Technology due diligence for a dealership acquisition

Acquisition diligence should identify systems, contracts, accounts, data, security, integrations and change-of-control obligations before integration decisions are locked.

Start with Dealership marketing & technology consulting, Dealer management systems (DMS), Fraud & cybersecurity, Data integration & middleware. The exact stack depends on the dealer’s OEMs, market, rooftops, current systems and operating model.

Require the provider to demonstrate: Create a rooftop-by-rooftop technology and contract inventory. Resolve account ownership and administrator access. Identify renewal, assignment and termination constraints. Build a Day 1 continuity and longer-term migration plan. Use representative dealer records and include exceptions, not only the ideal path.

Identify every system that creates, reads or changes the same customer, vehicle, deal, repair-order, payment or marketing record. Confirm products, fields, direction, timing, fees and support on both sides.

Compare the same rooftops, users, volumes, modules and term. Include implementation, migration, hardware, usage, communications, data, integrations, annual increases and offboarding.

Document routine access, exports, identifiers, history, attachments, retention, deletion and transition assistance. Test a representative export before depending on it.

Identify scope, dependencies, service responsibilities, change rights, renewal, increases, suspension, termination and exit obligations for qualified dealer and professional review.

Choose a baseline, operational outcome, quality guardrail and adoption measure before launch. Reconcile reported results to source systems and disclose exclusions.