Keyloop vs Tekion

What to check before you choose

Keyloop has grown by acquisition, including the Canadian provider SERTI in 2022, and sells a DMS and a Fusion line of applications.

The companies differ in how they got here. Tekion built its platform as one system, while Keyloop assembled its portfolio from several, so a buyer should ask Keyloop which products share one database and which are connected by integration. Ask Tekion about conversion timelines, since moving a store's history and open deals is the hard part, and for references that switched from your current DMS.

For either, ask which manufacturer programs are certified for your brand, what the support hours and escalation path are, and what the exit looks like if you leave. Keep the same questions in writing for both and compare the answers before any demo.

Ask how each vendor handles the switch. A conversion plan should name who extracts the data, how open repair orders and deals are carried over, what is tested before go-live and what happens on the first day.

Ask for the plan in writing and for the names of dealerships that completed a conversion in the last year. A store that has been through it will tell you what the vendor's own brochure does not.

Compare the support models as well. A DMS vendor's support is the department you will call on a month-end morning, so ask each company where its support staff are, what hours they work, how a priority is assigned and what the average time to first response is for a dealer like you. Ask for the names of two stores of your brand that converted in the last year, and call them without the vendor present.

Ask about the roadmap in specifics. Which features shipped in the last twelve months, and which promised ones slipped?

A vendor that can name both is being honest with you. Keep the list for the renewal conversation, and ask for any commitments in writing.

Inside the shared categories, Keyloop fields 4 named lines against it (Keyloop DMS, Fusion, Sales, Service); Tekion fields 8 named lines against it (Automotive Retail Cloud, Dealer Management System, Customer Relationship Management, Digital Retail, and others).