The Cobalt Group Launches e-Business Parts Product to Enable OEM Parts Searches and Orders on Dealers' Web Sites Business - Brief Article

Information Superhighways Newsletter, May, 2001

Now wholesale parts purchasers and consumers can confirm parts availability 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Cobalt Group, a provider of e-business products and services to the automotive industry, announced the release of Parts Voice DirectLink, a new Internet-based product that makes original equipment (OEM) parts inventory easily accessible on a dealer's Web site to anyone searching for parts. DirectLink allows wholesale parts purchasers and consumers to find and order parts on a dealer's Web site, increasing inventory turn rate, and reducing the time parts counter staff spend on the phone responding to parts requests.

With DirectLink, anyone looking for an OEM part can visit a dealer's Web site to search a dealer's actual parts inventory. If the dealer has the part, the customer can then submit an on-line part order form to the dealer. Cobalt's data collection from dealership dealer management systems (DMS) ensures that a dealer's parts inventory is current and accurate. DirectLink works with Cobalt's Lead Manager and Traffic Manager tools, enabling dealers to easily manage on-line parts requests and customer leads, as well as track visitors to their on-line parts section.