Arnold Clark and Startin Group will reveal how practical artificial intelligence (AI) technology is cutting manual administration and operating costs across their businesses.
The dealer groups will join Nexbotix chief executive Chris Porter for the “AI for modern retailers: Hype vs real impact” session at Automotive Management Live at the NEC, Birmingham on November 11.
Christopher Dunn, senior group accountant at Arnold Clark, will show how the dealer group removed 8,500 hours of manual work a year from its invoice processing.
Startin Group managing director Tim Freeman will also present practical examples of automation within the business.
David James, an automotive technology consultant, will also be on hand to provide an independent view to how AI is being adopted by dealers across the UK.
The speakers will discuss the operational problems the technology was introduced to address, the benefits it has delivered and the challenges encountered during implementation.
Practical AI takes work off employees’ desks
Porter wants the panel to move beyond broader claims about the potential of AI and focus on technology already completing dealership processes from beginning to end.
He said: “This is about practical AI and automation doing the work end to end, taking back-office processes like sales admin, invoice processing and data cleansing off people’s desks and removing real cost.”
The Arnold Clark and Startin Group case studies will examine how AI can handle repetitive administrative work and allow dealership employees to concentrate on higher-value activities.
Porter said the aim was to present “real tangible use cases” where the technology had delivered benefits within the two dealer groups.
The session will also explore the link between adopting AI and the pressure on dealers to reduce their operating costs.
Porter said the panel would provide an honest account of implementation rather than presenting AI and automation as simple or immediate solutions.
He said: “It’s not always easy necessarily to implement this technology, so I think sharing with the audience some of the challenges is useful as well.
“We’re not going to pretend you just turn it on and off it goes. It does need a bit of support and care.”
The speakers will discuss what dealers need to consider before introducing automation, including the condition of their existing data and systems, the processes most suited to the technology and the support required after implementation.
The discussion will consider where AI and automation can genuinely support dealership teams and where the technology risks introducing another layer of complexity.
It will address questions including where dealers should begin, whether some claims are too good to be true and how businesses can distinguish practical AI from hype.
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