Anderson Automotive Group

10 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1 ANDERSON AUTOMOT I VE GROUP called Workday and that helps us manage our human capital. It has become a big part of our preparation as a company, as we think about our present and our future. One of the things that is very important to us is how we manage talent and human capital. The systems side of that is extremely important to us from the perspective of succession planning and a platform which we call Anderson Learning, which is part of the Workday platform. This platform is also a part of how we administer payroll, time off, how we train people. All of that is funnelled into the Workday program.” The pandemic has brought severe supply shortages to the automotive industry, especially in terms of the computer chip components of new cars. That and the overarching problem of just not enough new cars and therefore a shortage of used vehicles, as well. “What we’re seeing is a dynamic shift in the market,” Brennan explains. “In our business, franchise dealers primarily get their used vehicles through trade-ins, but as the new vehicle inventory went down and the sales of new vehicles went down, our ability to capture those vehicles obviously went down, as well. We’ve been quite proactive in utilizing other channels to acquire vehicles. We’re acquiring vehicles out of our service department. We’re buying vehicles “over the curb”. We’re advertising that we’re buying vehicles even if you don’t buy from us. We had to utilize all these other channels because our main channel prior to COVID was the vehicle auctions and unfortunately everybody in this business uses the auctions. The entire process has made everyone become innovative.” There is no doubt that Anderson Automotive has flourished because of the value it places on strong relationships. Those include the Comerica Bank; the JM&A Group, which offers vehicle insurance, car protection plans, and auto finance services; and the Moran Group, a Louisiana- based advertising company. Brennan credits all of them for helping the company navigate these