The Future Is Now: Chrysler Unveils Customer Connect
15 June 1998
The Future Is Now: Chrysler Unveils Customer Connect AUBURN HILLS, Mich., June 12 -- Without question, in the past
five years there have been more fundamental changes in the way cars are sold
and serviced than in the previous one hundred. Alternative approaches to
traditional car-selling and servicing abound: Saturn, superstores, CarMax,
third-party leasing, AutoNation, shopping the Internet, Auto-By-Tel,
neighborhood service, satellite service and dealer websites to name a few,
reports Chrysler.
Because car buyers today have a variety of retail options, customers are
harder to find and keep. Customers are less brand loyal. Customers demand
not just better service, but total satisfaction. As a result, the
communication process between the manufacturer, dealer and customer becomes
more important -- and more difficult.
"The problem with the way the industry communicates with customers today
is that every part of our business is speaking to the customer independently,"
said Jim Holden, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Chrysler
Corporation . "As a result, we lost touch with customers except on a
very superficial level. It's really no wonder that so many customers would
rather shop for a car over the Internet than on the showroom floor."
This was the reality of the marketplace that spawned the idea for
Customer Connect.
"Imagine this," said Holden. "Customers can shop for a car over the
Internet, find out everything about a particular model -- including a firm
price -- and be directed to the closest dealer who is eagerly waiting for them
with the exact model and color. Imagine a dealer who can keep fewer vehicles
in stock, yet be able to provide customers with precisely the car or truck
they are looking for. Imagine the service technician who can diagnose a
vehicle instantly and repair the vehicle in less time than ever before.
Imagine the parts manager who can drastically reduce the size of his parts
inventory, yet still have the right parts at the right time. Imagine
customers who are so satisfied doing business with us that they won't think of
going anywhere else. That's our vision. The future is now and it's called
Customer Connect."
Customer Connect will literally connect and integrate Chrysler
Corporation, its dealers and their customers. The heart of Customer Connect
is the Chrysler Information System server and the technical infrastructure
that ties all the technology together and allows -- in layman's terms -- every
aspect of the business to talk to each other.
"A lot of what we have in place now, frankly, is badly in need of
renovation," said Holden. "Computer hardware and software needs to be
replaced. Databases need upgrading, and integrating. In short, our
communication tools need to be brought into the 21st century -- where
consumers already are."
Customer Connect has several elements. One set of application and
communication tools is designed to support sales and management, another
for service, another for parts, for marketing and for dealer systems.
Some of these technologies currently exist in the marketplace -- things
like information kiosks, service diagnostic tools, and satellite video
systems. These existing tools are, today, primarily stand alone technologies;
they're not integrated.
"The tools we're developing for Customer Connect will be able to talk to
each other," said Holden. "That's why what we're doing is something truly
unique in the industry. The bottom line is that we are making it easier for
our customers to do business with us."
