ATLANTA – Driven by a commitment to deliver a safer auction experience while providing clients with more options to conduct business, Manheim expanded its Digital Block™ sales this week, adding seven more locations. Digital Block sales offer in-lane bidding with a live auctioneer; however, vehicles are only displayed on screens and never travel down physical lanes. The sites are Manheim Nashville and Manheim Central Florida and Manheim Fort Myers, Manheim Pensacola, Manheim Daytona Beach, Manheim Jacksonville and Manheim Lakeland in Florida. They join last week’s addition of four sites in Pennsylvania and two sites in Houston, bringing the total number of Digital Block sale locations to more than 50 nationwide. 

“Digital Block sales offer our clients another way to do business safely and on their own terms,” said Alan Lang, Manheim division vice president. “Dealers using Digital Block sales tell us they are saving time by viewing and bidding on cars on the same day. And, consistent with our re-opening plans, we follow strict safety protocols, including adhering to state and local guidelines such as following the 250-person capacity per sale rule at our Pennsylvania-based locations.” 

Year to date through August, Manheim saw over two million digital transactions, which is more than 40% higher than the same period last year. In addition, nearly 100,000 dealers are attending Manheim sales each week – whether bidding onsite via Digital Block sales or participating digitally via Simulcast. Last month, the company announced that it will continue to waive Simulcast Success Fees through the end of the year. 

Since the pandemic, Manheim’s actions to re-open its operations have included: 

• Allowing clients onsite to view inventory beginning May 1. 

• Providing Manheim’s Lot Vision vehicle tracking system to help clients efficiently locate vehicles, currently in place at 19 locations.  For more information on Lot Vision, go to www.mymanheim.com/lotvision

• Enabling sellers to rep vehicles on the block starting on June 8. While some sellers took advantage of this option, many others chose to use Manheim’s Remote Seller Tool. 

• Piloting in-lane bidding (Digital Block sales) beginning the week of June 22 with five locations. For a full list of locations offering Digital Block sales, go to https://www.mymanheim.com/covid-19/locations/

“Manheim has done a great job adjusting to current challenging times with excellent overall results in our use of Manheim Digital Block sales,” said Frank Enriquez, representative, Nick Alexander BMW Mini in Los Angeles.

As Manheim celebrates 75 years of industry innovation and leadership in 2020, the company is moving forward with a Digital First marketplace strategy to transition its auction marketplace into a single client experience maximized for digital interactions and supported by efficient and flexible physical operations. This includes unifying Manheim’s digital platforms, such as Manheim.com and Simulcast, with its physical assets to give clients an enhanced experience no matter how they choose to conduct business. 

Another effort underway is Manheim’s investment in the next generation of vehicle information. This initiative is designed to give clients even more information digitally – more images, higher quality visuals and more mechanical and safety data – to help remove subjectivity and drive greater buyer and seller confidence. 

Read: Down the Road: Selling Cars Remotely