The entire process from rental quote to planning to invoicing is comprehensive. But you don't want to lose deals because your system runs into limitations. It is therefore one of the most important modules in a Dealer Management System to scrutinize closely.

5. Perfectly automated service

The service department is the most profitable department of many equipment dealer organizations. By perfectly organizing and automating this department, you work efficiently and service actually acts as a competitive advantage with which you retain customers. Automating service starts with understanding the work that needs to be done and planning it efficiently and well. The work orders are then passed on to the service technicians, who must be able to carry out their work anytime and anywhere with an easy-to-use solution. Then you want to quickly handle the administration and send the invoice. By working with a service module, a (graphical) service planning tool and a field service solution that are fully integrated, you increase the chance of streamlined service processes.