Claims:We Claim:
1. A system for enabling a dealer to provide information regarding inventory and non-inventory tangible goods, comprising:
a computer system configured to;
a. provide information regarding an inventory tangible good actionable price;
b. provide information regarding a non-inventory tangible good actionable price; and
c. integrate said inventory and non-inventory tangible good information into a retail sales presentation to a consumer.
2. A system according to claim 1, wherein said inventory and non-inventory tangible good information is guaranteed.
3. A system according to claim 1, wherein said computer system is further configured to provide a retail sales price for inventory and non-inventory tangible goods including a pre-established profit margin of an acquiring retail dealer
4. A system according to claim 1, wherein said computer system is further configured to provide a dealer with an ability to modify at least one of the inventory or non- inventories tangible good
, Description:Technical Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to dealer/consumer interaction, and, more particularly, to a system and method for enabling a tangible good dealer to provide information regarding inventory and non-inventory tangible goods, for example, during a retail sales presentation. b. Description of Related Art
Background of the Invention
Inefficient distribution and sale of inventory as well as of non-inventory goods has been a long-standing problem for many types of goods. This problem is particularly acute with respect to vehicles. The number of possible configurations for a specific year, make and model based on available colors, various options, and various configurations is often greater than a billion. Conversely, vehicle dealers can stock only a small percentage of the configurations given space and cost constraints on maintaining inventory. The relatively small local inventory of a vehicle dealer relative to the numerous possible vehicle configurations makes it highly unlikely that the dealer will be able to offer the exact vehicle desired by a consumer. Local inventories of used vehicles have an even lower probability of meeting actual consumer demands given additional variables such as mileage, cosmetic condition, etc. Dealers and consumers therefore often settle ‘on a less than perfect new or used vehicle transaction reducing sales, consumer satisfaction, prices and profits and requiring increasing incentives while also creating a high-pressure sale process disliked by consumers. The depreciation in dealer to consumer sale prices of used vehicles also affects the amount dealers are willing to pay consumers on trade-ins of used vehicles, further decreasing the consumer's purchasing power for new vehicles sales and creating an unfortunate cycle of depreciation.
In addition to sales price and profits, the inability to match consumer demand with inventory harms financing operations because it (i) reduces the amount individuals are willing to pay up-front and in monthly payments; and (ii) makes it even more difficult to match low credit buyers with appropriate vehicles. Further, the inefficient distribution of vehicles also has negative effects on the freight transportation industry. Freight carriers are not provided with information enough to optimize freight transport and many transporters waste significant resources.
A variety of solutions have been considered to make vehicle distribution more efficient. At the manufacturing level, build to order and late customization of orders have been attempted. In addition to their relative ineffectiveness, these efforts are unrealistic given other factors that require advance planning for optimal use of manufacturing assets and low-cost production. Further, manufacturing level solutions such as these increase vehicle costs given requirements for parts storage and movement away from lean manufacturing.
Several e-commerce-based systems for improving product distribution have also been proposed or attempted. Some systems such as direct order manufacturing would eliminate the dealer network. Dealers, however, provide important functions such as distribution of information and product, trade-in opportunities, indirect financing, and servicing and provide a face to face relationship that is an important aspect of the retail sale of goods such as vehicles.
One existing e-commerce-based system that leverages the existing dealer structure for improved distribution of new vehicles is the electronic dealer trade system developed by vehicle manufacturers. Using this system, dealers can locate vehicles at other dealers and initiate a trade. Dealer trade systems, however, are disadvantageous because they consume significant time of the dealer that may turn out to be a wasted effort — there is no certainty the dealer will be able to obtain the vehicle they have located, much less at a desired price. Arranging trades can also be difficult because one dealer (the dealer with the vehicle) is typically in a much better negotiating position than the other dealer (the dealer who wants the vehicle). The dealer looking to make a trade also does not have an easy mechanism for identifying the dealer that will offer the greatest possible return. Finally, even if a trade is consummated, the dealers must spend additional time arranging for freight transportation. For used vehicles, auctions have provided improved distribution not only between dealers, but also between dealers and remarketers (e.g., corporate and government fleets, rental car companies, etc.). Physical auctions bring more buyers and sellers together for increased value but are disadvantageous because they require transportation and storage of product (time and cost) and active participation of buyers and sellers (travel time and cost). Further, physical auctions often fail to convey adequate product information to enable buyer confidence and still significantly limit the pool of available participants. Recent auction improvements include the use of internet video to bring more buyers and reduce participant costs. More significantly, several auctioneers and remarketers have developed or implemented e-commerce-based systems for used vehicle wholesaling such as Manheim Online (www.manheim.coml ATC (www. autotradecenter. com), Adesa (www.adesa.com) and General Motors (www. gmonlineauctions. com). Car manufacturers have also adopted electronic systems for wholesaling used vehicles to their dealers and allowing dealers to exchange used vehicles. The limited number of participants in these systems, however, fails to optimize value. Further, these systems also do not integrate freight delivery resulting in buyer uncertainty regarding delivery costs and timing. The inability to guarantee freight cost and delivery in these systems creates uncertainty thereby decreasing potential sales, satisfaction, and profits. The inventors herein have thus recognized a need for a system and method for enabling a tangible good dealer to provide information regarding inventory and non-inventory tangible goods, for example, during a retail sales presentation that will minimize and/or eliminate one or more of the above-identified deficiencies.
