Do Dealerships Need a Dealer Information Officer (DIO)?

Do Dealerships Need a Dealer Information Officer (DIO)?

Postby Matt Parsons » Tue Jul 25, 2000 2:21 pm

As I have been travelling around the country speaking with hundreds of dealerships, it has become very apparent that one of the critical missing elements within most dealer enterprises is what I call a Dealer Information Officer - DIO.

Below is a description (from the viewpoint of EDS and A.T. Kerney) of what a DIO looks like and what he/she does.

Does anyone out there have a DIO in their dealership, and if so, what issues do they face and what opportunities have they identified for the dealership?

Job Description

Position: Dealer Information Officer (DIO)
Position reports to: Dealer Principle or General Manager

Pre Requisites:
 Bachelor Degree in Computer Science, Mathematics or equivalent
 Strong understanding of Information Technology including, hardware, software, data acquisition, data mining, and, data warehousing
 Prior hands on programming, testing, and analysis
 Project management experience including problem solving and analysis
 Possesses strong communication skills
 Prior retail marketing (non-automotive) experience is a plus

Essential Functions:
 Utilize the existing IT capabilities of the dealership to help achieve the sales and marketing goals of the enterprise, including tactical implementation of IT driven programs (direct mail, owner retention, contact management, web offering(s), etc.)
 Ability to develop, implement and support a strategic Information Technology (IT) Plan that leads to a competitive and sustainable advantage to the dealership
 Would have managed dealership enterprise Year 2000 project plan, including, identification, remediation, or replacement of effected systems
 Ability to coordinate activities focused around the development of dealership enterprise wide computing solutions
 Manages all Information Technology infrastructure including hardware, software, and supporting business processes
 Ability to work with Dealer Management System (DMS) provider in addition to other third-party systems providers

Position Overview:
The Dealer Information Officer is analogous to a Chief Information Officer. DIO utilizes previous experiences and education to fully design, develop, implement and support the Information Technology Plan and associated infrastructure within an automotive retailing environment. Employee will be responsible for developing a comprehensive strategy for achieving superior IT results from a variety of systems operating across a series of platforms, operating systems, with dissimilar application sets. Individual serves as the focal point, owning all data collected within the retailing environment. Qualified candidates must possess strong people and project management skills as well as a diverse technology background, including experience with networks, legacy systems, PCs, and application design and development. Must also demonstrate an understanding of business partnerships and marketing strategies, as well as possess the ability to manage multiple, large scale projects. DIO plays key role in assisting dealership in moving from an analog to digital environment.
Matt Parsons
 

Do Dealerships Need a Dealer Information Officer (DIO)?

Postby j_kellogg » Wed Jul 26, 2000 5:55 pm

I am ITF (Information, Technolgy, Facilities) Director for a dealer group consisting of 2 dealerships located approx 20 miles from each other (GM, Toyota). I have been in this position now for close to 10 months - previously was Fixed Operations Director, worked at these dealerships for 21 years. My job description essentially matches your posting - this year have spent more time on the "hardware" and "training" side as we roll out GM Access, Interactive Distance Learning and Toyota Dealer Daily. I do all hardware and network support for our systems (R&R, TDN, GM Access) except for the servers themselves. Training and support is a BIG issue, and I wonder what other GM dealerships are doing as they move users to PC platforms? Toyota dealerships also have a technology curve as they move to a PC based network. Add to all this the changing business climate because of the web.....
You've got to know where you're going.
Anyone else out there???

------------------
j_kellogg
 


Return to Digital Auto Marketing

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests

cron