South Africa-based automotive retailer WeBuyCars, has said that its deployment of Cisco Meraki cloud-managed technology is helping the company to drive efficiencies and improve overall operations.
The nationwide leader in selling and buying pre-owned cars, operates eight warehouses, has 17 regional teams and buys and sells an average of 5,500 cars per month.
Founded in 1993 by brothers Faan van der Walt and Dirk van der Walt, the brothers knew from the earliest days that to drive efficiencies within their business they needed to build the company on a foundation of technology.
“Cisco Meraki cloud networking plays a pivotal role across our business,” said Faan van der Walt, CEO, WeBuyCars.
Today, WeBuyCars has 190 vehicle buyers located throughout South Africa who use mobile technology that runs proprietary software and apps to ensure that every vehicle is bought and sold at just the right price.
“If we get it wrong at buying, we’re going to get it wrong at selling,” said Wynard Beukes, Chief Digital Officer, WeBuyCars, who has helped shape the integration of technology within the organisation.
Because the WeBuyCars business is so heavily reliant on technology, system updates or bug fixes could easily turn into an IT nightmare. However, any potential issues are easily resolved with Cisco Meraki, which enables the company to enforce device security policies, deploy software and apps, and perform remote, live troubleshooting on thousands of managed devices.
Clayton Naidoo, General Manager, Cisco Sub-Saharan Africa, said: “We want your business to grow, be profitable and stay competitive. Having a robust network is key to a business’ success, no matter the size of the business. Cisco Meraki is the industry leader in cloud-managed IT and creates the simplest, most powerful solutions, helping everyone from small businesses to global enterprises save time and money.”
Naidoo explained that Cisco’s Meraki technology enables organisations to rapidly roll out digital initiatives, delivering real business value, as is the case with WeBuyCars.
He said Cisco Meraki supported WeBuyCars to build the optimal network, helping the company to become the nationwide leader in selling and buying pre-owned cars.
Having the ability to efficiently manage thousands of cars through an inventory system is critical, but Cisco Meraki helped WeBuyCars streamline its operations.
“We need to be able to track each vehicle from when it’s brought into the warehouse through to being inspected, prepared, cleaned, photographed and then loaded on to the WeBuyCars website. With cars being sold online, at live auctions and through a wide dealer network, there’s no hanging about. With a two-week turnaround on every vehicle, we swing stock quickly,” Beukes explained.
Using Cisco Meraki also means WeBuyCars can offer guests an enriched in-branch customer experience that provides detailed information services on all vehicles.
Moving forward, Beukes believes that Cisco Meraki can help drive further innovations for the business that deliver improved interaction with customers and increased sales conversions.
“We know that, for a small business, it’s personal. Cisco is there every step of the way to keep these companies running strong, smart and secure so they can focus on the important aspects of running a successful business. We make sure the technology works as hard as the small business owner does,” said Naidoo.
Click below to share this article