Reflections from our AED webinar on future-proofing dealership operations in an era of unprecedented volatility
As I reflect on our recent webinar with the Associated Equipment Distributors, one thing became crystal clear: we’re operating in really fluid times. Nobody—not dealers, not policymakers, not technology providers like us at Vital Edge—knows exactly how the next few months will unfold.
Alongside my colleagues Daniel Fisher from AED’s government affairs team and Mike Conrath from AED’s sales division, we explored how dealerships can build resilience amid this uncertainty. What emerged was both sobering and encouraging.
The Policy Paradox
Daniel painted a fascinating picture of our current policy landscape—one where significant certainty exists alongside unprecedented volatility. While trade policies shift with alarming frequency, the tax landscape has actually stabilized in ways that dealers should be leveraging.
The permanent tax provisions around bonus depreciation, S-Corp deductions, and business interest deductions create a foundation of certainty. Yet the trade situation remains a complete mess. When a dealer can’t predict what tariff rate will apply to equipment ordered today and delivered in two months, we have a fundamental business planning problem.
This is where my background in SAP implementations becomes relevant. I’ve seen this pattern before—external volatility requiring internal system flexibility. The dealers who thrive will be those who build adaptive capabilities into their core systems.
The Digital Imperative
During the discussion, I found myself returning to a central thesis: digital modernization isn’t just helpful in these times—it’s the only viable solution. When policy announcements can happen multiple times in a day, when supply chains shift overnight, human-only decision-making simply cannot keep pace.
Most dealerships have robust ERP systems handling parts, sales, and rental operations. That’s table stakes. But having data and having actionable insights from that data are entirely different things.
The real investment priority should be middleware API solutions that can securely extract data from your existing ERP systems and feed it into business intelligence tools. Here’s a practical example: If a new tariff structure gets announced for a specific country, can you immediately identify which customers fall into that category and what the business impact will be? If the answer is no, you’re operating blind.
The software solutions you choose must be incredibly flexible in their rule-based logic. Policy changes involve multiple variables, exceptions, and nuanced conditions. If your software can’t adapt to these complexities quickly, every policy change becomes an expensive, time-consuming implementation project.
Supply Chain Lessons
Mike’s analysis of the post-COVID inventory cycles provided a perfect case study. The pattern was predictable: shortages led to over-ordering, which led to excess inventory when supply chains stabilized. This created capital tie-up, depreciation concerns, and fleet overstocking.
The lesson isn’t just about ordering patterns—it’s about the importance of data-driven forecasting versus fear-based decision making. Dealers who had robust analytics capabilities adjusted more quickly and avoided the worst inventory surplus issues.
Mike outlined two critical strategies: enhanced forecasting methods using data-driven tools, and diversified supplier networks built through stronger OEM relationships. Supply chain resilience isn’t just about having backup suppliers—it’s about having better information and stronger relationships with existing partners.
The OEM Revolution
The traditional dealer-OEM relationship is evolving from transactional to collaborative, driven by shared data visibility. When your ERP system can share real-time sales results with your OEM partners, everyone benefits from better production planning and inventory forecasting.
This represents a fundamental shift from information hoarding to information partnership. While knowing your customer remains fundamental, this knowledge now needs to be enhanced with real-time analytics to better understand and serve different customer segments.
What Dealers Should Actually Do
Based on our discussion and my experience working with various customers, here are the investments that provide the highest immediate value:
Priority 1: Data Visibility Infrastructure – Effectively use the data you already have. Invest in API solutions and BI tools that turn existing ERP data into actionable insights.
Priority 2: Flexible Rule Engines – Ensure core systems can handle complex, multi-variable decision logic. When tariff rules change, you should implement new logic through configuration, not custom development.
Priority 3: Predictive Analytics – AI tools layered on top of your data foundation can help anticipate supply chain disruptions and inventory needs. But remember: AI without good data is just expensive noise.
The Uncomfortable Truth
Here’s what I’ve learned from more than two decades in this industry: you can’t prepare for specific unknowns, but you can build adaptive capacity. The dealers asking what technology they should buy for the tariff situation are asking the wrong question. The right question is: what capabilities do I need to adapt quickly to whatever comes next?
During periods of high uncertainty, the organizations that thrive are those that lean into industry collaboration rather than retreating into isolation. The dealers who attend AED Summit, participate in webinars, and share insights with peers are building the collective intelligence that helps everyone navigate uncertainty more effectively.
Building Antifragile Operations
The goal for forward-thinking dealerships should be building operations that don’t just survive shocks but actually get stronger from them. This requires technology infrastructure that adapts rather than breaks under pressure, industry relationships that provide shared intelligence, and operational flexibility that turns uncertainty into competitive advantage.
At Vital Edge, we’re investing heavily in API solutions, BI solutions, and flexible rule engines specifically because our dealer partners need systems that can evolve as quickly as the policy environment. It’s not about predicting the future—it’s about building the tools to adapt to whatever that future brings.
The uncertainty isn’t going away anytime soon, but our capacity to deal with it intelligently—that’s entirely within our control. The dealerships, technology providers, and industry associations that collaborate effectively will be the ones who emerge stronger from this period of volatility.
Access the full Future-Proof Your Dealership webinar with VitalEdge and AED by filling out the form. Hear expert strategies for navigating OEM shifts, supply chain challenges, and market volatility—and get actionable insights to strengthen resilience and growth in 2025 and beyond.
About the Author
Mitsh Shah is the Chief Technology Officer at VitalEdge Technologies, where he oversees global technology strategy and engineering to advance the company’s ERP and DMS solutions for equipment dealerships. He brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in enterprise technology, digital transformation, and product innovation.
Prior to joining VitalEdge in 2024, Shah spent two decades at SAP in senior leadership roles, most recently as Vice President of the SAP Business Technology Platform. He has a proven track record of leading global engineering teams, driving product strategy, and delivering scalable technology solutions that support complex business operations.
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