Vehicle Sales & Service

The innovative, flexible and intelligent Dealer Management System

Proven SAP DBM Basis. Further developed by proaxia.

SAP-Based Solution for the Automotive and Heavy Equipment Industries

Dealer Management System for End-to-End Processes and Maximum Efficiency

A Dealer Management System (DMS) serves as the central platform for the entire dealership process—from sales and service to after-sales and leasing. With proaxia’s SAP-based solution, you can digitize and automate your business processes, increase efficiency, and achieve complete transparency across all operations.

proaxia VSS (Vehicle Sales & Service) is the successor to SAP Dealer Business Management (SAP DBM). In 2019, proaxia took over the further development of the proven SAP DBM solution and evolved it into proaxia VSS based on SAP S/4HANA. As a result, VSS combines the established processes of SAP DBM with a modern, future-proof platform for the automotive and machinery trade.

Here’s how to connect systems, optimize workflows, and enable seamless end-to-end processes in retail.

Your Business Advantage with VSS

Scaling Growth

Efficiently acquire customers across all channels—with integrated processes for sales, service, and rentals on a single, centralized platform.

Build long-term customer loyalty

Create personalized customer experiences throughout the entire customer lifecycle—to boost loyalty, increase repeat purchases, and build lasting customer relationships.

Increase Efficiency & Improve Margins

Automate processes and reduce complexity—to lower costs, make data-driven decisions, and increase profitability across the entire company.

One platform. Full control. Real growth.

proaxia VSS combines sales, service, and rental into a smart, SAP S/4HANA-based platform—and eliminates system fragmentation. This enables scalable, data-driven growth. With integrated OEM connectivity, AI-powered insights, and complete operational and financial transparency, VSS helps companies in the automotive and heavy equipment sectors increase efficiency, strengthen customer loyalty, and grow profitably across brands, markets, and business models.

From the first interaction to long-term service—fully connected.

VSS integrates all key sales, service, and rental processes into a single, unified platform. By eliminating system silos, it enables seamless workflows, consistent data, and complete transparency across the entire customer, vehicle, and equipment lifecycle.

Built for growth—across locations, brands, and business models.

Whether you’re expanding into new regions, adding new locations, or managing multi-brand organizations, VSS grows seamlessly alongside your business. Its SAP-based foundation supports complex organizational structures while ensuring control and consistency.

Ready for any OEM—today and in the future.

With standardized yet flexible integration options, VSS enables seamless connectivity to OEM systems. New brands can be quickly integrated without adding to system complexity or requiring additional integration effort.

Innovation Integrated—From AI to the Cloud.

Built on SAP S/4HANA, VSS is designed for continuous innovation. With integrated AI, advanced analytics, and cloud readiness, the platform supports automation, more informed decision-making, and long-term technological advancement.

Global Strength. Local Flexibility. No Vendor Lock-in.

A strong international partner network ensures reliable implementation, support, and scalability worldwide. Companies benefit from local expertise, global standards, and maximum flexibility—without being dependent on a single provider.

A Strong VSS Partner Network for Sustainable Success

With proaxia VSS, you benefit from a global partner ecosystem that combines innovation, scalability, and local expertise. Through the International Make Layer (IML), OEM systems, partner solutions, and third-party providers are seamlessly integrated into a standardized integration platform.

The result: maximum flexibility combined with global consistency. New brands can be integrated quickly, individual requirements can be implemented efficiently, and existing systems can be expanded without any problems.

This is how you lay the foundation for interconnected, future-proof business models—supported by a strong network of technology partners and industry experts.

VSS Highlights

AI Voice Agent

Your service advisor, who is always available

The VSS AI Voice Agent enables customers to schedule service appointments naturally over the phone, while helping dealerships and service organizations boost efficiency, improve availability, and enhance customer satisfaction around the clock.

