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Beyond the buzzwords—the top tech dealers are leaning into
Featuring Barb Edson, CMO of CDK Global
Welcome to another edition of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast Recap newsletter.
Today’s guest is Barb Edson, CMO of CDK Global, dives into why post-sale support is becoming the new battleground for dealerships, what tech top dealers are asking for and leaning into, and why a wave of imitators still can’t dethrone the king.
1. Acknowledging operational issues is the first step.
Dealers are very resilient and they're doing great, but they're still having some common issues.
“…the customer experience…but also inventory…They really have to drive profitability in used car inventory, right? So that is an area that we're really focused on.”
Vendors are listening, but the fact that these are still recurring issues in 2025 tells you how fragmented dealer workflows still are, especially around the customer lifecycle.
2. Addressing the challenges with the right solutions.
Even as dealership software spending grows, some key profit levers are still underserved. The answer isn’t necessarily more software, it’s extracting ROI from what the dealers already have.
“…we've launched these two great new solutions to really expand the dealership experience platform, that's that unified integrated platform. And now we're plugging in those areas that dealers say, ‘I need more profitability.’ This area of managing my inventory, frankly, dealers don't feel like there's been a lot of focus on it.”
3. Prioritizing inventory issues is key.
Rising floorplan costs, compressed margins, and unpredictable demand are forcing dealers to make faster inventory decisions. But many still don’t have access to the data they need to price cars with confidence. Even the largest groups are managing this manually, and it’s killing gross.
“One of the number one things to drive profitability for the used car for the franchise dealers that we deal with is, how do you price it? What's the optimal pricing? CDK has this unprecedented wealth of data…And then there's, you combine that with the leading-edge AI.”
4. Recon data is trapped in fixed ops.
CDK can leverage its data capabilities for very specific results.
“…over 50% of all repair orders in the United States go through the CDK system. So, by using that data and again, using that leading edge AI, we know exactly or very close to an accurate estimate of what it's going to cost for that certain make/model to do the reconditioning on it.”
If that much recon data is flowing through DMSs, why aren’t variable ops using it daily? The disconnect shows how little visibility many stores have across departments—and how the lack of shared intelligence is hurting their ability to price competitively and profitably.
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5. Merchandising workflows are still too slow.
Dealers are still waiting hours (or days) to get fresh inventory online, because legacy workflows require redundant uploads and clunky listing tools.
“…we're going to do the fundamentals better. So merchandising, for example, and quickly merchandising across channels. We allow someone to take that quick photo. It immediately goes to all the different channels, again…using leading edge AI and innovation.”
6. Dealers want flexibility.
Integration is a double-edged sword. Dealers want seamless systems, but most platforms require full buy-in to unlock benefits. That limits choice, especially for multi-store groups trying to pilot new tools. The tradeoff between cohesion and independence is becoming more costly.
“…if you're already using…the CDK dealership experience, that unified integration, the integration into the…CRM, into the backend DMS, is going to be very advantageous as well.”
7. Addressing payment issues.
Payments should be plug-and-play, but for most dealers, they’re anything but. Stores are still spending hours reconciling service payments, tracking mismatched deposits, and managing workarounds between older systems.
“…it is seamlessly integrated and…it has all the bells and whistles, contactless payments, text to pay. But one of the really critical things is no reconciliation. So you don't have to do a manual reconciliation. We'll auto reconcile. We want to have accurate books. You want to make sure that that's not a hassle.”
Accounts receivable clerks can get back 12% of their day by not having to do a manual reconciliation.
8. Customers should be a part of the development process.
Whether it’s recon, payments, or inventory, one thing is clear: products built in a vacuum don’t work. Dealers are no longer passive software consumers—they want to shape what gets built. And when they’re not included, tools miss the mark.
“…we really, really invested. We went out and hired the best payment people in the industry. And we took a lot of time, both in inventory and with ‘SimplePay.’ We didn't just launch these overnight. They were really being worked on for over a year and then we came out and launched them.”
9. Forecasting is the next battleground.
Real-time forecasting, if it works, could change how dealers plan inventory, staffing, and pricing strategy. But it has to be accessible, and more than just a buzzword in a dashboard.
“...it’s been very successful…deriving those insights…A lot of AI in play there, to not only look backwards, but to look forward—to predict forecasts, to predict where you're going to be as a business. Dealers want that on a mobile app; they want to be able to get those insights quickly at their fingertips. So, we're looking at…delivering on those for dealerships.”
CDK already has over a thousand customers using the intelligence suite that launched about two years ago.
10. CDK’s success is anchored in the success of its partners.
When you're the leader, you’re always a target for the competition—which is why CDK chooses to let the data speak for itself.
“Five of the six publics use CDK Solutions. And they have had very successful quarters…leveraging and being enabled by CDK…I think there's some fear, I call it FUD, Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt being created—'Hey, is CDK investing? Are their customers happy?’ Our customers are happy, record renewals.”
“We've been a great partner and…we're in it together—and we're gonna continue to be in it together.”
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