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.