  • Natural Language Interaction for Intuitive Customer Communication

  • Automated appointment scheduling by phone – 24/7

  • Guided Customer Identification and Recording of Service Requests

  • Real-time Availability Check and Automatic Appointment Scheduling Through SRS Integration

  • Consistent, high-quality customer interactions—regardless of call volume

  • Low-code architecture for easy customization and future expansion

  • Seamless integration with proaxia VSS and existing service processes

  • Scalable platform for additional AI-powered customer service use cases

24/7 Service Availability

Never miss a customer inquiry again. The AI Voice Agent handles service requests and appointment bookings around the clock, improving availability and customer satisfaction.

Greater Service Efficiency

Automate recurring phone interactions and scheduling so your service teams can focus on value-added customer activities.

Consistent Customer Experience

Provide a professional, reliable, and standardized customer experience with every call—regardless of workload or staff availability.

Upselling Engine

Increased Revenue from Existing Service Opportunities

The VSS Upselling Engine transforms existing service information into concrete, actionable sales opportunities. Based on freely definable sources and triggers, relevant upselling opportunities are automatically generated, made available at the appropriate customer touchpoints, and transparently tracked through to completion. This enables service advisors and back-office staff to address unmet needs more consistently, target customers effectively, and systematically tap into additional service business.

  • Flexible definition of sources, criteria, and triggers for upselling opportunities
  • Automatic generation of sales opportunities as soon as specified conditions are met
  • Use of Vehicle Health Checks, deferred or rejected work, expiring warranties, service contracts, and recalls
  • Making these features available in the customer portal, in scheduling, in the Mobile Service Advisor, and in the service order
  • Automatic notification of relevant customers and internal teams
  • Customizable communication content and tracking of customer interactions
  • Transparent status tracking for open, won, and lost sales opportunities
  • Centralized monitoring with analyses of conversion rates, locations, time periods, and responsible employees
  • Seamless integration with proaxia VSS and existing after-sales processes

Additional Revenue Opportunities

Leverage known service needs to drive targeted business growth. Relevant sales opportunities are systematically generated and made available where customers and service teams interact.

Consistent Customer Engagement

Don’t let identified opportunities slip through the cracks in your day-to-day operations. Automated notifications and transparent workflows help your teams track customer needs in a targeted and reliable manner.

Transparent Sales Management

Keep track of the status and success of all upselling activities. Centralized analyses of conversion rates, locations, time periods, and closed deals provide a reliable foundation for continuous optimization.

Customer Portal

Your central, digital gateway to the retailer

The VSS Customer Portal creates a central, digital point of contact between customers and the dealer organization. Customers can independently access relevant information and services online, process inquiries, manage appointments and bookings, review quotes, and make payments. This enables seamless digital interactions across various business units—with less administrative effort, greater transparency, and a more convenient customer experience.

  • Centralized self-service access to customer, vehicle, equipment, and contract information

  • Digital management of appointments, inquiries, reservations, and ongoing processes
  • Access to service histories, contracts, and current process statuses
  • Online review and approval of quotes and other customer decisions
  • Digital payments for invoices, down payments, and other outstanding amounts
  • Integrated documents, messages, and notifications for transparent communication
  • Seamless integration with proaxia VSS for end-to-end digital customer processes

More Self-Service

Give your customers the ability to handle many of their requests independently and digitally at any time. This reduces follow-up inquiries and administrative tasks and lightens the workload for your teams in their day-to-day operations.

Greater transparency

Make information, status updates, quotes, documents, and open tasks directly accessible to the customer. This creates transparent processes and fosters a relationship of trust with the customer.

Consistent Customer Experience

Connect digital customer interactions directly to the processes in proaxia VSS. Customers gain consistent access to your business, while information is processed seamlessly within your operational workflows.

Service

Higher customer satisfaction

Boost your NPS scores through transparent, proactive communication throughout the entire service process. VSS keeps customers informed at all times, reduces uncertainty, and creates a consistent, trustworthy service experience.

