After hosting dozens of strategy sessions with dealership leaders over the past year, I’ve observed a fundamental shift in how the most successful operations are approaching efficiency. It’s no longer about incremental improvements or cost-cutting measures. The conversation has evolved into something far more strategic: how do we fundamentally reimagine our operations to thrive in an environment where every margin point matters?
During a recent conversation with two industry leaders—Jack Camiolo, CFO of DARR Equipment, and Ryan Brown, founder of CoreCon IT Solutions—I was struck by how their approaches to efficiency challenges mirror what I’m seeing across our most successful dealer partners. Their insights reveal three critical shifts that are separating the leaders from the laggards in today’s market.
The New Economics of Dealership Operations
Let me be direct about what we’re facing: the traditional dealership operating model is under siege. The convergence of economic uncertainty, tariff pressures, rising labor costs, and intensifying OEM demands has created what Jack aptly described as “margin compression from multiple angles.”
But here’s what I find fascinating—the dealers who are thriving aren’t just responding to these pressures; they’re using them as catalysts for fundamental transformation. They’ve recognized that efficiency isn’t about doing the same things faster; it’s about questioning why we do things at all.
As Jack told his team, and I’ve heard similar sentiments from CFOs across our network: “I don’t pay you to push buttons and push paper around. What I’m really paying you for is to use your head and to make decisions.” This mindset shift—from task execution to strategic thinking—is at the heart of what separates efficient organizations from the rest.
The Information Revolution: Breaking Down the Silos
One of the most profound transformations I’ve witnessed involves how progressive dealers are handling information access. The old model—where branch A only sees branch A data—is not just inefficient; it’s strategically limiting.
DARR Equipment’s journey illustrates this perfectly. Their decision to “completely open it up and let everybody see everything” wasn’t just about transparency; it was about unleashing the collective intelligence of their organization. The result? What Jack described as “incredible performance improvement” through cross-pollination of best practices.
This aligns with what I’m observing across our dealer network: the most innovative operations are moving beyond traditional reporting toward what I call “conversational intelligence.” Instead of generating reports and hoping people use them, they’re engaging directly with operations teams, asking, “What are you trying to accomplish, and how can data help you get there faster?”
The shift to unlimited BI licensing that DARR is implementing reflects a broader trend I’m seeing: successful dealers are treating data access as a competitive advantage, not a cost center. When sales teams can instantly access inventory across all branches instead of making phone calls, when service managers can spot patterns across locations in real-time, when parts managers can see demand trends as they develop—that’s when efficiency becomes a force multiplier.
Process Automation: The Hidden ROI Goldmine
Let me share something that might surprise you: the most impactful automation projects I’ve seen aren’t the obvious ones. Yes, AP automation saves time—DARR’s implementation cut routine vendor inquiries from 5-10 minutes to 30 seconds. But the real value lies in what that freed-up time enables.
Ryan’s experience implementing AP automation across 600+ vendors at Great West revealed something crucial: the ROI isn’t just in time savings; it’s in accuracy improvements and strategic capacity building. When your AP team isn’t drowning in manual data entry, they can focus on vendor relationship management, cash flow optimization, and identifying process improvements.
The 80/20 rule that Ryan mentioned—where 20% of vendors represent 80% of invoices—has become my standard recommendation for dealers considering automation. You don’t need to automate everything to see transformational results. Focus on high-impact areas first, prove the concept, then expand.
But here’s the critical insight: successful automation implementations always start with process evaluation. The dealers seeing the best results aren’t just digitizing their existing workflows; they’re asking fundamental questions about why those workflows exist in the first place.
The Strategic Imperative: From Efficiency to Competitive Advantage
What excites me most about where this industry is heading is how efficiency is evolving beyond internal operations into customer experience differentiation. Tools like our Vital Engage platform represent the next frontier: using operational efficiency to create superior customer interactions.
Jack’s perspective on this resonates deeply with what I’m hearing from dealer principals: “How do you differentiate yourself to a world of customers that are getting hit up by every other guy?” The answer increasingly lies in operational excellence that translates into customer value.
When your service technician can communicate seamlessly with customers through integrated systems, when your sales team has instant access to inventory and pricing across all locations, when your parts department can provide real-time availability—that’s not just efficiency; that’s competitive differentiation.
The Path Forward: Building Tomorrow’s Dealership Today
Looking ahead, I see three critical areas where forward-thinking dealers are focusing their efficiency investments:
Intelligent Automation: Moving beyond simple task automation toward systems that can make decisions, learn from patterns, and adapt to changing conditions.
Connected Customer Experience: Integrating internal efficiency tools with customer-facing capabilities to create seamless, differentiated service delivery.
Strategic Analytics: Evolving from reporting what happened toward predicting what will happen and prescribing optimal responses.
The dealers implementing these capabilities today are positioning themselves not just for improved margins, but for sustainable competitive advantage in an increasingly challenging market.
The Bottom Line
After hosting hundreds of these conversations, one thing is clear: efficiency isn’t a destination; it’s a competitive strategy. The dealers who understand this—who see efficiency as a path to enhanced customer value, improved employee satisfaction, and sustainable growth—are the ones who will define the future of this industry.
The question isn’t whether your dealership needs to embrace this efficiency imperative. The question is: will you lead the transformation, or will you be forced to follow?
The choice, and the opportunity, is yours.
Want to dive deeper into these strategies? Watch the full Enterprise Efficiency webinar recording featuring the complete conversation with Jack Camilo and Ryan Brown. Download the recording here to get the detailed insights and practical examples discussed in this post.
About the Author
Matthew Winslow is a Customer Success Director with more than 20 years of experience in the dealership and heavy equipment industry. His dealership career began managing product support operations, evolving into a focus on ERP solutions, project management, and helping customers maximize value through technology and process optimization.
Matthew is passionate about building lasting partnerships, driving operational efficiency, and supporting customer growth across complex environments. Outside of work, Matthew enjoys cooking, studying History, and spending quality time with his family in Vermont.
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