Glass’s launches online valuation toolkit for used car dealers

Glass-Net marks “the most radical change in how used car data is accessed since Glass’s Guide was launched over 75 years ago”.

Glass’s, publisher of industry ‘bible’ Glass’s Guide, has launched an integrated online platform that brings together most of the day-to-day processes associated with valuing and appraising used car stock. The platform, called Glass-Net, helps improve the efficiency of vehicle remarketing activity, cutting operating costs and enabling dealership sales staff to focus more of their time on the business of selling.

Glass-Net allows retailers to accurately identify a used car (using a vehicle registration look-up facility), value it (drawing on the full Glass’s database), check its history (via Experian AutoCheck, one of the leading provenance services), and adjust the value for mileage and damage. These functions are normally carried out manually using a variety of different data sources, but Glass-Net brings them together within a single, automated valuation process.

Completion of each step listed above is recorded and can be reported on, and the platform can also outline how a vehicle’s value has changed over the past 12 months. Some of the reports are designed to be viewed by customers to give them, for example, added confidence in the independence and accuracy of a dealer’s part-exchange valuation.

Glass-Net is compatible with most leading dealer management systems (DMS) currently used by UK vehicle retailers and, as an internet-based system, can be accessed at any time from anywhere and by multiple dealership staff simultaneously.

Access to all of the above features come as standard in the basic Glass-Net package (£699 plus VAT per year), which also includes a 12-month subscription to Glass’s Guide.

The core functionality of Glass-Net can be further enhanced by choosing from a range of additional features. For example, the platform can be used to carry out a bulk valuation of a dealership’s or group’s entire stock within minutes. Users will be able to access Market Price Comparison (MPC), a market intelligence tool that calculates how competitively used cars are priced against comparable stock within a defined radius.

Glass-Net can also automate the process of creating an online advertisement and uploading it to a host of leading used car websites, including Motoring.co.uk, What Car?, Fish4Cars, Exchange & Mart, plus many more.

J&G Bland, a representative of the Vauxhall franchise in Pembrokeshire, was one of the pilot sites that implemented the development version of Glass-Net in the latter part of 2008. “We have found Glass-Net very intuitive to use, reducing the potential for errors in vehicle identification and freeing up our sales team to cut the admin, letting them focus on selling cars,” comments Andrew Jones, Sales Manager. “It brings together and automates the various valuation processes and supports our ongoing drive for improved operational efficiency.”

Another Glass-Net pilot site, Classic Automobiles in Croydon, Surrey, has benefited from the management reporting feature in Glass-Net. Dealership owner, Ian Beaton, comments, “The stock management capability is particularly useful, allowing us to view the status of all used cars sitting on our forecourts – as well as those awaiting final preparation – within a single screen. We can quickly get an overview of any stock that is overage, as well as ensure our sales team is offering the right cars at the right time to relevant prospects. With the credit crunch distracting prospective car buyers and margins already under pressure, Glass-Net gives ready access to accurate stock and valuation information to help secure a profitable sale.”

“Glass-Net has been devised to help dealerships target information-hungry, Internet-savvy customers, and marks the most radical change in how used car data is accessed by dealers since Glass’s Guide was launched over 75 years ago,” explains Alan Henson, Commercial Manager at Glass’s. “The features of Glass-Net were devised following a nine-month consultation with dealer groups and single-site used car outlets across the UK, where we explored how we could best help them optimise their day-to-day efficiency.

“The resulting platform, Glass-Net, is an end-to-end workflow solution that helps manage the valuation and vehicle marketing process far more effectively. The pilot-site users have been very positive about their experience of using Glass-Net, and we are confident it provides a template for how future used car business will be conducted.”

For further information about Glass-Net, visit glass-net.co.uk/ea