It’s no small feat to turn a family-run dealership group in suburban Vancouver into a sophisticated, data-driven organization. It has taken dealer principal Adil Ahamed and his team at Destination Auto Group 10 years to get there.
A key aspect has been to mine both financial and customer data to make better decisions, aided by using an AI-driven financial planning and analysis tool, for example, Destination Auto Group receives “clear insight” weekly on its stores’ performance and has been able to make inventory and tactical adjustments much more quickly than it had in the past.
Clearly the strategy is working. Ahamed’s accomplishments were recognized by the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) when it named him the 2022 Laureate in Business Innovation “for initiatives that significantly enhance performance or broaden scope for new car and truck dealers.”
The winners were selected by independent judges from the Ivey Business School of Western University in London, Ont.
In the announcement, the judges cited “novel tools that enable data-driven decision-making. ... Innovations in information technology have greatly reduced the group’s average issue resolution time, which enables staff to focus on business growth.”
“We have an amazing team — very good human beings,” Ahamed said. “I share the award with them.”
BACKGROUND IN FINANCE