FRANKLIN, Tenn. -

In today’s auction world, where bidders can be physically present in the lanes or bid live via Internet, ServNet Auctions is pausing to remember the origins of simulcast technology, and its impact on the industry.

ServNet chairman Jeff Brasher says not all dealers welcomed online sales at first.

“Pioneering simulcast technology involved tremendous vision, and not a small sacrifice on the part of ServNet and its auction owners,” Brasher said. “Not only did it require a significant investment in capital, but ServNet auctions worked hard to counteract the political fallout. We endured a temporary loss of goodwill from the dealers in the lane, who resented the presence of online bidders.

"Nor was simulcast selling immediately popular with the industry at large — as a matter of fact, there were a number of auctions and remarketers who insisted that selling vehicles on the Internet would never work and said ‘no way’ to online selling," he continued.

But things would change.

The group said, "At the urging of its independent auction owners, ServNet has been on the cutting edge of some of the industry’s most progressive technology, and in the mid-90’s, the group perceived the need and the potential for a simulcast system that would make buying and selling vehicles Internet-easy."

The OnLine Ringman software, developed for ServNet by Auction Management Solutions, now Xcira, was unveiled in summer 1998. Meanwhile, ServNet owners worked to update their facilities to handle the new technology, the company said.

"May 26, 1999 was an historic day for the automotive industry as the first live Internet auction, using the On-Line Ringman software system, was hosted at a ServNet auction," said Brasher.

The sale occurred at Pennsylvania Auto Dealers Exchange, which was then a ServNet member. The simulcast auction featured more than 200 fleet vehicles from RSA, First Union Auto Finance and GE Capital Fleet Services.

Online bidders from Connecticut, Indiana, New York, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania participated.

Officials noted: "It was the result of ServNet’s pioneering efforts in a new and innovative technology that was the start of great things to come."

Idaho Auto Auction then held its first simulcast sale in July 1999 in conjunction with its General Motors factory sale; 44 factory vehicles were purchased online during that sale.

Over the next six months, Idaho held 10 simulcast sales for GM, posting more than $3 million in internet sales, and recording some 1,900 internet bids on 707 vehicles.

“In spite of the fact the dealers in the lanes were initially suspicious of the online process, thinking that it was merely a ploy to drive up prices, those early factory sales at Idaho Auto Auction using OnLine Ringman were very successful,” recalled Dan Kennedy, sales manager for GM, who attended the first online factory sale at Idaho.

“General Motors saw the value in simulcast selling from the beginning, and pushed to make sure the technology was used at all the independent and the corporate-owned auctions that sold GM factory vehicles,” he said. “The testing that took place at those ServNet auctions in the early days, and the pilot programs using the software, eventually drove the need to have the simulcast selling available across the entire auction portfolio. Frankly, it would be difficult to run a GM sale today without that capability.”

By November 1999, Carolina Auto Auction entered the world of simulcast selling with the introduction of OnLine Ringman, followed by Chattanooga Auto Auction in 2000, which quickly emerged as a leader for American Honda Finance as its top-performing simulcast sale, ServNet reports.

By November 2003, ServNet had recorded the sale of more than 10,000 vehicles online.

Today, simulcast selling is a necessary tool for vehicle remarketing, bringing buyers from all over the world to the auction lane for vehicles offered via dealer consignments, fleet/lease and repo accounts and manufacturers, officials noted. ServNet auctions alone offer 157 simulcast lanes each week.

“ServNet’s auction owners stuck their necks out, insisting that simulcast technology was the wave of the future, and a tool that would enhance the auction process,” Brasher said. “Now simulcast selling is an industry standard.”