Connecting an automotive OEM with 232 dealerships
An automotive OEM operating a dealer network in Australia needed to pass website leads into dealership CRMs and see what happened afterwards. The dealerships used multiple CRM products. The solution therefore had to connect the network’s existing systems with the OEM’s lead-management process.
Discuss your dealership integration
The problem with email handoffs
The OEM could not reliably push enquiries from its main website into dealer CRMs. Sending enquiries by email offered limited visibility of a lead’s status. The central team also lacked a consolidated view of leads generated by dealerships themselves.
What we built
We built a custom connector on Zoho Catalyst and deployed it across 232 dealerships. Website leads could reach dealer CRMs in seconds. The OEM gained central visibility of website-generated leads, dealership-generated leads and lead statuses.
The connector rollout took two months from kickoff to deployment across the network. The client and CRM product names remain confidential.
A related reporting requirement
We also built Dashboard on Demand on Zoho Catalyst for the same OEM. This separate work consolidated dealership sales and review reports for the OEM team’s management reporting. Its timeline and measured savings are separate from the connector results below.
Client-confirmed results
- Connector deployed across 232 dealerships in two months.
- Website leads delivered into dealership CRMs in seconds.
- At least three hours saved each week for the OEM team in total.
- Approximately one hour saved per dealership each week.
The time savings were confirmed by the client. They describe operational work saved, rather than a measured change in vehicle sales.
Discuss your dealership integration. Tell us where leads originate, which systems receive them and what your central team needs to see.
Frequently asked questions
What problem did the connector solve?
The OEM needed website enquiries to reach dealership CRMs and a central view of what happened to those leads. Email handoffs did not provide that visibility. The delivered connector addressed lead transfer and visibility across a network whose dealerships used different CRM products, while also exposing dealership-generated lead activity to the OEM.
How many dealerships were connected?
The connector was deployed across 232 dealerships in Australia. That figure describes the number of dealership deployments, not the number of different CRM products. The individual dealerships, automotive OEM and CRM product names remain confidential, so this overview describes the delivery scope without identifying those organisations or systems.
How quickly were website leads delivered?
Website leads reached dealership CRMs in seconds in this implementation. That is a description of lead transfer, rather than a contractual service level or a measurement of how quickly a salesperson contacted the customer. The speed of any future integration would need to be assessed against its own systems and requirements.
What was the implementation timeframe?
The connector project took two months from kickoff to deployment across all 232 dealerships. This timeframe applies to that project and its circumstances. A new network may involve different interfaces, permissions and rollout dependencies, so its schedule should be estimated after reviewing those requirements rather than copying this project’s duration.
What technology was used?
The connector was built on Zoho Catalyst with custom development. It connected the OEM’s lead process with multiple CRM products used across the dealership network. Those CRM products are not named here. The project shows the use of a custom application to bridge existing systems without claiming every dealer used one platform.
What time savings did the client confirm?
The client confirmed at least three hours saved per week for the OEM team in total and approximately one hour per week at each dealership. These are reported time savings. They have not been converted here into a network-wide annual saving, a financial return or an increase in vehicle sales.
Was management reporting part of the wider work?
A separate Dashboard on Demand solution was built for the same OEM using Zoho Catalyst. It consolidated dealership sales and review reports for management reporting. Its individual delivery period and measured savings are not stated here, and the connector’s 232-dealership deployment count should not be read as a separate dashboard adoption figure.
Can a similar approach work with our dealer network?
Start by identifying the systems in use, how website and dealer-generated leads are recorded, and what the central team needs to see. A new scope should address access, ownership and the operating process for each interface. The published project provides relevant experience, while your network requires its own technical and commercial assessment.