ATLANTA -

As a part of a new, long-term agreement, Manheim revealed Thursday Sonic Automotive is committed to moving and consolidating its auction business from competing locations to Manheim sites, taking a “one partner, one market” approach to wholesale units.

Sonic wants to create efficiencies by working closely with Manheim for not only its selling, but also its purchasing, according to Manheim management.

Officials indicated Sonic began moving inventory to Manheim in January of this year. So far, Sonic has consolidated nine of its market areas to Manheim: California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington D.C.

The two companies have apparently had a long relationship, with Sonic tapping Manheim for services ranging from reconditioning to online remarketing to data consulting services.

In 2009, Sonic ramped up a centralized purchasing team and has been working closely with Manheim and its major dealer team to take advantage of the auction company’s inventory offerings. Centralizing the purchasing teams at Sonic was the first step in creating efficiencies for the dealer group and for Manheim, management noted.

Now, Sonic explained that it purchases about 35 percent of its overall inventory with Manheim through its online channels.

Moving forward, both companies plan to leverage the “one market” approach for selling units to identify and create even greater efficiencies for all parties involved.

“We’re completely confident that this will be a win all-around as we become a one-stop shop for selling and complete a majority of our purchasing with the nation’s leading remarketer,” Sonic vice president Hal McLarty shared.

“Sonic has been very proud to work side-by-side with Manheim, and we consider each other true partners,” McLarty added.

In responding to that declaration, Manheim’s vice president for major dealers Susie Heins said, “We’ve enjoyed a fantastic partnership with the Sonic team for many years, but this takes our business relationships to an entirely new level.

“Sonic promises each of its customers an outstanding automotive experience that is delivered with professionalism, integrity and enthusiasm,” Heins added.

“By consolidating their inventory under Manheim, we’ll be able to enhance their customer experience in any channel with our own focus on quality and new, innovative inventory solutions for dealers,” she concluded.