What makes a great dealer tech stack? Key takeaways from AM live

Let’s be honest: the pace of change in our industry right now is enough to make your head spin. Is your dealership’s technology clearing the road ahead, or throwing up a traffic jam at every corner? With consumer expectations shifting up a gear (or two), it’s time to ask: is your tech stack taking you forward or leaving you in the garage? 

This year’s AM Live put that very question centre stage. And if there was ever any doubt, the mood in the room was clear; dealers who treat their tech stack as an afterthought are about to be left in the dust. Let’s just say: it’s not about patching up the potholes with more disconnected solutions. It’s all about building something unified and strategic.  

So, strap in, here are our top five takeaways from Keyloop’s keynote session. 

1. Give customers a truly seamless, omnichannel experience 

Here’s the reality: modern buyers don’t care about your internal tech woes or how many systems you have to juggle. They just want a smooth journey online, offline, on their sofa or in your showroom. Buyers expect a seamless and convenient digital-to-physical experience. 

Forget the days of adding yet another app to your tech mix. The real trick is ensuring every part is connected, so your customer never falls through the cracks. Booking an appointment or a test drive should feel as effortless as ordering pizza online, and post-visit communications should actually feel like a continuation, not a cold restart. 

2. Unify your data and save yourself (and your team) from tech whiplash 

We’ve seen teams lose hours or even days, just from hopping between different logins. According to the latest research, app-switching can eat up nearly an hour of productivity per employee a day. Multiply that, and you’re losing the equivalent of a whole rugby team’s worth of hours by Friday. 

So, let’s make “single source of truth” more than a snappy buzzword. Connect your data across inventory, vehicle records, aftersales, customer engagement, all of it. When you have Customer 360 and Vehicle 360 views, you’re not just tidying up back-office chaos; you’re actually using those insights to drive real margin (and sanity) for everyone involved. 

3. Get serious about efficiency and automation 

We all love a good shortcut (who doesn’t?), but efficiency isn’t just about having a slightly faster laptop. We shared that a sales admin can claw back up to 70% of their time on pre-handover tasks with the right system in place, and sales execs can save about 40% on the endless paperwork follow-ups. 

That’s not just a tiny nudge in the right direction; it’s a game-changer. Automate the repeatable tasks. Streamline the grind. The right platform will free up your staff to focus on what software can’t replace: building relationships and selling cars. And let’s face it, nobody’s ever missed manual data entry for a reason. 

4. Future-proof with flexibility and composability 

The rules keep changing, and so does the tech. If you’re relying on a maze of old-school, disparate, single-point systems, you’re risking being boxed in, just as the market morphs. 

Today, a smart tech stack is modular; it lets you swap in or out the right tool for the right job without tearing down the whole house. Look for open APIs, easy integrations, and partners who play nice. This is how you stay agile, ready for whatever new demand (or acronym) the industry throws our way. Future buyers; whether they’re Gen Z, Gen Alpha or a generation yet to be named, will expect nothing less. 

5. Make AI and analytics your competitive edge 

Here’s one that got a few eyebrows raised: “The marketing funnel is dead.” Customers don’t follow a script, so you need systems that help you predict what’s coming next. 

A connected, AI-boosted tech stack helps you each step of the way, allowing you to forecast demand, get proactive with pricing, and anticipate customer needs before they say a word. Suddenly, you’re not just keeping up; you’re leading the race. 

If you only remember one thing: It’s all about connection 

AM Live hammered this point home: the future isn’t just digital; it’s connected. You don’t need all the latest apps, just the right, unified platform that eliminates time-wasting, delights your customers, and powers growth. 

So, my challenge to you: take a real, honest look at your tech stack. Is it fueling your dealership’s growth, or weighing you down with invisible friction? The choices you make today; what you keep, what you upgrade, and what you finally retire, are what set your business up to not only survive, but actually thrive in this new era.