Greater Revenue Potential

Use data-driven insights to better understand your customers and generate targeted additional revenue. VSS identifies upselling opportunities at every touchpoint along the customer journey—personalized, relevant, and at the right moment.

Improved Service Efficiency

Optimize your workshop processes and secure your margins by reducing administrative overhead. VSS automates routine tasks, minimizes overhead, and enables your team to focus on value-added activities.

End-to-End Service Process

The service process begins with structured scheduling. Customer requests and internal service needs are recorded early on, linked to the required work, and coordinated with the workshop’s available capacity. This creates a reliable basis for planning even before the workshop or service visit takes place. Customers benefit from a simple and transparent scheduling process, while the dealer can make better use of its resources, reduce administrative overhead, and prepare specifically for the upcoming workshop visit.

Based on the planned and confirmed schedules, upcoming tasks are coordinated with available employees, workstations, and other resources. Qualifications, work schedules, and capacity can be taken into account, as can last-minute changes in day-to-day operations. This allows for proactive management of workshop utilization and work distribution. As a result, on-time delivery improves, downtime and bottlenecks are reduced, and a solid foundation is established for efficient workshop operations.

During vehicle and equipment intake, the customer, the vehicle or equipment, and the scheduled service order are matched, and the relevant information for the shop visit is finalized. Existing service histories, pending work, or additional requests can be taken into account, and the condition of the vehicle or equipment can be documented together with the customer. This ensures that the service center begins the job with complete and traceable information. At the same time, it provides the customer with a transparent handover process and gives the service advisor a reliable foundation for further processing.

The service order centrally consolidates all relevant work, materials, prices, and business information and is continuously updated throughout the entire time the vehicle is in the shop. Service advisors and other involved departments work from the same set of information and can adjust the order based on the actual scope of work. This simplifies coordination between service, the shop floor, and the parts department, reduces process disruptions, and creates a transparent foundation for cost control, customer communication, and subsequent billing.

During service calls, technicians work based on the scheduled orders and document working hours, tasks performed, and current progress directly within the system. If additional repair needs or issues are identified, these can be recorded in a structured manner and prepared for further coordination. This ensures that the current status of the vehicle or machine remains traceable at all times. At the same time, the administrative burden on the workshop is reduced, while additional work can be coordinated more transparently and productive work hours can be tracked more effectively. Mobile service calls can be carried out directly at the customer’s location or on-site and fully integrated into the service process.

Once the actual workshop work is complete, all outstanding tasks are systematically consolidated, and the order is prepared for handover. This includes both verifying the processing status and correctly assigning costs, warranties, contracts, or various cost centers. This makes it possible to identify early on whether any activities are still missing or if clarification is needed. This reduces delays during handover, improves the quality of billing, and provides transparency regarding the current status of all vehicles and machines in the service process.

At the conclusion of the service process, the services provided are evaluated, billed, and finalized with the customer. Payments can be processed, relevant documentation provided, and the work performed transparently explained at the time of handover. At the same time, the customer can confirm the service and provide feedback on their visit to the shop. This ensures that the entire process is completed in a business-savvy manner, expedites payment receipt, and guarantees a professional customer experience right up to the final point of contact.

Sales

Higher Lead Conversion Rate

Boost your closing rates through complete transparency in the sales funnel. VSS connects digital and physical touchpoints and enables you to manage your sales teams effectively—across locations, brands, and business models.

Full control over the life cycle

Take advantage of key moments in the customer lifecycle to target your sales activities—from warranty expirations and contract end dates to major life events. VSS helps you be there with the right offer at the right time.

End-to-End Transparency

Create efficient and scalable sales processes through complete transparency throughout the entire customer journey. VSS seamlessly connects sales and back-office operations and provides real-time insights into margins and performance at any time.

