“This is a watershed moment,” said Ron Lamb, president of the company that has about 1,300 employees at its Kettering headquarters and more than 5,000 worldwide.
Reynolds — which has operated in or near Dayton since just after the Civil War — will run an ad in industry publication Automotive News on Monday offering dealers a chance to use the new system for six months for free, company officials said.
Dealer management systems are the bread and butter of companies like Reynolds and its rivals, such as ADP Dealer Services. The systems help auto dealers track most facets of a complex business that encompasses new and used vehicle sales, parts and service, financing, insurance and more.
During the recent recession, dealers often sought to cut contract rates, Lamb said. But now that sales are warming up, there has been a shift in attitudes, he believes.
“Now, they’re saying, ‘What can you do for us?’ ” Lamb said.
Chuck Cyrill, a spokesman for McLean, Va.-based National Auto Dealers Association, which represents dealers nationwide, wouldn’t directly answer questions about how Reynolds is regarded in the industry nationally. “Keep in mind, individual dealers, who they choose as their vendors, that’s entirely up to them,” he said.
Jared Hamilton, founder of DrivingSales.com and a former auto dealer in Utah, said auto dealers who participate in his website’s review process have generally had high reviews for Reynolds. (Hamilton said he is a former Reynolds client himself.)
The site monitors technology companies in the auto industry and lets auto dealers rate vendors. Only dealers participate in reviews and ratings on the site, Hamilton said.
“I can tell you that Reynolds and Reynolds was the highest-rated DMS provider in the auto industry,” Hamilton said Friday.
Lamb wouldn’t offer projections about future local employment growth at Reynolds. But he said the company’s campus at Miami Valley Research Park has room for another large building.
“I’m a pretty optimistic guy, so I have plans to see that happen,” Lamb said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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