APIs to power a next-generation Service experience

About DriveRightData:
Created in 2001 in the UK, DriveRightData founder Richard Bailey saw a niche for providing tire fitment data to the wheel and tire industry. As the company grew, they expanded internationally to accommodate increased customer demand for their data. With country-specific tire and wheel fitment information, DriveRightData provides customers with key specifications and technical data across various tire and wheel-related use cases.

To further improve the customer experience, DriveRightData worked extensively to measure and catalog new makes and models of vehicles at the origin — the manufacturer, or OEM — to better understand the details of these new models as they enter the market. “We have a wheel testing center in California, so when wheels come from China or Europe into the U.S. markets, we analyze wheel and tire combinations,” said Andrew Round, director at DriveRightData.

The Challenge:
Over the past 20 years, DriveRightData has significantly expanded their software development to successfully build a profitable concern. DriveRightData also noticed the increasing importance of customer retention in the franchise dealer market. This prompted the development of a full suite of products aimed at helping franchise dealers enhance the service experience for dealer customers throughout the vehicle ownership lifecycle.

“Getting the vehicle back into the dealership on a regular basis, especially for tire maintenance, gives the dealer the ability to continue the customer dialogue and use our data to boost aftermarket revenue and enhance vehicle upgrade conversations,” said Round.

The Search:
Round and his team had conversations with other DMS providers, but they soon found that CDK Global and Fortellis provided a more robust ecosystem for expanding data to dealers in the U.S. and internationally.

After hearing about the Fortellis API Platform, the DriveRightData team was able to quickly onboard APIs within a short development window, adapting existing RESTful-based Microservices and saving development effort. With the ability to list, merchandise, price and quickly onboard APIs, the DriveRightData team could focus on expansion and partnership efforts through the growing Fortellis ecosystem.

The Process:
Fortellis teams partnered with technical and sales associates at DriveRightData to connect six connected APIs for Tire and Wheel Fitment, giving dealers the power to harness this new technology.

The Solution:
With the recent impact of COVID-19 on the car sales market, CDK was keen to add the ability to support franchise dealerships and OEMs with their aftersales proposition. DriveRightData’s products and services increase dealership influence and maximize the touchpoints with a consumer's post-vehicle sale, which increases customer retention. It also supports increased sales and revenue opportunities by allowing the dealer to create a cradle-to-grave proposition and offer a connected and touchless environment for the consumer.

Post-sale opportunities for the sale of tires and wheels are often lost to traditional tire retailers. DriveRightData APIs supplement aftersales revenue opportunities for networks, improving the consumer user experience through the provision of data supporting the sale of tires and wheels — both within an e-commerce environment or with integration into specific DMS systems.

Using data to target the sale of tires and wheel products can help the market offset any lost revenues from a potential slowdown in new and used car sales in the months ahead, as the market and wider economy adapt to the impact of COVID-19.

It can also help to close the loop on a full, ‘in-life’ vehicle offering to the consumer. With the information gained from the APIs used as a hook proposition, the dealer / OEM can start a discussion around the purchase of a new or used vehicle and the consumer to use the money they intend to spend on tires as the basis of a deposit on a vehicle.

The Future:
“I think there is growth and scalability in working with Fortellis as a platform because of the multitude of different partners looking to enhance their applications forward,” said Round.

You can see this new API functionality live at Fortellis.io. Use the Fortellis Simulator to test sample API calls and explore potential use cases. Are you interested in publishing your own useful data source as a RESTful API to help your business grow? Explore API Publishing opportunities in the Fortellis Developer Network or: