LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Today, CDK Global’s International business revealed plans for an evolution of its dealer management platform that will enable automotive retailers to manage the customer journey from online to offline more efficiently and profitably. Building on CDK’s market-leading position, a new programme of openness in platform development will allow selected third-party applications to integrate with CDK’s core dealer management platform and better enable end-to-end automotive commerce.

The new move coincides with the launch of a rapid product development programme, which will enable CDK to deliver new innovations to global markets. This approach will see CDK research and development teams work more closely with retailers, partners and consumers to identify issues, explore new efficiencies and develop new products and services. Examples of recent innovations include integration between CitNow, a video capture product to increase transparency and trust in the aftersales process and the DMS, but also new products such as SmartPay in Demark, a mobile payment solution for service departments.

Neil Packham, President of CDK International, said: “The world has moved on from all customer interaction being inside a dealership. Now the digital journey plays a major role, so customer interactions can occur anywhere, at any time – often in a virtual space. We already use vehicle manufacturer interfaces to provide a more joined-up customer experience and save many work hours for dealership staff. Now, we are developing new innovations and partnerships that will complement and evolve existing products, enabling retailers to be even more efficient, effective, and profitable.”

Through its existing partnership programmes with manufacturers, CDK has already developed and released a proven suite of interfaces that allow access to multiple-systems and network-wide information within its integrated Autoline Drive DMS software.

The two-way sharing of vehicle and other data between retailers and vehicle manufacturers is an industry-first that has the potential to free-up thousands of hours for dealership staff and improve the customer experience. For example, a short code can be generated from a selected manufacturer’s online car configurator, using factory build data for exact specifications, which can then be used in dealership processes and throughout the ownership cycle.

Now, as part of CDK’s product evolution programme, retailers will have the option of integrating partner applications with the core DMS platform. Whether it is a vehicle manufacturer-mandated showroom system, dedicated CRM software or a marketing tool, CDK’s new approach will enable selected systems to integrate with the DMS platform and communicate with each other.

CDK Global invests heavily in research and development, identifying the challenges faced by automotive retailers all over the world to help develop new technologies that keep dealerships up to date with changing consumer preferences. As a technology partner for vehicle manufacturers and dealer networks, CDK helps transform retailers by enabling total integration of DMS with dealership operations, delivering innovative management and analysis tools to allow easy adoption of emerging technologies in automotive retail.

Notes to editors

About CDK Global

With more than $2 billion in revenues, CDK Global (Nasdaq:CDK) is a leading global provider of integrated information technology and digital marketing solutions to the automotive retail and adjacent industries. Focused on evolving the automotive retail experience, CDK Global provides solutions to dealers in more than 100 countries around the world, serving approximately 28,000 retail locations and most automotive manufacturers. CDK's solutions automate and integrate all parts of the dealership and buying process from targeted digital advertising and marketing campaigns to the sale, financing, insuring, parts supply, repair and maintenance of vehicles.

For more information about CDK in the UK, visit www.cdkglobal.co.uk

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