How Auto Lenders Group Took Control of Transportation with Super Dispatch

Auto Lenders + Super Dispatch: At a Glance

Auto Lenders Group faced a significant challenge in evolving their transportation organization. The Director of Transportation, Dennis, envisioned a robust system that could effectively manage the movement of vehicles across an ever-growing network of dealerships. The main obstacle was transitioning from reliance on third party vendors to complete in-house control of auto transportation. Enter Super Dispatch – an auto transport platform came into play. The robust features and breadth of integrations offered a seamless solution for building an in-house transport process from scratch. The result? Auto Lenders has significantly improved operational efficiency, enabling strategic growth, increasing transaction volume, reducing costs, and making Super Dispatch an integral part of the company’s continued success.

Their Goal

Navigating Digital Transformation Amid a Pandemic: Auto Lenders’ Strategic Shift to In-house Transportation

In 2019, Auto Lenders primarily engaged in purchasing and appraising vehicles face-to-face with their consumers as they would then order transport at the point of sale. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, they quickly realized they needed a more efficient and touchless approach to purchasing and transport.

As these business plans shifted, the team decided it was more strategic to bring transportation in-house. Dennis Robbins, the Director of Transportation, set ambitious goals to not only build their in-house transportation process from the ground up, but also identify the transportation tools that would enable the team to hit the ground running.

Robbins reflected on the challenges brought by the pandemic: “With the pandemic, we had to figure out a more touchless way to do things, and we all had to just really, in a pinch, get together. How are we going to change the business plan? How are we going to do this? We can’t just sit and do nothing. And within a month after lockdown, we had a pretty good plan in place.”

With dealerships spanning the east coast, they knew they needed a solution to effectively manage the movement of vehicles, communicate with their existing internal systems, and help build a network of reliable carriers.

“Prior to locating Super Dispatch, we didn’t have control of who the vendors and transporters were who were facing our customers. Since those transporters didn’t directly work for us, they didn’t have to answer to us.”

Their primary goals in seeking an auto transport platform solution were to:

Streamline communication among internal departments
Gain real-time visibility into the status of their vehicles
Enhance their customers’ transportation experience
Gain access to a robust network of reliable carriers

“Super Dispatch really does the job for us. We only have to do a few things. We don’t have to hire to scale or just increase our business. We can just use Super Dispatch and it does it for us. It keeps our labor hours down while also increasing our productivity and power purchasing.“

Dennis Robbins

Director of Transportation

Their Solution

Unlocking Efficiency with the Key to the Future

After exploring various Shipper Transportation Managements Systems (TMS) and auto transport load boards, Dennis came across Super Dispatch. He deemed it superior to other programs due to its ease of use, visual appeal, and robust feature set. Super Dispatch offered a seamless solution for organizing dispatches, locating reliable transport vendors, and tracking the movement of vehicles across dealerships.

“I did some research online and found a few options. We went through a testing phase with each of them and just found that Super Dispatch was by far the best one. Visually it was a lot better and just a superior product. It had everything we needed and was easy to use.”

The Auto Lenders team also quickly became curious about the impact of leveraging an API. Like many dealerships, the entire company uses a variety of systems and tools to manage their workflows and introducing a new transportation tool would mean that it would need to communicate across teams. Whether it’s sharing reports on transport performance, automating tasks like submitting orders, or communicating the status of the vehicle – all critical for Auto Lenders’ smooth operation.

“In our purchasing division, utilizing the API from our system, sends the orders over to the Super Dispatch platform and to the transport companies when they mark the vehicles picked up. It updates in our own system through the API when they mark it delivered at the same time, which is a really big thing.”

With numerous teams needing access to transport and logistics information, it was critical that whatever system was introduced – it needed to be easy to use. In the car dealership industry, everyday comes with its new set of moving parts. Being able to easily organize and manage your workload can quickly make or break your goals that day.

“Super Dispatch really does the job for us. We only have to do a few things. We don’t have to hire to scale or just increase our business. We can just use Super Dispatch and it does it for us. It keeps our labor hours down while also increasing our productivity and power purchasing.”

The adoption of Super Dispatch brought significant benefits for Auto Lenders Group. By streamlining their transportation logistics, the company was able to quickly see improved operational efficiency and leverage a set of trusted carriers to wow their customers.

“Thanks to Super Dispatch, we were able to implement our business plan. We could now rely on carriers to do some of the activities our appraisers would have done. Super Dispatch’s platform has the ability to take photos and give real-time updates. It’s been tremendous.“

Dennis Robbins

Director of Transportation

Their Results

A Paradigm Shift: Super Dispatch Fuels Auto Lenders’ Growth

Implementing Super Dispatch brought tangible improvements in Auto Lenders Group’s operations. The easy-to-use solution reduced manual work, allowing the company to scale without increasing staff. Significantly, Super Dispatch supported the company’s expansion plans, enabling them to purchase vehicles in additional states and manage their transportation efficiently.

“We actually did purchase a car in Hawaii and Super Dispatch had a transporter in Hawaii. So we’ve now purchased in 49 of the states, excluding Alaska. We wouldn’t have been able to do that prior to the pandemic and changing our business plan using Super Dispatch.”

The logistical challenges previously faced were significantly reduced, allowing the company to focus on strategic growth. Auto Lenders Group also saw an increase in their transaction volume and a decrease in costs. Remember those face-to-face car purchases and transport orders? The team was now able to leverage their carrier network to accomplish these tasks through Super Dispatch’s advanced inspection photos and real-time status updates.

“Thanks to Super Dispatch, we were able to implement our business plan. We could now rely on carriers to do some of the activities our appraisers would have done. Super Dispatch’s platform has the ability to take photos and give real-time updates. It’s been tremendous.”

With Super Dispatch’s API, the Auto Lenders team automated manual tasks like posting orders and instantly sharing vehicle status across departments, enabling the entire organization to move more efficiently with the most accurate information.

“It’s less work on our end. Less manual work. It’s definitely assisting us in the scaling of our purchasing. We also use it for our lease returns. We use it to dispatch to the transport companies, as well as, the movement internally to our dealerships. It’s really a one stop shop for us.”

Overall, implementing Super Dispatch proved to be instrumental for Auto Lenders, providing them with a single tool to scale their business, create a reliable carrier network, and ultimately, reduce their manual workflows.