Dealership Management System
Role: Product Design Lead (Research, Strategy & Design)
Organization: Dealer-FX (Automotive)
Business Type: B2B
Tools: Figma
Overview
A Dealership Management System or DMS is essential for optimizing operations, enhancing customer experiences, maximizing profitability, and ensuring compliance within automotive dealerships. It serves as a centralized platform for managing all aspects of the dealership's business activities.
Problem Statement
The organization lacked comprehensive management software for its OEM customers, leading to manual work, miscommunication, absence of clear workspaces, reports, analytics, appointment management, and check-ins, resulting in poor human communication, sales, and customer satisfaction and retention.
Goal
Streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and improve customer satisfaction and retention through integrated management of inventory, sales, finance, service, and reporting processes.
What We Achieved
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After 6 months of launching the product, on average, dealership sales rates increased by 30%.
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Communication between management, advisors, technicians, and parts significantly increased, resulting in accepting more customers and achieving a 30% increase in customer satisfaction and a 20% increase in customer retention.
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The organization successfully signed contracts with more than 20 new OEMs across Canada and the US.
Research
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User Interviews
Conducted user interviews with dealership managers, sales representatives, service technicians, and parts specialists to understand their pain points, workflow challenges, and needs in managing dealership operations.
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Demographic research methods
Utilized ethnographic research methods to observe dealership staff interacting with existing management systems, identifying inefficiencies, usability issues, and areas for improvement.
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Card sorting and Tree testing
Employed card sorting and tree testing techniques to organize information architecture and navigation structures, ensuring intuitive access to key features and data within the DMS.
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Usability testing
Facilitated usability testing sessions with dealership staff using prototypes of the DMS interface, gathering feedback on usability, task completion efficiency, and overall user experience.
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Quantitative data analysis
Analyzed quantitative data from surveys and usage metrics to identify patterns in user behavior, preferences, and priorities, informing design decisions and feature prioritization for the DMS.
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Collaboration with stakeholders
Collaborated closely with stakeholders, including dealership management, IT teams, and software developers, to iteratively refine the DMS design based on research insights and user feedback.
Inside the Service Lane
Let's take a look at the Service Advisor screen design and UX strategy as an example.
The initial strategy for enhancing user experience involved implementing a single sign-on system with role-based access. This approach allowed the system to identify users and display relevant information accordingly. Additionally, the system retained user customizations from previous logins, resulting in increased user satisfaction.
The landing page for each user functioned as their personalized dashboard, featuring information tailored to their specific role. For instance, in the Admin dashboard, users accessed the vehicle queue and assigned tasks, while other departmental users encountered a similar layout.
Data Table
The content of the data table underwent meticulous selection based on both qualitative and quantitative research findings. Within the Admin dashboard, crucial information such as repair order numbers, Tag# for identification and tracking purposes (essential for addressing common issues like key mix-ups), customer names, service advisor details, promised times, status updates, and flags indicating potential delays along with their reasons were prominently displayed.
​Profile selection and filter
Under the profile selection, users were able to choose their profile and view performance metrics based on the selected role. They had the option to save their profile, ensuring that upon subsequent logins, the same profile would be displayed. Additionally, to maintain a clean user interface, we concealed all filters beneath the "Show Filters" button, with the applied filter displayed adjacent to it. Users could easily access and modify the filters at any time by clicking on the button.
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Action column
In the action column, a static feature, users were presented with three icons tailored to their needs. A wrench icon flagged issues noted by technicians, a single message icon denoted customer messages, with an accompanying red indicator for unread messages, while a double message icon represented internal communications across various departments.
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Detailed view
One of the most cherished features and sections of this new management application was the Detailed view located on the right-hand side. Users accessed it by clicking on the selected vehicle's row in the data table. The top segment showcased crucial information regarding the car, including arrival time and status, write-up, inspection, servicing, and delivery. In the event of any issues during these stages, a red blocker icon would appear, providing users with insight into the problem upon hovering over it. Other sections encompassed Outstanding Tasks, the Team assigned to the vehicle, Approved Services, total fees, and relevant documents for viewing, printing, or email transmission.
Crafting the complete experience: Unveiling the comprehensive design
The project's overarching design encompassed distinct screens tailored for customer check-in, appointment management, and various departments including Sales, Parts, Finance, Technicians, and Service Advisory. However, due to confidentiality agreements, the final visual representation of these screens cannot be included in my portfolio to uphold the organization's rights.
Driving success: Concluding the design journey of the Dealership Management System
The dealership management system achieved remarkable success through its intuitive and comprehensive design, seamlessly integrating functionalities across various departments. Its user-friendly interface facilitated efficient customer check-in, appointment management, and streamlined operations, contributing significantly to enhanced productivity and customer satisfaction within the dealerships.