End-to-End Sales Process

The sales process begins with the structured collection and processing of customer inquiries—regardless of whether they are received online, by phone, or directly at the dealership. The sales consultant assesses the customer’s needs, plans the next steps, and guides the customer from the initial contact through the selection of the right vehicle or equipment and—where applicable—the test drive, all the way to the final offer. A potential trade-in can also be incorporated into the process early on. This allows sales opportunities to be pursued more consistently, response times to be shortened, and customers to receive more personalized advice. At the same time, it creates a transparent foundation for actively managing the sales pipeline and sustainably improving close rates.

Once the quote is accepted, all relevant information is transferred to a binding sales order. This includes the selected vehicle or machine, equipment, and additional services, as well as financing, down payments, delivery terms, and scheduled dates. Changes and approvals are clearly tracked within the active order, ensuring that sales and back-office teams always work from the same set of information. The seamless transition from quote to order reduces manual data entry and potential sources of error, speeds up processing, and provides clarity regarding responsibilities, costs, and the current order status.

As soon as the sales order is confirmed, a suitable vehicle or machine is assigned and specifically prepared for delivery. Necessary handover inspections, accessory installations, bodywork, or work by external partners are planned, commissioned, and tracked throughout the entire process. This provides sales, back office, the workshop, and other stakeholders with a shared view of the preparation status and upcoming tasks. This improves collaboration between departments, reduces delays, and ensures that the vehicle or equipment is ready, complete, and on time. At the same time, additional costs are transparently recorded and factored into the calculation of the actual margin.

Before the handover, the commercial and operational requirements of the sale are thoroughly reviewed. Prices and discounts are finalized, credit approvals are obtained, invoices are issued, and payments are allocated to the appropriate parties. Next, the delivery date is coordinated, the necessary documentation is prepared, and the handover is conducted with the customer. After delivery, ownership, warranty, and vehicle or machine data are updated, and any follow-up actions are initiated. This ensures that the sale is completed securely and thoroughly, facilitates the receipt of payment, and creates a professional customer experience. At the same time, commission-related information can be accurately derived from the completed transaction.

Vehicle and equipment procurement ensures that the necessary new and used vehicles and equipment are available in a timely manner for inventory or a specific customer order. The process ranges from determining needs and placing orders to shipping, receiving goods, and verifying incoming invoices. Additional procurement costs, such as those for transportation, insurance, or damage, are also allocated to the respective unit. This provides Purchasing and Sales with a reliable view of availability, procurement status, and actual vehicle costs. This supports more precise inventory planning, improves margin calculations, and integrates customer-specific orders with warehouse-based procurement into a seamless process.

Consistent customer, vehicle, and equipment information is available throughout the entire sales process. This allows sales consultants and back-office staff to view past contacts, quotes, orders, vehicles, payments, and other relevant transactions in context. This shared database enables a more personalized approach to customers, more informed decisions, and better collaboration between the departments involved. At the same time, the lifecycle of a vehicle or machine and its financial performance can be transparently tracked. Standardized process and project frameworks also support efficient implementation and ensure that the sales process can be executed consistently and scalably across multiple locations, brands, and markets.

Rental

More customers

Attract new customers with a digital self-service portal that allows them to make reservations and submit inquiries directly. VSS provides transparent availability and clear offers—for a simple, fast, and compelling customer experience.

Central Database for Additional Revenue

Use a unified database to position yourself as a full-service partner. VSS seamlessly integrates rental and service functions and enables targeted upselling of additional services such as insurance, accessories, or supplementary equipment.

Consistent and Efficient Processes

Ensure a seamless flow of data across locations, brands, and business models. VSS enables digital bookings, real-time transparency, and reduces the need for manual coordination—resulting in lower process costs and greater scalability.

End-to-End Leasing Process

The rental process begins with the centralized planning and management of the available rental inventory. Customer inquiries—including the desired rental period, pickup and drop-off locations, and the required vehicle or equipment specifications—are recorded and matched against current availability. At the same time, inventory movements, reservations, and the operational status of rental units are managed transparently. This allows the appropriate unit to be scheduled early and prepared for use. This shortens response and processing times, prevents double bookings, and improves the utilization of the entire rental fleet. Recurring process steps can also be accelerated, allowing even last-minute rentals to be handled efficiently and reliably.

