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For nearly 30 years, I’ve dedicated my work to the auto industry—at dealerships and across auctions. Over the years, the people I’ve stood beside in the auction lanes have had a meaningful and longstanding impact on me. With each connection made, shake of the hand or nod of the head comes immense pride for the industry’s accomplishments.
And yet, never have I been more proud of our industry—and most especially, our employees and our customers—than I am today. We’ve survived many challenges—from 9/11 to the Great Recession in 2008—but as KAR Global’s chief economist Tom Kontos likes to remind me, even taken together, those don’t compare to the historic global economic and human impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Faced with an unexpected cliff as governments enacted stay-at-home orders and business came to a grinding halt, our employees and customers came together to quickly pivot operating models and adopt new ways to transact. Together, we learned just how resilient and vibrant our industry can be when pushed to the wall. We are tougher than we imagined, and capable of thriving even in the midst of unexpected challenge.
We learned that with focus and determination, it’s possible to deliver fresh, new solutions to keep customers safe and moving forward, more quickly than we ever thought possible. With physical auctions idled or operating with limited capacity, digital solutions became more important than ever. Some highlights include:
- Simulcast+SM, ADESA’s new digital auction platform that simulates the competitive live auction environment in a fully digitized, highly automated, live streaming format. The technology allows vehicles to be offered from an auction, distribution center, dealership or multiple sites and facilitates fast, competitive bidding for buyers.
- Floor price guidance, now available on TradeRev. These high-tech AI capabilities and data insights now use vehicle details and condition to recommend a floor price based on true market value, saving customers time and helps close more deals faster.
- Platform integrations combining the power of both ADESA and TradeRev digital marketplaces in a seamless integration, enabling buyers to find, manage and source from even more inventory—faster, easier and more confidently than ever.
So, this week, I am honored to celebrate the thousands of ADESA auction employees across North America and the hundreds of thousands of buyers and sellers that comprise our customer base and sustain the auto remarketing industry.
When thinking about all we’ve accomplished together this year, I’m inspired, humbled and extremely hopeful. We don’t know exactly what the future holds—but I’m certain that our commitment to customers and employees will always remain a priority.
So, to our loyal customers and team members, thank you—I am full of gratitude for you. I’ll always remain dedicated to you and the prosperity and progress of the auto remarketing industry. I can’t wait to see the achievements our combined efforts will deliver next.
