FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
San Mateo, CA — September 3, 2007 — Xtime, Inc. today announced that AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE: AN), America’s largest automotive retailer, has begun a nationwide rollout of Xtime’s ServiceCRM™ software. The software will be deployed in over 250 stores across AutoNation’s network of dealerships, providing every customer with guaranteed service scheduling over the Internet.
“The Xtime program is part of our commitment to provide customers with the best possible retail service experience,” said Mike Maroone, President of AutoNation. “With 24 x 7 access to book and manage their own guaranteed service appointments, check their vehicle status and repair history online and receive automated appointment and service reminders, we’ve made it much easier for our customers to get in when they want, for the services their vehicles need.”
AutoNation’s decision to rollout Xtime is the culmination of an in-depth pilot program to prove the benefits of Xtime’s software in multiple geographic markets. Customers were quick to begin booking their service appointments online, with participating dealers experiencing an average increase in online appointments of 27% each month for over eight months. Equally compelling were the number of brand new customers who booked their first service appointment at an AutoNation dealership through web scheduling. The monthly service revenues generated from these new customers alone generated a 3-to-1 return-on-investment (ROI) for these AutoNation dealerships.
“Consumers have been waiting to book their service appointments online with the same convenience and benefits they enjoy when booking airline tickets, hotel rooms and rental cars,” said Neal East, Xtime’s CEO. “A nationwide roll-out of online appointment scheduling, by the industry’s largest automotive retailer, is a watershed event for the industry. The results of our pilot with AutoNation speak for themselves: customers want it and dealer’s profit from having it. It is a classic win-win for everyone.”
Xtime’s ServiceCRM software provides consumers with a real-time, online reservation system, equivalent to those available for booking airline tickets and hotel rooms. Reservations are guaranteed, based on the availability of actual shop capacity for the appointment requested, including technicians, service bays, loaner vehicles, and other factors. Factory and dealer recommended services specific to the customer’s vehicle are displayed, with detailed descriptions and prices. Owners also benefit from automatic notification of their vehicle’s status when in the shop, online vehicle service histories, and email reminders for appointments and services due for their vehicle.
In addition to providing online appointment scheduling for customers, Xtime’s software provides AutoNation with a unified system to book service appointments, including those taken over the phone by dealership and/or remote call center staff, and to conduct outbound marketing campaigns via phone and email to stimulate demand for services. ServiceCRM’s advanced shop management ensures that no overbooking or double-booking occurs across these multiple channels. AutoNation was recently named by FORTUNE magazine as America’s most admired automotive retailer in a poll of industry insiders, executives and analysts — the fifth time in six years that the company has been so honored. AutoNation is also ranked #115 on FORTUNE magazine’s list of America’s 500 largest corporations and is the only retailer to hold a position in the S&P 500 index. More information is available online at http://www.autonation.com.
About Xtime
Xtime is the leading provider of CRM solutions for automotive service operations. With over 700 dealerships and over 1,500,000 appointments booked, Xtime’s ServiceCRM is designed for maximum performance and value. By merging and automating consumer direct bookings with full service BDC capabilities and sophisticated shop management, dealerships realize significant increases in customer satisfaction while maximizing service drive throughput and profitability. Privately held, Xtime’s investors include Draper Fisher Jurvetson, RPM Ventures and Innovacom, the venture capital arm
of France Telecom. Xtime is based in San Mateo, Calif. and can be reached at (650) 508–4300, or www.xtime.com.
About AutoNation Inc
AutoNation, Inc., headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is America’s largest automotive retailer and a component of the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index. AutoNation has approximately 26,000 full-time employees and owns and operates 327 new vehicle franchises in 16 states. For additional information, please visit http://corp.AutoNation.com or http://www.AutoNation.com, where more than 80,000 vehicles are available for sale.
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Media Contact:
John Lee
Xtime Inc.
(650) 218-0100
