KRISTEN:

I realized that the last time we spoke in the early days of the COVID pandemic. We were talking about some of the adapting that dealers were having to do; dealing with so much uncertainty, getting communications out, and trying to find a good way to keep their customers informed about what was going on. So it's interesting that we're sitting down again to talk about something that is so related to that topic today.

Question:

What a good segue into this idea about the virtual car lot that 3 Birds has been doing for so long and is so valuable to car dealers, especially now. Tell me more.

KRISTEN:

It became clear that we were going to have supply chain issues pretty early-on. There has certainly been a lot of conversation and coverage about that since then and it's impacting a lot of industries in automotive. The chips are a big issue, but it's also rubber and other supplies, and it's not just automotive. So many industries are impacted too. 

That's the latest challenge, but it's something that, because we keep our finger on the pulse of our clients and are working with them and collecting feedback all the time, we see the challenges when they're out on the horizon. So we want to respond, get out in front of them, and help our clients get out in front of them, because when you see those dark storm clouds coming, you want make sure that you're ready for the storm that you might have to weather. That's what we've been working on with our clients as it relates to some of the supply issues and the impact it's having on inventory.

Comment:

You are prepared not only for the storm that's coming, but it's something that you've always done, so you're not scrambling to kind of come up with a response or being reactive. It's a very proactive approach to just business continuity. 

KRISTEN:

We have some things that are exciting and front and center right now, like what we're calling our Virtual Car Lot™. It's a program we've had for quite some time but that are coming in handy now in response to the current challenge of organically acquiring inventory. 

The advice that I would give to dealers is...

•  To stop struggling and start strategizing
• To invest in themselves and their team
• To keep a quality communication with your customers and make sure that it is tailored to what they are interested in
• More than anything, to partner with agility

That's what we want to do. We want be the partner with agility who's able to help dealers respond to whatever challenge is coming down the pike, big and small.  Hopefully the next challenge will be "How do we sell all of this inventory that we now have?" But right now, the challenges are a little bit different. So our current focus is - how can we make sure that you have enough inventory - and we have great tools and programs that were beefed up just a little bit more to respond to this current challenge of organically acquiring inventory. Our Virtual Car Lot™ is just a more cost effective way to do so.

Comment:

I've seen that Virtual Car Lot™ performs better. I see in the data that I see, in the data you have pulled, and the research that I've done online. The visualizations on your virtual car lot has made it so easy. It's not just another list dealers have to pull or another dashboard they have to manage. It's literally so visual and so easy. I can't wait for dealers to see it.