Summary of the Invention
The invention provides an administration system for controlling the behavior of all systems. In addition to wholesale systems, the administration system also controls retail systems such as vehicle sales, sales management, vehicle appraisal, consumer relations, as well as market leverage, whereby dealers predefine their desired profit margin in the administration system to use the millions of vehicles in the wholesale market as their own inventory in real time. In an exemplary embodiment, the invention provides a system for enabling a dealer to provide information regarding inventory and non-inventory tangible goods. The system may include a computer system configured to provide information regarding an inventory tangible good actionable price and provide information regarding a non-inventory tangible good actionable price. The computer system may integrate the inventory and non-inventory tangible good information into a retail sales presentation to a consumer to enable the consumer to informatively purchase the inventory and/or non-inventory tangible goods at a corresponding actionable price.
For the system described above, the system may be further configured to provide information regarding inventory and non-inventory good configuration, condition and delivery time. The inventory and non-inventory tangible good information may be guaranteed. The computer system may be further configured to provide a retail sales price for inventory and non-inventory tangible goods including a pre-established profit margin of an acquiring retail dealer such that an inventory of all participants of the system is offered by the retail dealer to the consumer during the retail sales presentation. The computer system may be further configured to provide a dealer with an ability to modify the inventory and/or non- inventory tangible good and options associated with the inventory and/or non-inventory tangible good during the retail sales presentation. The computer system may be further configured to perform the modification by a pentagon sub-system including a singular or a matrix presentation, with the matrix presentation including a greater number of options presentable to the consumer than the singular presentation. The singular and matrix presentations may enable a dealer to modify the options to meet the consumer's desired price and/or budget. The options may include the inventory and non-inventory tangible good configuration and/or delivery time. The pentagon sub-system may allow a dealer to bid with other dealers on a tangible good during the retail sales presentation to further reduce a price of the tangible good offered during the retail sales presentation or to increase dealer profit margin. In a system configuration, the dealer profit margin may not be disclosed to the consumer, and further, shipping charges, the system fees, and/or reconditioning costs may not be disclosed to the consumer.
The invention also provides a system for enabling inventory of tangible good selling dealers to be sold to a consumer at a remote tangible good purchasing dealer site. The system may include a computer system configured to determine a predefined profit margin of a tangible good purchasing dealer, and determine a selling price, transportation cost and/or reconditioning cost of the tangible good selling dealers. The computer system may be further configured to provide a total tangible good cost to the consumer at the remote tangible good purchasing dealer site based on determination of the predefined profit margin and the selling price, transportation cost and/or reconditioning cost.
For the system described above, the total tangible good cost may be guaranteed, and further, the selling price, transportation cost and/or reconditioning cost may be guaranteed. The computer system may be further configured to provide a value of a consumer tangible good trade-in and integrate the value into the total tangible good cost. The invention further provides a system for enabling a tangible good selling dealer to select from at least two product variables for negotiating a tangible good sale with a consumer. The system may include a computer system configured to determine at least one product variable based on a bid placed by the consumer on a tangible good of a dealer other than the tangible good selling dealer.
For the system described above, the computer system may be configured to provide an accurate market valuation of a consumer trade-in. In a system configuration, the selling dealer profit margin may not be disclosed to the consumer, and further, shipping charges, the system fees, and/or reconditioning costs may not be disclosed to the consumer. The invention yet further provides a method for enabling a dealer to provide information regarding inventory and non-inventory tangible goods. The method may include providing information regarding an inventory tangible good actionable price and providing information regarding a non-inventory tangible good actionable price. The method may further include integrating the inventory and non-inventory tangible good information into a retail sales presentation to a consumer to enable the consumer to informatively purchase either the inventory or non-inventory tangible good at a corresponding actionable price. For the method described above, the method may further include providing information regarding inventory and non-inventory good configuration, condition and/or delivery time. The inventory and non-inventory tangible good information may be guaranteed. The method may further include providing a retail sales price for inventory and non-inventory tangible goods including a pre-established profit margin of an acquiring retail dealer such that an inventory of all participants of a system for implementing the method is offered by the retail dealer to the consumer during the retail sales presentation. The method may further include providing a dealer with an ability to modify the inventory and/or non- inventory tangible good and/or options associated with the inventory or non-inventory tangible good during the retail sales presentation. The method may further include performing the modification by a pentagon sub-system including a singular or a matrix presentation, with the matrix presentation including a greater number of options presentable to the consumer than the singular presentation. The singular and matrix presentations may enable a dealer to modify the options to meet the consumer's desired price and/or budget. The options may include the inventory and/or non-inventory tangible good configuration and/or delivery time. The pentagon sub-system may allow a dealer to bid with other dealers on a tangible good during the retail sales presentation to further reduce the price of the tangible good offered during the retail sales presentation and/or to increase dealer profit margin. The dealer profit margin may not be disclosed to the consumer, and further, shipping charges, the system fees, and/or reconditioning costs may not be disclosed to the consumer. The invention also provides a method for enabling inventory of tangible good selling dealers to be sold to a consumer at a remote tangible good purchasing dealer site. The method may include determining a predefined profit margin of a tangible good purchasing dealer, and determining selling price, transportation cost and/or and reconditioning cost of the tangible good selling dealers. The method may further include providing a total tangible good cost to the consumer at the remote tangible good purchasing dealer site based on determination of the predefined profit margin and the selling price, transportation cost and/or reconditioning cost.
