VisionAST
Turn Dealership Data Into Decisions While There Is Still Time to Act
VisionAST provides real-time dealership analytics designed to turn DMS data
into actionable intelligence across Sales, F&I and Fixed Operations.
Its current Novella Intelligence Suite combines dealership reporting,
multi-rooftop analytics, benchmarking and AI-powered analysis to give
decision-makers greater visibility into performance before month-end.
Turn Dealership Data Into Actionable Information
VisionAST was built around a simple idea: dealership leaders should not
have to wait until month-end to understand what is happening inside
their operation.
What Does VisionAST Do?
VisionAST transforms dealership operational data into dashboards, reports,
benchmarks and actionable intelligence that managers can use throughout
the month rather than simply reviewing historical results after the
month has closed.
The company’s current Novella Intelligence Suite brings Sales, F&I
and Fixed Operations information together while allowing dealership
leaders, groups, agents and other authorized users to analyze performance
across people, departments and rooftops.
Problems VisionAST Helps Dealerships Address
Finding Profit Leaks Too Late
Month-end reporting can identify what went wrong after the opportunity
to correct it has passed. Frequently refreshed operational data gives
managers an opportunity to recognize trends and intervene sooner.
Disconnected Dealership Data
Different stores and departments can operate from different DMS platforms
and reporting conventions. VisionAST is designed to normalize dealership
data into a more consistent reporting environment.
Inconsistent Sales & F&I Performance
Managers can evaluate volume, gross, product penetration, PVR and individual
performance to identify coaching opportunities and better understand where
profitability is being created or lost.
Limited Fixed-Ops Visibility
Service and parts reporting can expose repair-order activity, effective
labor rate, hours sold, parts profitability, advisor performance and other
metrics that influence fixed-operations gross.
Multi-Rooftop Reporting Complexity
Dealer groups can compare stores and personnel without relying on separate
reporting processes for every rooftop.
Too Much Data, Not Enough Answers
Cassandra AI is designed to let authorized users ask questions of their
dealership data conversationally and receive analysis, tables, charts
and actionable information.
The Novella Intelligence Suite
Novella is VisionAST’s current dealership intelligence platform, designed
to bring data from multiple operational areas and DMS feeds into one
reporting and analytics environment.
Sales Intelligence
Analyze unit volume, sales gross, personnel performance, trade activity
and other variable-operations metrics while the month is still underway.
F&I Intelligence
Review product penetration, PVR, reserve, lender activity and F&I
performance by manager, store, deal type and other dimensions.
Fixed Operations Intelligence
Monitor service and parts performance including repair-order activity,
labor, parts, advisor performance, effective labor rate and productivity.
Multi-Store Intelligence
Groups and authorized partners can roll performance up across multiple
stores and compare rooftops, teams and operating results from a common
reporting environment.
Meet Cassandra AI
Cassandra is VisionAST’s AI-powered data analyst inside the Novella
Intelligence Suite. Instead of requiring a manager to build every report
manually, Cassandra is designed to answer natural-language questions using
the user’s authorized dealership data.
Ask Operational Questions
Managers can ask questions about performance by store, manager, salesperson,
finance producer or other available dealership dimensions.
Find Performance Gaps
Cassandra can be used to investigate areas such as gross-profit opportunity,
product penetration and individual performance.
Support Coaching
Operational data can be turned into information that dealership leadership
can use when developing and coaching employees.
Analyze Trends
Users can investigate current and historical performance without manually
sorting through layers of conventional reports.
Create Visuals
The platform can return tables, charts and widgets as part of the
data-analysis conversation.
Forecast Scenarios
Dealership leaders can use conversational analysis to explore potential
performance scenarios based on their available data.
More Than a Dashboard
Novella includes multiple reporting engines designed to examine dealership
performance from different operational perspectives.
Real-Time Visibility Into Dealership Performance
The original VisionAST platform established the company’s focus on using
DMS-integrated information to identify opportunities throughout the month.
That philosophy now extends across the broader Novella Intelligence Suite.
Who Can Use VisionAST?
Dealer Principals & Executive Leadership
Monitor store and group performance, compare rooftops and identify areas
requiring management attention without waiting for month-end reporting.
General & Sales Management
Evaluate sales volume, gross, personnel performance, rankings and other
variable-operations indicators while there is still time to coach and adjust.
F&I Leadership
Analyze PVR, product penetration, reserve, lender performance and individual
finance-manager results.
Fixed Operations
Track service and parts metrics across advisors, technicians, repair orders,
labor and parts performance.
Dealer Groups
Roll multiple rooftops into a common view and compare performance across
stores, brands, teams or regions.
