For marine dealerships, the ability to benchmark themselves against competition in the marketplace is critical. The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, in collaboration with CDK Global Recreation, is making key retail sales data available at dealers’ fingertips through CDK Recreation’s Lightspeed dealer management software.
CDK Recreation uses data from Lightspeed to supply MRAA with monthly reports containing year-over-year data indicative of industry performance on a monthly basis. The Lightspeed dealer reports are available for free download for MRAA members, accessible 24/7 in the MRAA Resource Center through MRAA.com/CDKReports.
“The real-world data contained in the Lightspeed dealer profitability reports serves to help MRAA member dealers gain insight into the latest industry sales trends,” says Sonja Moseley, MRAA director of benefits. “The Lightspeed reports provide dealers with real-world data sets — down to the dollar, pulled right out of the Lightspeed DMS. This data cannot be obtained anywhere else; it’s a unique benefit of MRAA membership that allows dealers a sneak peek into what’s happening with their competitors, providing them with key data by which they can set goals and benchmark themselves against the remainder of the industry.”
Every night, approximately 300 Lightspeed marine dealers from across the country automatically transmit information to a collective CDK Recreation database. Summaries and aggregated reports are generated for both current tracking and historical research purposes. The information helps dealers compare their dealership performance to other dealerships across the country.
“Marine dealers running the Lightspeed dealer management software are able to provide us with an aggregated data overview of how the industry is performing as a whole,” says Kris Denos, vice president of operations at CDK Global Recreation. “We are then able to supply that data to the industry to show how dealerships are doing compared to previous time periods.”
Data collected, aggregated and shared in the Lightspeed dealer profitability reports includes:
• Average lines per invoice
• Average parts invoice
• Parts sales per square foot
• Service sales per square foot
• Unit sales per square foot
• New to used unit ratio
• Average number of invoices per month
• Average revenue per repair order
• Average revenue per custom repair order
“The aggregated numbers we supply to MRAA can help dealers recognize if they are in front of or behind the national trend,” says Denos. “With this information, marine dealers using Lightspeed can gain further insight into what they can do to bring their dealership up to national averages; or, alternatively, what they need to continue to do to stay ahead of the pack.”
CDK Global Recreation, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, specializes in dealer management solutions for the powersports, marine, and RV industries in the United States and Canada. CDK Recreation’s Lightspeed solutions provide dealership principles greater insight into their business and better connections to their customers. Lightspeed software solutions touch every area of the dealership, including parts, service, sales, accounting, rental, and marketing.
To learn more about MRAA member benefits or to join, contact MRAA membership coordinator Hannah Muerhoff at 763-333-2420 or hannah@mraa.com.
About the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
At the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA), we believe that for the marine industry to thrive, the companies that interact with the boater in their community must thrive. Those businesses determine the boater’s experience and are the leading factor in the industry’s success. MRAA works to create a strong and healthy boating industry by uniting those businesses, providing them with opportunities for improvement and growth, and representing them with a powerful voice. For more information, visit MRAA.com.
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