What is established so far: dealerships have little operational autonomy because manufacturers hold the core systems, which squeezes margin. Research across 1,800+ dealer principals puts after-sales service first as the driver of dealer satisfaction, ahead of business viability, with inventory, margins and training costs behind it.
Staff turnover is severe enough that software vendors build self-guided onboarding just to keep their systems usable. The sale is the visible part. The service bay is where the margin lives.
[NOT YET DONE — THE FIRST-HAND WALK-THROUGH]Walk in as a customer and map the sequence from door to invoice.