ARLINGTON, Texas — To address dealers’ concern about rising vehicle transport costs, executives from uShip revealed earlier this week they were picked for the National Member Benefits Program of the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association.
Basically, the inclusion means NIADA members now have customized access to finding specialized transporters on uShip, a Web-based shipping marketplace where dealers can list vehicles they need shipped and carriers can compete to win the business.
Officials believe the competitive bidding process can drive down delivery costs by an average of 30 to 40 percent, a hard-dollar cost savings they contend dealers do not have to pass along to customers.
NIADA member dealers also can receive free “featured listing”” upgrades on all vehicle shipments.
The association and uShip shared a couple of examples of how dealers can save through this offering.
A dealer who needs to transport a 2008 Nissan Altima nearly 2,000 miles from New Orleans to Salt Lake City could pay $950 through this new program with uShip. That figure would be 30 percent less than average quotes of $1,200 officials believe other commercial providers would give.
Another example was shipping a 2008 Ford Super Duty F-550 more than 1,400 miles from Texas to Mississippi for $1,100. Officials contend that cost could be nearly 25 percent less than the average quotes of $1,370 they received from two national providers.
“Clearly, car buying is not just happening locally anymore,” asserted Matt Chasen, chief executive officer and founder of uShip.
“With online auto sales leveling the playing field, it’s critical for small and medium-sized dealers to compete by keeping shipping costs down on both sides of the transaction,” Chasen added.
Scott Lilja, vice president of member services for NIADA, shared how he believes the program with uShip could benefit dealers.
“We are pleased to offer the members of NIADA the opportunity to source high quality vehicle transportation resources at significant discounts via our new national partner uShip.com,” Lilja stated.
“This provides our members additional profit potential via online wholesale channels, and increased inventory turn,” he concluded.
See the original article on AutoRemarketing.com.
