Do you want to outsource the detail of your car?

All organizations must assess their core competencies. As a car dealer, auto sales, maintenance and repair are definitely your essence. What about the washing and detailing of the cars?

Conversations with general managers, sales managers, and service managers indicate that managing the detail department is frustrating:

• Fixed cost for a variable service

• High turnover, less professional worker.

• Artistic Personality – Visual thinkers do not relate to a dealership’s technical workforce.

• Controlling chemicals and equipment is time consuming and distracting

• Performance is critical to the overall CSI score

Outsourcing to a professional company with standards, processes, and ethics can be a great way to simplify a basic process and, if done right, turn it into a strategic partnership – an automated detailing service that works.

Variable cost structure. When negotiating a price per car for each type of service, you take a fixed cost and make it variable. Plus, by pricing your sales preparation and delivery services at a single price, you’ll know exactly what investment you’ll have in a vehicle.

No more personnel problems. Find an outsourcing company that provides on-site administration as well as marketing and area administration support. End with great experience and support at no additional cost. The cost of hiring, including advertisements, interviews, background checks, and motor vehicle reports, is passed on to the outsourced partner.

Reduce the cost of damages. Part of the business of detailing and washing cars is that accidents will happen. When using an outsourcing company, the cost of damage associated with the details is the responsibility of the organization causing the damage. This should reduce your out-of-pocket deductible costs and lower insurance premiums.

Invest in a partnership instead of buying a commodity. The real opportunity to outsource the detailing process is to select a “professional company” as a partner, rather than just a car wash company.

Our sources indicate that with a clear focus and performance targets, the outsourced company can help improve CSI scores by providing new and used cars for customer delivery that meet customer expectations. The most common reason for a low survey score is that the car was not clean and presentable, from the car owner’s perspective.

A partner realizes that he is working at the “dealer’s house.” Although they recognize that they are guests on their property (using their bays, water and electricity), they understand that they need to understand your business as a member of the dealership team.

A partner will offer services that the dealership can increase and earn additional revenue: touch-up paint, odor removal, striping, tin removal, headlight restoration, etc.

Overall, by outsourcing the auto detailing function to a dealership and selecting the right strategic partner, a car dealer should be able to get the best of an auto detailing service:

• Move a fixed cost to a variable one

• Simplify staffing headaches

• Add services to expand customer offerings and earn dollar profits

• Improve the consistency of the quality of details.