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The Challenge: A Tech Stack Held Together by Workarounds

Bozard had been on its previous DMS for decades, and the team had pushed it as far as it would go. Leadership described its technology stack as a Jenga game, with pieces stacked on top of each other and always close to falling.

• Separate systems ran sales, customer contact, and daily operations.
• Management reporting lagged. Dashboard numbers could be stale, so people in different offices didn’t always see the same information.
• Sales and service lacked a shared view. Deal teams did not have access to both the CRM and the DMS, which slowed the process and made accuracy harder.
• Parts check-in was manual. Staff physically circled packing slips when receiving orders.
• Payment reconciliation consumed the day. The team spent most of the day reconciling its old credit card system.
• Mobile operations were limited. As a big mobile store, Bozard needed DMS access on its mobile trucks and in customers’ homes.

Bozard knew the stack needed to change, and it understood that a switch of this size would be a major undertaking for its team.

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The Solution: One Partner, One Platform

Switching DMS providers at a store this size is a big move. Bozard’s leadership said the decision only worked because the team helped make it. They brought staff into the decision-making process early, and once the team felt ownership, support followed. That approach mattered as much as the platform itself.

The deciding factor was the partnership. Bozard’s leadership said the team chose ARC because the company supports the way a dealership operates rather than forcing the dealership to fit the software. Moving to a single platform meant consolidating separate systems into one place for selling vehicles, managing customers, and running the business.

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The Results: Faster Deals, Shared Numbers, and Less Manual Work

Separate Systems Consolidated Into One Platform

The most visible structural change was consolidation. Bozard moved to a single platform for daily sales and customer work, which simplifies how information flows through a store of its size.

We at least conservatively retired six different systems that we can now go into a single platform and operate with selling vehicles, interacting with our customers, etc.

— Benson Stewart, Director of Enterprise Technology

Real-Time Numbers for Management Meetings

Leadership now walks into meetings with data everyone can trust. Dashboards show the same numbers across offices, which makes it easier to make decisions with confidence.

Faster Deals With CRM and DMS in One Place

Bozard’s sales team now has access to both the CRM and the DMS, so they see more customer information and can move through the process faster. The team also says the shared information improves deal accuracy.

And with Tekion, they have that access to both the CRM and the DMS. So they see a lot more of the information, and that helps speed up the process. ... I would say that we have the ability to close 30 minutes to an hour faster.

— Justin Williams, General Sales Manager

Parts Check-In Without the Packing Slips

Parts operations saw one of the clearest day-to-day improvements. Staff used to circle packing slips by hand. Scanning orders into the system replaced that step and sped up check-in.

The biggest thing in Parts department is the scanning process with the orders. Before we moved to Tekion, we were physically circling packing slips and really slowing things down. We probably cut off 20 to 30 minutes with the checking in the order.

— Philip Sanders, Assistant Parts Manager

Payments Reconciliation Nearly Automated

Reconciliation was one of the biggest time drains before the switch. With Tekion Pay and integrated credit card processing, the team says the work is now close to automatic.

Mobile Access Beyond the Showroom

Because Bozard operates mobile trucks and sells to customers at home, DMS access away from the store matters. The team can now access its DMS from mobile operations, expanding how and where the business serves customers.

A Champion-Led Transition

Bozard’s transition was led by Tekion Champions, department leaders who worked with the implementation team, trained colleagues, and drove adoption in their departments. Champions stayed close to staff during the first weeks, helping people through problems as they came up. Bozard also refused to sign checks until they recreated them in Tekion, keeping the new processes front and center.

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Why This Matters for Your Dealership

If your store runs on a long-standing DMS with several systems layered on top, you may already feel the strain. Staff work around the gaps, reports arrive after decisions are made, and mobile or remote work is harder than it should be. Those costs are easy to accept as normal until you see another store operate differently.

Bozard’s experience shows what a single platform can do for a dealership of its size. Its team closes deals faster, works from the same numbers, and spends less time on reconciliation and paperwork. The switch took preparation and commitment, and the team says it was worth it.

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Ready to see what a unified platform could do for your store?

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