Dealers who use Lightspeed and/or V-SEPT (bought by ADP in 2011) need not worry, Lintvet said. “We have a strong relationship with ADP. Dealers win by two organizations that are both powerhouses deeply integrating those products.”
Last year ARI also integrated its dealer websites with CycleTrader for the listing of inventory. And ARI just announced an inventory service for Craigslist, Facebook and eBay. “The integrations will benefit both 50 Below and WebsiteSmart dealers,” Lintvet says. “We’re going to do everything we can to make the acquisition seamless for customers.”
At its booth ARI is presenting “50 Below, an ARI company.” But Lintvet hints that the 50 Below name may not survive in the long term. Soon, he said, ARI will be coming out with an all-new website platform combining the best from the WebsiteSmart and 50 Below Customer First platforms. “Both platforms have a bunch of great benefits,” Lintvet notes. “It’s not going to be just a move from one to the other. In the next six months we’re going to have a very significant upgrade to a platform that is not just matching feature for feature. It’s literally a new platform that we’ll probably put all the powersports customers on.”
PG&A data at your fingertips. Imagine using a computer or tablet to show your customers every aftermarket part available for their particular make, model and year. Imagine searching by fitment and seeing current pricing and availability from your suppliers only. Imagine the time and money your parts people would save by being able to find stuff so easily.
Well, that service actually has been available (in increasing degrees) ever since Indiana-based Ready2Ride introduced XactFit software at Dealer Expo 2008. Husband and wife Ronnie and Jamie Longacre, who once owned a powersports mail-order business, created the database for their own use. Then they realized other dealers would pay for the same ability.
50 Below also appreciated the value and in 2008 asked Ready2Ride to power the search-by-fitment function on its dealer websites. The contract was initially exclusive, but after that ended, Ready2Ride was soon powering sites for other providers, including ARI.
Last summer ARI acquired Ready2Ride, retaining the Longacres and their Indiana office. Because ARI has long offered search-by-fitment for OEM parts via its DataSmart service, it branded Ready2Ride’s service under the same umbrella.
But DataSmart is literally “just the data” — used by suppliers and e-tailers who wish to build their own lookup applications. The more accessible version of the service parallels ARI’s PartSmart electronic catalog used by dealer staff at parts and service counters to find OEM parts. Debuting this weekend is AccessorySmart starting at $49 per month (variable based on distributor catalogs selected and actual usage).
Unlike PartSmart, the accessories product is an online service requiring no software downloads. Available content spans more than 500,000 SKUs from 1,400 manufacturers. AccessorySmart shows current retail and wholesale pricing, as well as availability down to the warehouse location. If dealers use a dealer management system that can integrate with AccessorySmart, they can also see in-store stock. Participating companies include Tucker Rocky, Parts Unlimited, Western Power Sports and ADP Lightspeed. (continued)
