ADP Lightspeed develops, implements and supports innovative Dealer Management Software and data solutions that help increase lasting profitability across dealership operations for the Powersports, Marine, Marina and RV industries. ADP Lightspeed helps dealers automate non-revenue generating activities, track operations and improve profits by assisting dealers manage their Parts, Service, Sales and F&I, Storage, Marina, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Rental.

ADP Lightspeed Dealer Management Software solutions are designed to help manage dealer operations by tracking and storing data from every department and delivering information that will assist dealerships in make successful business decisions. The dealer management solutions provided by ADP Lightspeed help the separate departments in a dealership function smoothly together by creating a central data warehouse for inventory levels, ordering, services and customer information.

History

In 1983 Hal Ethington was the owner of a motorcycle dealership in Salt Lake City, Utah and became frustrated with cash flow issues. Lack of inventory control within his dealership was dragging down profits.

“The Lightspeed program exists because the Parts Department was sucking up all my money” said Ethington. “The December P&L would show a nice little profit for my store, but there was no money in the bank. Three years in a row, same thing: Nice profit, no cash.”

“So I started digging, and the cash flow statement finally revealed the culprit,” he continued. “Good margins, good volume, expenses under control, AR steady and profit solid, but the parts inventory was growing each month. And that growth was about equal to each month’s profit. Result? End of the year I showed nice profit, but every dollar of it was sitting on the parts shelves. My parts manager was spending all my profit.”

Ethington began to search for ways to improve inventory management, but did not find dealer management software that fit his motorcycle dealership’s needs. Ethington contacted Erin Blodgett, a computer programmer, to see if he could build a software solution that could help manage his dealership.

Ethington used his knowledge of dealer operations and accounting to describe to Blodgett how the computer program should operate. They began with the point of sale and parts inventory then continued with service, major unit sales and accounting. By the end of the process together they had built the first motorcycle specific Dealer Management System.

Blodgett created Lightspeed as a company and began to sell the Dealer Management Software to other dealerships. The company expanded into the RV Marine and Marina markets finding that the industries had similar dealer management solution needs. The system was adapted to accommodate specific dealer management needs for the RV, Marine and Marina markets.

Although many of the base concepts of the original software remain, the Dealer Management System has been adapted to flexibly meet market, economic and technical needs. However, ADP Lightspeed continues to work with dealerships to identify needs and develop innovative solutions.

ADP Corporate Structure

ADP Lightspeed is part of the ADP Dealer Services division, a Fortune 500 company recognized for its financial strength and resources. As the number-one provider of dealer management systems in automotive, heavy truck, and powersports markets, we understand the unique challenges that dealers face everyday. The ADP network includes nearly 25,500 dealers across the world, and with a 99 percent customer retention rate, it’s clear that ADP delivers the software, service, and support that dealers need.

ADP Dealer Services is the third largest business unit of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NYSE: ADP). ADP, with $8.5 billion in revenues and approximately 590,000 clients worldwide, is one of the largest payroll and tax filing processors in the world.