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Best Practices to Unify Data At Your Car Dealership - TARGIT Blog

Written by Brad Haby | Jun 23, 2026 12:48:37 PM

Car dealerships can create a unified view of their data by identifying critical data sources, standardizing the data within them, integrating it through a scalable business intelligence (BI) platform like TARGIT Decision Suite, and rolling out tailored reporting and analytics for each department.

This approach creates a single source of truth that enables up-to-date insights, consistent reporting, and alignment across sales, service, finance, and rental operations. 

 

 Common Data Challenges For Car Dealerships

  • Internal data sources (DMS, CRM, etc.) and external data sources (OEM data, market research tools) are fragmented by default. Each one has unique data structures, built-in reporting features, and system requirements.
  • KPIs and success metrics are often inconsistent across rooftops, perhaps due to acquisitions or the use of various ‘bolt-on’ reporting and analytics tools.
  • Manual reporting and other spreadsheet-based processes delay access to critical data, so reports are nearly always retrospective instead of actionable.

 

What Does "One Trusted View" of Dealership Data Mean?

One trusted view of your dealership data means everyone works from the same source of truth and monitors consistent KPIs across locations. It eliminates data siloes and blind spots by combining all your dealership information in one place, so you can share it with users in a timely, relevant format. 

Benefits of Unifying Your Data

  • Gain complete visibility across sales, service, finance, and more
  • Enable cross-department collaboration and unified reporting
  • Develop regional dashboards for local managers while giving executives a high-level view of performance

Bringing together operational, financial, customer, and OEM data into a shared performance language enables executives, managers, and frontline teams to move from reconciling numbers to acting on them. 

What’s more, accurate, trustworthy data promotes confidence in business decisions. Rather than guessing or basing choices on past experiences, your teams can back decisions with reliable data insights.

 

Steps to Unify Data From Every Part of Your Dealership 

1. Identify Relevant Data Sources

To create a single source of data truth, you first need to take inventory of all the source systems and databases your dealership currently uses.

  • Start with core systems like your Dealer Management System (DMS) and payroll platforms.
  • Next, list supporting systems such as rental management software, your sales team’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or deal-tracking software, and any other department or location-specific tools.
  • Finally, don’t forget external data sources like OEM databases or data currently stored in spreadsheets. 

2. Standardize and Clean Up Your Data

Once you’ve identified all relevant data sources, you’ll need to implement data quality standards to ensure consistent formatting and naming conventions across all your data tables.

This is also a good time to begin standardizing KPIs between regions and rooftops. Define the most important KPIs for each department or group, based on team feedback and leadership discussions. That way, you can be sure everyone is working toward the same set of goals.

3. Integrate Within a Scalable BI Platform

Your dealership’s data should come together in an all-in-one business intelligence solution like TARGIT Decision Suite. TARGIT connects to every data source, including your DMS, CRM, and more. ETL capabilities ensure all data is clean, consistent, and up to date as it’s moved into your BI solution.

From there, you can automate reporting and conduct various analyses using data from every part of your business. TARGIT even offers best practice report and dashboard templates built for the automotive industry and specific DMSs, so you can benchmark your dealership and start tracking high-value metrics right away.

4. Roll Out Reporting in Phases

Rather than implementing BI across your entire dealership at once, consider a phased approach.

Focus on a single department first - like sales - by building dashboards and reports tailored to their needs. Provide users with hands-on training and closely monitor their interactions with the new tools.

This allows you to see what’s working, uncover areas for improvement, and make adjustments while keeping your focus sharp.

Once sales reporting is running smoothly, take the insights you’ve learned and apply them to the next department, such as service or finance. This step-by-step approach ensures each team succeeds while creating a foundation for scalable, organization-wide BI adoption.

5. Empower Teams with Role-Based Access

Prioritize ongoing user enablement, especially for users with minimal technical expertise. Tools like view-only visualizations, built-in guidance for drilldowns, and embedded dashboards make it easier for everyone to integrate data into their daily work, without requiring hours of dense training sessions.

Along with ensuring everyone knows how to use your solution, control what data they have access to with role-based permissions and security tools.

For example, give Branch Managers access only to data for their location, not your entire dealer group. And be sure the C-suite always has access to all your operational data, so they can easily compare performance across regions or branches.

 

How Does TARGIT Give Dealers a Unified View of Their Data? 

Data connectivity by design

TARGIT integrates data from your source systems into a single analytical layer. Example data sources our solution can connect to include: 

  • DMS: CDK Global, Dealertrack, Tekion, Reynolds & Reynolds, DealerBuilt, Auto/Mate, Autosoft

  • CRM: DriveCentral, CDK eLEAD, VinSolutions, DealerSocket, ProMaxx

  • Payroll: ADP, Netchex, Paycom, Paychex

  • Service: Xtime, Dealer-FX, Dealerlogix, Numo, myKaarma

  • Additional Tools: vAuto, Podium, Darwin Automotive, AutoFi, automotiveMastermind

TARGIT's all-in-one solution automates reporting, equips your entire dealer group with user-friendly BI dashboards, and enables advanced analytics for your in-house pros. Plus, we offer pre-built data connectors and dealer-specific data models that reduce complexity, save time, and include tried-and-tested templates to get you up and running right away.

Standardized KPIs by department

Standard reports and KPI definitions keep everyone on track toward company goals and ensure performance is measured accurately. However, there are many scenarios in which a Branch Manager or other business leader may want to further analyze data related to their specific role.

TARGIT offers the best of both worlds. Standardized insights are accompanied by flexible, intuitive drill-down capabilities that allow managers to dig into local-level insights and take ownership of their specific subset of data.

From complex data to leadership-ready insight

TARGIT doesn’t just turn your data into clear, actionable results. The platform also makes it easy to design and distribute tailored insights for various users.

Create specific dashboards and reports designed for executives, managers, and frontline leaders. Then, use the Batch Scheduling or the Dynamic Distribution feature to put the right information in the right hands, automatically.

 

What Car Dealers Should Look for in a Unified Reporting and Analytics Platform

 

When Leaders See the Whole Picture, Business Moves Faster

Data visibility is essential to operational efficiency, and it helps dealers unlock new opportunities and drive confidence in daily decisions. With the right BI and reporting platform, you’ll see:

  • Fewer debates about numbers
  • Faster, more confident decisions at every level
  • Clearer alignment between strategy and execution
  • Data as an asset, not an operational burden

Find out how TARGIT helps car dealerships turn fragmented data into a single, trusted view of performance. Get in touch with our team to set up a personalized walkthrough of the TARGIT Automotive platform.