The recent bouts of violent weather in the American southeast and Midwest had many car dealerships scrambling to protect their exposed inventory from damaging hail and severe winds. Easy and fast access to keys, held in car key management systems, enabled the dealerships to more quickly move cars to protected areas and limit the amount of potential damage.

But quickly accessing keys to move cars out of inclement weather is only one of the many ways that dealership key systems can benefit today’s car dealership day to day operations. Keys put into the system can be moved around the facility as the car moves, with a full data trail available at all times. For instance, if the vehicle goes into the service bay for maintenance, the key will be placed in the service bay’s locked key control system cabinet. Then, when the car comes back to the used car lot, the key will be returned to the system in that location. At all times, the system records the whereabouts and access history of each key.

In another example of the benefits of dealership key management systems, reservations can be made for a specific key in the system to ensure that that a particular car is available for a scheduled test drive. Key tracking systems can also provide management with data regarding the status and location of vehicle inventory. Vehicle history reports can be generated to help analyze sales force performance on demos, fast/slow movers and even track the source of mystery mileage.

Dealership key control systems work by attaching keys to a locking mechanism that is virtually tamper proof. Access and return of keys is electronically monitored. This type of locking system can thwart a thief who would attempt to keep the 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. In other cases, key banks with electronic monitoring will prevent an employee from inadvertently taking a key home at the end of the day instead of returning it.

Car key management systems are a great way to integrate business operations and security – and provide some extra help in dealing with Mother Nature.