Optimal dealer computerization requires integration of all business functions throughout the dealerships daily activities. The transaction flow is very complex. For example, the Parts Department will research and identify part numbers, create invoices for sales and build purchase orders for parts not on hand. The Service Department will research the history of a customer’s product, file warranty claims or review updated maintenance procedures from the manufacturer. Combine this with the complexity of a multi-line dealership, and the unique requirements for conducting business with each of the dealer’s suppliers can become overwhelming if not practically impossible.

ARI’s COMPASS Partner Program combines the numerous points of computerization into a unified system. The standardization of transaction processing between the dealer, his Business Management System (BMS) and his suppliers, is the basis for the ARI Shared Channel Electronic Commerce strategy of the COMPASS Partner Program. This program provides a unified solution, effectively referencing each supplier’s technical documentation materials, allowing for the creation of a pick list, checking availability, supporting warranty documentation and interacting with the dealer’s Business Management System.

A dealer’s selection of a computer system to manage the business is a very personal and important choice. Software features, an organizations commitment to supporting the dealer and the ability to facilitate the interaction with external application requirements are just a few of the criteria items used in the decision making process.

ARI has taken a worldwide leadership position in pursuing our business philosophy of developing partnerships with software providers in the industries we serve. Our COMPASS Partner Program, initiated in 1991, simplifies the integration process of a dealer’s computer system. Interfacing the fundamental dealership computer system with Electronic Catalogs and Supplier Communications programs involves identifying BMS suppliers that recognized the need to simplify all aspects of the Parts and Service Departments within a dealership. Whether it involves the parts lookup process, verifying inventory levels, pricing, availability, ordering or warranty processing the interface relationship includes various transactions between the catalog/technical information, e-commerce with the manufacturer and standard business management functions.

Because integration of electronic commerce functions are bi-directional, not limited to processes at the dealer location, ARI has also created partnerships with organizations which support the manufacturer / supplier interaction with the dealer. This integration effort will ensure that the transactions generated by the dealer will flow into and interact with the manufacturer’s enterprise system.

Through the COMPASS Partner Program, ARI addresses the business issues concerning e-commerce with an industry’s dealer base, resolving the complex problems regarding doing business with multiple suppliers. Dealers naturally gravitate towards systems which make doing business the easiest. ARI’s commitment to solving e-commerce issues for all participants within a shared channel serves to facilitate the mutual and long-term success of all involved.