Tuesday, February 01, 2005
SAP has acquired a dealer management system known as DCS Quantum from DCS Automotive,
itself a subsidiary of the U.K.'s DCS Group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
SAP's plan is to fold the dealer management functionality into SAP for Automotive under the name
of SAP Dealer Business Management. As such, SAP plans to introduce the product worldwide starting in Q3, 2005; until now, the product had been designed for, and used in, Europe. DCS Quantum's
going to remain SAP's reselling partner in this segment of the marketplace. DCS Quantum will also contribute ongoing systems integration and development services.
SAP breaks down
dealer management into vehicle and parts sales support, service management, marketing, and finance.
SAP's traditional strength in automotive is with the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)
and their suppliers; dealers have not hitherto been a prominent category in this SAP vertical. The acquisition of DCS Quantum will be one way for SAP to try to change that.
