Dealership groups should look beyond customer-facing generative AI and start using automation to strip cost from back-office processes as margin pressure intensifies, according to Nexbotix.
The automation expert argues that many retailers already pay for seven to 10 systems, including DMS platforms, CRMs, finance portals and OEM databases, and yet still employ people to move information between them manually.
Automation targets back office costs
Those “human bridges” create a hidden productivity gap in areas such as supplier invoicing, vehicle records, stock sourcing and sales administration. The result is that profit secured in the showroom is steadily eroded before it reaches the bottom line.
Nexbotix chief executive Chris Porter tells AM: “Converting a lead is great, but if it takes hours of manual back-office labour to process the sale, order the vehicle, register the vehicle and handle the invoice, you’re eating away the profit you just made.”
He makes a distinction between generative tools that help an employee draft or decide and process-driven AI that executes a task from end to end.
Video: Nexbotix chief executive Chris Porter talks to AM deputy editor Aimee Turner
AM100 dealers report measurable savings
Rather than replacing a dealership’s existing technology, Nexbotix technology acts as “glue” between systems, reading documents, validating information, updating platforms and referring only exceptions to staff.
Nexbotix claims most of its deployments achieve a full return on investment within five months and points to measurable gains across several dealer groups as evidence of how quickly automation can translate into cost savings and improved profitability.
At AM100 dealership group Arnold Clark, it says more than 200,000 invoices are routinely automated annually, removing 8,500 hours of manual work. Startin Group has saved 120 hours a month through updating 5,000 vehicle records, while Hartwell achieved a 50% margin uplift per used vehicle through automated buying.
Dealership AI must strengthen governance
Porter says automation should also strengthen governance by applying validation rules and creating an audit trail of every read, entry and approval.
For dealer leaders, the test is therefore less whether an AI tool appears innovative and more whether it removes measurable workload, errors and cost.
This issue will be explored further during AM’s free webinar, Identifying the innovations that count, at 2pm on Thursday, 24 September.
Our expert panel will examine how dealership leaders can distinguish technology that produces a meaningful return from tools that merely add another layer to an already crowded technology stack.
Reserve your place for the AM Innovation Week webinar now and follow AM throughout Innovation Week as we examine innovation in marketing, sales, aftersales and dealership culture.
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