It’s almost become a holiday tradition. Backed by catchy slogans (December to Remember) and sentimental ad spots (snowy scenes, families, cars with big red bows), the year-end auto sales season is in full swing. In fact, a recent Business Week article stated that a five-year average ranks December as the top month for total U.S. car sales.  Even so, the truly successful automotive dealerships don’t rely simply on year-end sales as the full measure of their yearly achievement. Throughout the year, they are measuring business goals and improvements in operations. One useful resource to help with these measurements is the use of automated key security systems.

This computerized key control system is designed specifically for securing and electronically tracking vehicle keys in the dealership. The system automatically records who took which key, the time it was taken and when it was returned. It also indicates if the requested key is not available and identifies who has the key and how long it has been out. Keys can even be reserved to ensure their availability for a scheduled test drive. The accumulated data of key usage can be analyzed for inventory effectiveness as well as sales effectiveness. Slow movers can more easily be identified as can vehicles which are shown the most or the least.

The streamlined procedure enabled by the key control system saves the dealership hours of paperwork and significantly reduces the potential for lost or misplaced keys. In addition, attaching the vehicle key to a system key fob helps to thwart any would-be thief who attempts to keep a key after test driving a demo car and replace it with a counterfeit key, the purpose being to return later and drive off with the demo car.

There’s no doubt that year end car sales are important to a dealership’s overall success -- but no less important is the day-to-day operation of the business, enhanced with an automated key control and management system.