RTC sharpens focus on ‘big data’ with Autolytica acquisition

RTC Automotive Solutions has said it will help car retailers utilise ‘big data’ to deliver greater insight and drive better decision making following its acquisition of Autolytica.

The move, announced this morning (July 12), will allow RTC customers to collect and analyse customer and vehicle data for faster to help bring clarity to challenges such as demand projections or productivity targets.

RTC said the Autolytica platform uses a machine learning algorithm to ‘learn’ about commercial models and priorities at individual business level, generating “tailored forecasts for different commercial scenarios”.

The technology integrates with both RTC’s aftersales software solution and its CloseIt front-of-house technology, as well as the DMS and other third-party data feeds and is already being rolled out to 50 car retail sites.

As part of the move RTC’s CloseIt sales CRM product will be rebranded as RTC Insights.

Richard Robinson, chief operating officer at RTC, said: “There is currently a huge amount of interest in ‘big data’, and rightly so. Dealerships generate more data than ever, but all too often it stays ‘dark’ – running up storage costs, but not analysed or otherwise used to benefit the business.

“The acquisition of Autolytica puts us in a strong position to help change that. The software represents a game-changer for dealership digitalisation, taking data generated through everyday activities – showroom visits, workshop bookings, vehicle health checks and so on – and actively analysing, curating and reporting on it.

“The result is actionable recommendations that can be customised to account for many different variables.

“For example, if you set a goal to improve technician productivity by 10%, our software can forecast the impact on the bottom line compared to a 5% or 15% improvement. It may be that one of these is a ‘sweet spot’ in terms of the outcome it will achieve – something you may never have identified through traditional means.

“By helping dealer principals ‘see into the future’ in this way, our solution empowers them to make fast, smart decisions that enable them to sweat their assets and create additional value for retail and aftersales customers.”

Autolytica was founded in February 2020 by former Lookers IT director John Law.

Commenting on the acquisition, Law said: “The potential of Autolytica has been clear since its inception, and I’m excited to see what we will achieve in this new chapter as part of RTC’s cutting-edge suite of software.

“Most of all, I’m thrilled that the acquisition will put the software in the hands of more dealerships, thereby contributing to the industry’s digitalisation effort and helping make it a success on all fronts.”