BMW SA Standardises on Autoline Dealer Management System

BMW South Africa has standardised on Autoline, the world class dealer management system, throughout their franchised dealer network. This decision is in line with BMW AG's global strategy of software standardisation.

Autoline has been through rigorous evaluation in France over the last two years and a decision was made by BMW AG in November 2000 to implement Autoline in 14 markets, including South Africa. Prior to that decision, 42 different Dealer Management Systems were in use in the 14 countries!

Extensive planning has gone in to the design and layout of the system with numerous interfaces written for the local market. The system will interface with BMW South Africa's unique Motorplan service and maintenance program and 5 other countries will adopt this interface. Further significant interfaces include a new warranty system to ensure speedy processing of claims, an EPC (Electronic Parts Catalogue) interface to assist the parts and service departments and the Focus Interface, which is BMW's car configuration system.

This strategy will lead to numerous long term benefits such as lower running costs due to adoption of BMW AG's recommended IT software, strong integration to BMW e-Com initiatives and the ability to leverage CRM (Customer Relationship Management) as the customer data will reside in one, central database.