Pre-Header: Replacing a lost key costs two to three times the price of a fob. Here’s the fix.

Subject:  Find It or Replace It: A Smarter Way to Track Keys and Vehicles.

Dealer Software Success had the opportunity to meet this week with the leadership team at Link & Locate Technology — Mike Southerland, Managing Director; Pablo Perdomo, VP of Sales; and Alex Anaya, Marketing & Communications Director — to talk about a solution set built to solve two problem areas every store knows well: lost keys and lost vehicles.

Two Technologies, Working Together
Over many years, Link & Locate has developed and incorporated the latest Bluetooth and GPS technology into a two-part solution. One piece is a Bluetooth key fob locator; the other is a GPS vehicle tracker. Both are monitored from a dealership station — or from multiple devices, including phones — through satellite-backed software and an app, so an authorized user can find a key or a vehicle at any time. Used together, they give a dealership a single, real-time view of where its keys and its inventory actually are.

Finding a Key — and the Simple Math Behind It
The key-finder benefit is immediate and universal: every store loses keys, so the payback shows up right away. Replacing a missing key runs two to three times the investment in a fob — and a replacement means a wait. Locating the original in seconds avoids both the expense, a potential lost sale, and the delay.

Losing a Vehicle is Expensive
The tracker side can find vehicles in multiple lots or inside buildings in metro areas and prevent lost sales, it can find missing loaner or stolen vehicles and reduce recovery loss and dealer as well as customer insurance premiums. Because the device can’t be disconnected or scanned for, only the dealership knows where the vehicle is, anywhere in North America.

A Pricing Model That’s Different
Link & Locate’s model has no monthly software subscription. The dealership sells the solution to the customer along with the vehicle, earning a margin, and recurring revenue comes from reordering fobs and trackers as new and used vehicles are sold. That turns a security and efficiency solution into a repeatable revenue line rather than another fixed monthly cost.

What Multi-Country Coverage Means for a US Dealer
Through its Sky Monitor GPS Americas division, the wireless GPS solution requires no installation and monitors inventory with real-time location on a master screen across the US, Canada, and Mexico. For a US dealer, that breadth means the same system holds up whether a unit moves across town or across a border.

Getting Started
The team’s recommendation for dealers is straightforward: contact your favorite agent or agency to connect with Link & Locate and set up a program. They summed it up as the choice every store faces — Find it or Replace it!

Check where your software vendors stand at dealer-software-success.com/dealership-ai-provider-rankings/.

— Gerry

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