Agents & Industry Partners
Authorized partners can use consolidated analytics to understand dealership
performance across the accounts they support.
DMS Integration & Data Connectivity
VisionAST is designed to integrate with dealership systems so operational
data can flow into its analytics environment without requiring managers
to continually re-enter information.
CDK Global
VisionAST identifies CDK among the dealership data sources supported by
its platform.
Reynolds & Reynolds
VisionAST supports data integration processes for dealerships operating
on Reynolds & Reynolds.
Dealertrack & Auto/Mate
VisionAST identifies Dealertrack and Auto/Mate among supported dealership
data environments.
DealerVault
DealerVault is used as an integration pathway for a number of dealership
management systems.
Powersports Systems
VisionAST also identifies Lightspeed, DX1 and Talon among integrations
supporting powersports dealership analytics.
Multi-DMS Environments
The platform is designed to normalize information from multiple dealership
systems so groups can evaluate performance using a more consistent
reporting language.
DMS integrations, data availability and supported functionality can change.
Dealers should confirm compatibility with their specific systems directly
with VisionAST.
Developed Inside Real Dealership Operations
VisionAST says the platform grew from work by founder Jim Zappone and
President Pete Carusone to make dealership data easier to act on.
Rather than developing the system entirely outside retail operations,
VisionAST says the technology was beta-tested and refined inside dealerships
they own and operate.
That real-world operating environment has shaped the company’s focus on
information managers can use during the month rather than simply creating
another historical reporting system.
People Behind VisionAST
Jim Zappone
Founder
Peter Carusone
President
Kyle Reid
Vice President of Strategic Partnerships
Organizations That May Want to Evaluate VisionAST
Frequently Asked Questions About VisionAST
What does VisionAST do for automotive dealerships?
VisionAST provides dealership analytics and intelligence designed to turn
DMS data into actionable information across Sales, F&I and Fixed
Operations. Its Novella Intelligence Suite includes dashboards, reporting,
multi-store analysis, benchmarking and AI-powered data analysis.
What is the Novella Intelligence Suite?
Novella is VisionAST’s current dealership intelligence platform. It brings
operational data into a common analytics environment and provides dashboards,
reporting engines, dealership comparisons and Cassandra AI.
What is Cassandra AI?
Cassandra is VisionAST’s conversational AI data analyst. Authorized users
can ask natural-language questions about dealership performance and receive
analysis based on the dealership data available to them.
Does VisionAST analyze both Sales and F&I?
Yes. VisionAST provides reporting for sales volume and gross as well as
F&I metrics such as PVR, product penetration, reserve, lender activity
and individual performance.
Does VisionAST include Fixed Operations?
Yes. VisionAST provides service and parts intelligence covering metrics
such as repair-order activity, dollars per RO, effective labor rate, labor
sales, parts profitability, hours sold and personnel performance.
Can VisionAST work across multiple dealership locations?
Yes. VisionAST is designed to support single dealerships as well as
multi-rooftop organizations, allowing authorized users to roll up and
compare performance across stores.
Does VisionAST integrate with dealership DMS platforms?
Yes. VisionAST identifies integrations and data connections involving
systems and integration partners including CDK Global, Reynolds &
Reynolds, Dealertrack, Auto/Mate and DealerVault, along with powersports
systems such as Lightspeed, DX1 and Talon. Dealers should verify their
specific DMS and data requirements directly with VisionAST.
How frequently is VisionAST dealership data updated?
VisionAST currently states that data within the Novella platform can be
synchronized approximately every 15 minutes, depending on the applicable
data source and integration.
Is VisionAST only for automotive dealerships?
No. VisionAST currently serves automotive and powersports dealerships and
also markets the Novella Intelligence Suite to dealer groups, warranty
providers, lenders, agents and other industry partners.
Connect With VisionAST
Schedule a Demonstration
Dealerships interested in evaluating VisionAST and the Novella Intelligence
Suite can request a demonstration directly from the company.
VisionAST Online
Follow VisionAST for dealership analytics, benchmark research, AI
intelligence and automotive performance insights.
Continue Your Dealership Technology Research
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Researched & reviewed by DealerVendorMatch
Curated by automotive industry veteran
Paul Meijer
using DealerVendorMatch resources and current information published by
VisionAST.
Vendor information is provided for research purposes and is based on
DealerVendorMatch content and publicly available information from VisionAST.
Products, personnel, integrations, data-refresh intervals, platform
capabilities and services may change. Dealers should verify current
functionality, compatibility, pricing and terms directly with VisionAST
before making a purchasing decision.
