Stratstone Mini Derby has trialled using an iPad compatible with Pinewood’s Pinnacle dealer management system which frees dealer staff from their desk.

Neville Briggs, Pinewood managing director, said the iPad app allows dealer staff to interact more naturally with customers anywhere in the showroom.

Briggs said: “The iPad app lets service personnel enter a customer’s registration number as soon as they drive onto the forecourt so that by the time they have stepped out of the vehicle, they know their name and can greet them at the door.

“From there, they can take the customer to a desktop terminal and if they already have a service or sales appointment, guide them to the right department and hand them over to the appropriate person.

“The iPad app can even be used to access information such as the customer’s favoured daily newspaper and whether they have sugar in their tea or coffee. It helps to create an immensely slick and personalised customer experience.

“Really, for the first time, dealer personnel are being freed from their desktop PC and can use the Pinnacle iPad app to deal with customers in a much more natural and effective manner.”

Following the recent trial at Stratstone Mini, the iPad app is now being made available to Pinewood’s entire customer base.

Briggs added: “We have designed the new app so that it complements our existing desktop DMS and makes the most of the mobility and ease of use that characterises the iPad.

“The emergence of new devices such as the iPad and other tablets, as well as smartphones, means that there is the possibility that users will be able to access Pinnacle in a number of new ways in the next few years.”