LAS VEGAS -

To better connect the dealer service department with the customer is the goal behind two new tools launched by MPi.

On Monday, MPi announced the launch of its EDGE WorldClass PORTAL, an online platform that expands on the company’s Know Your Vehicle Report to automatically generate personalized Web pages for customers.

Featuring an interactive three-dimensional experience that includes detailed service recommendations, photos, videos and diagnostics, PORTAL provides all inspection information in one Web page designed for easy customer navigation, the company said.

MPi reports that PORTAL is accessible 24 hours a day, and enables the customer to access inspection results and vehicle history in one central location, with a unique URL for each customer that is embedded in an email or text message that can be viewed via smartphone or at the dealership.

Along with PORTAL, MPi has also released PHOTOS, a platform enabling a dealership’s service department to provide customers with actual photos of their needed repairs to authenticate recommendations.

Using PHOTOS, service advisers and technicians can capture pictures with an Apple mobile device or Android, the company said, which are stored in PORTAL as a permanent part of the repair order history, complete with relevant annotations, to help sell needed service.

Rich Holland, MPi president, said, “Whether the service adviser sits down with the customer at the computer and goes through PORTAL, or the customer accesses it at home, it takes the pressure off any sales pitch for the service advisor and helps the vehicle owner make up his own mind. The customer can review pictures and videos, perhaps show it to his spouse and take the time to make an informed decision.”