EDS, IBM Team to Get Auto Dealers Online

In a deal struck this week, longtime automotive partisan Electronic Data Systems Corp. will team up with IBM to offer Web-based applications and Internet connectivity to auto dealerships.

Beginning next week, dealers will be able to sign up for DealerPath, a subscription service package from the two companies that includes a Web portal, software applications and Internet connectivity.

Analysts described Web sites and Internet access as vital tools for dealers to interact with Internet-savvy car shoppers and to tap into the online initiatives of automakers and suppliers.

Dawn McGreevey, an analyst at Gomez Advisors Inc. in Lincoln, Mass., said most auto dealers have a Web site, but most of those sites offer only rudimentary online information, such as store hours, location and directions.

"Few dealers actually have real-time inventory on the Web," said McGreevey. "It's not what the customers who [are] used to shopping on the Internet are expecting. They want dynamic and customizable services on the Web."

Just the Basics

But Matt Parsons, vice president of marketing for automotive retail at EDS, said the DealerPath program won't offer complex Web development services to dealers. EDS will work with dealers to create basic Web sites.

The Plano, Texas-based systems integrator will also set up intranet sites where internal dealer departments, such as finance or parts, can access specialized software applications.

Under the terms of the deal, IBM Corp. will provide the infrastructure to get dealerships connected to the Internet, such as hardware, firewall software and e-mail systems. EDS will serve as the integrator, installing the service, designing the Web portal and providing customer support.

DealerPath costs $299 to activate, and monthly subscription fees range from $139 to $569 per month, depending on the type of Internet connectivity option selected.

Joe Lunghamer, owner of Joe Lunghamer Chevrolet, said the Waterford, Mich.-based dealership plans to subscribe to the DealerPath service in hopes of developing a better Web site and electronically accessing online services from suppliers, automakers and state agencies.

For example, the state of Michigan recently passed a repeat-offender law that prohibits dealerships from selling a vehicle to an individual with three driving-under-the-influence convictions.

"You need to get onto the Web to get confirmation that the driving record is OK," he said.

Lunghamer added that Web connectivity would also help his dealership tap into lead-generation Web services from the automakers and third-party online auto brokers.

The Reynolds & Reynolds Co., an information management services firm in Dayton, Ohio, also plans to launch a similar suite of Internet services targeted at dealers under an initiative called Managed Connections in the next few weeks.

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