Version 17.4 of the Desktop, iPad and iPhone Sales Pipeline is well under way and is scheduled for release on Wednesday, December 6th.  This release will be the last for the year excluding any urgent bug fixes.  Although this has been a shorter development window of 2 months since our last release, we've still managed to pack in a tonne of new features.

• Automatic rechecking of Fuel Saver API when a listings details change​
• Decimal points in appraisal reconditioning costs for more accurate pricing
• Easily download attachments from Email Responses you have sent
• Archive Lead Sources you don't want to see - previously you could add your own unique lead sources, however were forced to see the full list of default Lead Sources for AutoPlay and your brand.  With 17.4 it will be possible to archive/hide lead sources you don't want to see in your drop downs - giving dealerships more control over what sources are visible to their users.
• Sort by Start or End Date within the Vehicle Registry.  We've also added the Rego field to Loan Car Forms.
• Added a character count to the Subtitle field when managing listings
• Added Customer Profile options from the Customer screen - enabling salespeople to store CRM like info such as Hobbies, Last Purchased Vehicle and past communications
• Ability to add Ownership or Delivery Fees to Write Ups
• Notifications and alerts when a user creates a duplicate of a lead already being handled by another salesperson
• New notifications for Overdue Leads when a scheduled Calendar Event is more than 5 days overdue
• View activity on sold listings via the Listing Activity screen
• Compulsory fields on Loan Car Forms now mirror those required when loading new leads
• Loan Car activity is now visible within the Listing Activity screen
• When sending Live Leads eDM's you can now select multiple Closed Lost Reasons when building your customer database.  Additionally you can now choose the Yards you want to build your recipient list from, as well as picking and choosing individual recipients that you want to exclude from receiving your email
• You can now save the filters you used when building your Live Leads email - allowing users to easily select previously used filters
• Appraisals now have a field to record whether the trade in was successfully traded
• We've added the ability to exclude Listing Default Comments from exports to 3rd Party sites like Trade Me
• Widened the display of VIN field in Assistance Requests
• Sped up the building of Virtual Demo MP4 Videos when manually building
• We've added a new report under Generate Reports to track allocation of leads from one user to another
• There is now a Print List button on the Dashboard to export what your dashboard is showing
• New Notifications on the Dashboard.  Allows users to see a list of relevant activity they need to pay attention to - such as when a customer has replied to one of your Email Responses, or a Vehicle Appraisal is waiting to be approved.  Notifications icons have also been added to leads that require attention, and within each lead we've highlighted the action that has triggered the alert.
• Introduction To Manager has been added as a new Lead Progress item
• We now allow users to add a listing to a Test Drive that is not yet on the lead.  When this is done the listing is added to the Lead as well.
• Added Middle Name field to Customer Details
• Predictive Street Address using Google API
• Users can now uncheck the Sold progress to reverse the sale if this was tapped accidentally
• Added Unit# to customer address fields on iOS to bring in line with Desktop
• Ability to send SMS messages within the Sales Pipeline instead of via the phone - this allows customers SMS replies to be captured.  Note this does not work with MMS messages and there will be an additional cost for this service (more details will be provided with the release notes on 6th December).
• You can now add attachments to Email Responses on iOS including JPG (via Photo Gallery) and PDF's (via iBooks).
• Users now have the ability to send Test Drive or Appraisal Form PDFs as attachments via the Email Response Tool
• Added Delivery Date and Location fields to Write Up Forms
• It is now possible to add a Appraisal to a lead that is not owned by you
• You can now add additional photos to your AutoPlay Email Response (in addition to the photos on your listing)
• Added SMS Event Types
• You can now add true filmed videos to your AutoPlay Email Response by using the Video function on your iPhone or iPad.  This allows users to create their own unique video walk around's to send in response to customer enquiries as an alternative to the phot/audio recording based replies previously available.

More details on all of these new features will be sent with the release notes on December 6th

​​We have started our planning for the rebuild of the AutoPlay Studio into a HTML5 Application.  This will be a significant improvement as it will allow users to access the AutoPlay Sales Pipeline on Chrome, Firefox or Safari.  At present you are required to run Internet Explorer (at least for the initial software download).   Additionally it also means that users will be able to use the Sales Pipeline on Android or Windows tablets and smartphones.

​We are completing this work from January to June/July.  This is a massive project and as such we will be freezing all non essential development on our current Desktop and iOS Applications.  This means that 17.4 will be our last release for approx. 6 months.

