CARMEL, Ind. -

As KAR Global chief economist Tom Kontos just highlighted, wholesale prices continue to rise.

To help consignors take advantage of the situation, ADESA deployed a new tool on Thursday to enhance the reconditioning process and optimize return on investment for sellers.

By leveraging millions of data points on vehicles, repairs and sales, the company highlighted this technology arms sellers with actionable repair suggestions that maximize the profit opportunity on the resale of those vehicles in the wholesale channel.

KAR mentioned in a news release that the new tool also showcases how specifically tailored repairs and enhancements will improve its vehicle grade, helping vehicles become front-line ready, faster. 

“With instant access to recommended recon services and the ROI of each, this new tool makes it easier than ever for sellers to make data-driven decisions on the fly,” said John Hammer, chief commercial officer of KAR and president of ADESA. “We’ve seen impressive results throughout our pilot period, even in a hot market, due to our sellers being able to invest in the right repairs to yield the highest possible return.

“Plus, sellers can see all of their vehicles in one place, along with the status and location of each, from check-in to inspections to shop work all the way to sale,” Hammer added in the news release.

KAR explained that the reconditioning tool visually can display the vehicles as recommendations in one centralized digital location — the ADESA Portal — putting the power in the hands of the seller.

The company added that sellers can see which services will improve the grade and therefore optimize profit. A maximum cost can be set to determine what can be done to the vehicle within budget while driving greater wholesale value.

“With a few clicks, sellers are able to decide which services to move forward with based on grade improvement, spend and ROI,” ADESA chief operating officer Srisu Subrahmanyam said in the news release. “With bumps in grade improvement, we are driving more eyes to the vehicle, as many customers filter by grade when evaluating inventory to purchase.

“Our sellers aren’t the only ones benefitting; dealers are reaping the benefits of retail-ready, higher-quality vehicles, cutting valuable cycle time between when they purchase at auction and when they can deliver to their retail customers,” Subrahmanyam went on to say.