Brief Description of Drawings:
Fig. 1 is a listing of various sub-systems
Detailed Description of Invention
Referring to Figs. 1, system according to the present invention will now be described in further detail, in conjunction of the following applicable Sub-systems; Dealership Management Sub-system, Vehicle Retail Sales Administration Sub-system, Dealer Service Provider Integration Sub-system, Dealer Digital Dashboard Interface Sub-system, Dealer Digital Consulting Integration Sub-system, Salesforce Forecast Management Sub-system, Consumer Data Elicitation Sub-system, Retail Product Information Subsystem, Vehicle Wholesale Market Leverage Sub-system, Vehicle Valuation Appraisal Sub-system, Pentagon Retail Negotiation Sub-system, Lending Wholesale Market Leverage Sub-system , Vehicle Consumer Relation Sub-system , Vehicle Service Integrations Sub-system, Dealership Ecommerce Management Sub-system , Dealer Consumer Account Sub-system , Dealer Consumer Surveying Sub-system, Dealership Marketing Administration Sub-system, Marketing Media Integration Subsystem and Automated Direct Mail Management Sub-system . Dealership Management Sub-system
System of the present invention is based at least on the premise that the ultimate purpose of wholesale is retail and that connecting the two will increase value in both. System is thus a natural and technological extension of existing wholesale systems, in that the cost of development of system will not be prohibitive, especially relative to its value. There are several reasons for this. For example, the core components of the functionality of system will be embedded in existing systems required by vehicle wholesale, therefore, the additional development will be minimal. Business managers and district directors who are required by the deployment of wholesale systems will also oversee retail systems, thereby having a minimal impact on operations. The value of the retail systems will promote acceptance of the wholesale systems, thus, reducing the cost of wholesale systems to a greater extent than the cost of retail systems. Retail systems will promote far greater wholesale transactions and thus, the present invention revenue to a far greater extent than the cost of developing, deploying, and managing retail systems. Albeit nominal compared to value, retail systems will create ancillary revenue, which will be subject to further collaboration with the present invention members, partners, as well as investors. Dealership Management Sub-system thus addresses the integration of the wholesale and retail markets at the dealership and the corresponding applications that makes it possible. Dealership Management Sub-system also deals with sales forecasting, consumer data elicitation, sales and surveying as well as with e-commerce and marketing. For wholesale marketplace entrance, dealer may scan the VIN with the system handheld to enter and price any vehicle. For new vehicles, dealer may instantly price the vehicle and it will be available in the market immediately. For used vehicles, dealer may quickly receive the date and approximate time of an inspection, for example within 48 hours before entering a vehicle. After the completion of inspection, any seller can easily consider vehicle condition and value for pricing. Vehicle Retail Sales Administration Sub-system
The Vehicle Retail Sales Administration (VRSA) Sub-system enables dealer to control the sales process from start to finish, including introduction, criteria, demonstration, sales, negotiations, vehicle information, pricing etc. Dealer may also assign a markup, which can be a dollar amount or a percentage, whichever may be the greatest, to his own inventory over the vehicles in system. In addition, the dealer can also assign retail price, delivery time, cash down, monthly payment, lease payment etc. Consumer can view this information too. In brief, the combination of market leverage and information systems will radically enhance the vehicle sales process for each consumer, dealer, and carmaker.
VRSA Sub-system also enables dealer to control the retail process, and information visibility to the consumer. It enables the dealer to choose the type of questions they want salespersons to ask consumers, or whether to use the VDM (Vehicle Decision Modeler) discussed below. VRSA Sub-system 94 lets the dealer choose the appraisal system and select the components of the inspection system he wants to use to appraise the cars. The dealer can increase or decrease the components of the inspection system being used based on the year make and model of the car.