​This is essential to allow our developers to focus on the rebuild of the Desktop Studio/Sales Pipeline.  Freezing development over this timeframe is not something we have considered lightly, but we believe this is the best way to ensure the project stays on track, and we can deliver an improved AutoPlay experience to our customers in 2018.

​We are aiming to deliver our HTML5 version of AutoPlay Sales Pipeline by early July 2018.   From late December to July there will not be any new functions added to the iOS or Desktop applications.  Development will be restricted to any critical bug fixes over this period.

When the new software is launched we will begin to phase out the current Desktop Studio.  We will continue to run the iPad and iPhone Apps for a minimum of 12 months after launching the new application (depending on the functionality we are able to replicate from the iOS apps to the HTML5 version).

​If you have any questions about the 17.4 release, the Desktop HTML5 Rebuild or the development freeze please contact matt@autoplay.co.nz

From 1st November 2017 there was a change in the way Registered Motor Vehicle Traders will be allowed to access information about the owners of vehicles registered on the Motor Vehicle Register (MVR).  If you already belong to the MTA or VIA then you are already covered.  However if you don’t belong to either of those industry associations you need to read the below.
 
This is important for users of Motorcentral Car Check, Car Jam or MotorWeb VIR reports – whether you run these via AutoPlay Sales Pipeline or direct with your provider.  In particular when trying to verify the owner of a vehicle before trading it, as of 1st November, you and your organisation are only allowed to access this information if you are registered with an NZTA-approved industry body, or have been approved directly by the NZTA to access this information.

How do I know if I can access this information from 1st Nov 2017?
If you have applied directly with and been accepted by the NZTA, you should have received your authorisation letter already.  Otherwise, if you are a member of any of the following industry bodies you should have access to owner information using that bodies’ authorisation:

• National Automotive Industry Technology Association (NAITA) 
www.naita.org.nz 
• Motor Trade Association (MTA) 
www.mta.org.nz
• Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association (VIA) 
www.via.org.nz
• Financial Services Federation (FSF)
• Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ)
• NZ Bankers Association

To confirm you will have access, please check you are on the following list:
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/…/Companies-and-individuals-with-au…


What if I'm not listed?
If you are not on the list of companies and individuals who have already been granted access to owner information and you are a member of one or more of the above industry bodies please check with that body immediately to determine why you are not listed.

Otherwise you have the following options available:
1. Become a member of an authorised industry body
The easiest way to access the restricted information is to become a member of one of the above listed industry bodies who have already been approved to access this information. During our research, we found NAITA to be the most cost-effective for this purpose, with their annual membership being only $95 per dealership. More information can be found on their website including their 2017 Membership Application Form. (DISCLOSURE – AutoPlay is one of the founding members of NAITA which was formed by technology providers in the Automotive sector) www.naita.org.nz 

2.  Apply directly to the NZTA for individual authorisation
NZTA offer comprehensive information on how to apply directly for access to the current owner information here - http://www.nzta.govt.nz/…/who-should-and-shouldnt-apply-an…/. Please Note: The Transport Agency generally allows up to eight weeks from the time of receiving a complete application (together with full payment) to provide you with a draft decision. You will not be able to access personal information during this time. 

3.  No longer access this information
Having access to this information may not be essential to your situation. Your reports will still work as they currently do, you will just no longer be given the current owners details (name and address) without the necessary authorisation. If however, you believe you know the current owners details (name or driver’s licence number), you can still verify they own a particular vehicle by using the NZTA's 'Check registered person query' online form (https://transact.nzta.govt.nz/…/ConfirmRegisteredPers…/entry). It’s free and returns an instant result that you can then have emailed to yourself. 

What do I need to do next? 
If you are already on the list of authorised companies and individuals you do not need to do anything. From November 1st we will automatically allow continued access to owner information via your MotorCentral, MotorWeb or CarJam reports

If you are not listed, then on November 1st you will no longer see owner information on your reports. For uninterrupted access to this information, you will need to apply for authorisation either directly with the NZTA or by becoming a member of one of the listed industry bodies.

Make sure to check back in next month’s issue of Autotalk to see how kiwi dealerships fared in November 2017. 
​
Matt Darby works for AutoPlay who specialise in pre-sale lead management tools.  To find out more about AutoPlay services email sales@autoplay.co.nz or visit www.autoplay.co.nz