Once the appropriate rental unit has been selected, all commercial and operational agreements are consolidated into a single, centralized rental agreement. This includes, among other things, the rental period, prices, agreed-upon mileage or operating hours, accessories, attachments, and additional services, as well as pickup, delivery, and payment terms. Relevant documents and information remain directly linked to the contract and the respective rental unit. This provides the rental, logistics, service, and finance departments with a common and reliable working basis. Changes can be tracked transparently, and downstream processes can be initiated without the need for re-entering data. This reduces errors and administrative overhead, speeds up contract processing, and creates the necessary transparency for delivery, billing, and subsequent return.

Prior to delivery, the rental unit is fully prepared and made available for pickup along with the accompanying documents, accessories, attachments, and agreed-upon services. The condition of the vehicle or equipment, as well as relevant measurements, are documented in a traceable manner and confirmed by the customer and the rental representative. Upon return, the current condition can be directly compared to the original handover. This allows for the early detection of discrepancies, damage, additional use, or a late return, which are then recorded for further processing. This structured process provides certainty for both parties, reduces subsequent inquiries and disputes, and serves as a reliable basis for additional charges, maintenance procedures, and the rapid re-deployment of the rental unit.

Billing is managed according to the agreed-upon rental model and can be based on time, defined milestones, or actual usage. Deposits, ongoing rental installments, additional services, and potential additional charges are clearly assigned to the respective contract. At the same time, credit checks, incoming payments, and outstanding receivables can be integrated into the process. This allows both on-site payments and digital transactions to be processed in a structured manner and recorded accurately in the accounting system. The seamless integration between contracts, usage, and financial data improves cash flow, reduces manual reconciliations, and enables precise revenue recognition. As a result, companies gain transparency at all times regarding invoiced, uninvoiced, and already realized rental revenue.

Maintenance or repair requests can be initiated directly from within the rental process and forwarded to the service department. The necessary work, materials, and responsibilities are planned and processed in a central work order, while the current status of the rental unit remains visible to the rental team. This allows for a reliable assessment of when a vehicle or piece of equipment will be available again and can be scheduled for a new rental. A close integration between fleet management and service reduces unplanned downtime, accelerates return to service, and supports proactive scheduling. At the same time, maintenance and repair costs are tracked transparently, the operational reliability of the rental fleet is increased, and the cost-effective use of each individual rental unit is improved over the long term.

proaxia Academy
Hands-On Learning in Vehicle Sales & Service

With the proaxia Academy, users can expand their knowledge of proaxia Vehicle Sales & Service in a flexible, digital, and hands-on way. The e-learning program combines in-depth learning content with direct access to the proaxia VSS training environment. This allows participants to learn about key processes and functions of Vehicle Sales & Service step by step and apply what they’ve learned directly within the system.

Structured learning paths featuring more than 10 courses, videos, documentation, and hands-on exercises enable a varied learning experience at your own pace. An onboarding session ensures a smooth start and helps participants make the most of the training offerings right from the beginning.

The Key Benefits of the proaxia Academy

  • 30 days of flexible access to digital learning content and the VSS training environment
  • 50–80 hours of hands-on learning content, including videos, documentation, and exercises
  • VSS Associate Certification upon successful completion

In this way, the proaxia Academy helps companies build vehicle sales and service expertise in a sustainable manner, provide targeted training for new users, and further develop existing knowledge.

Vehicle Sales & Service on SAP S/4HANA
A Powerful Combination

proaxia Vehicle Sales & Service (VSS) combines industry-specific sales and service processes with the powerful technology of SAP S/4HANA. The solution supports complex corporate structures and creates a scalable, flexible foundation for modern dealer management—ranging from automotive retail to buses and trucks, as well as construction equipment, agricultural machinery, and material handling technology.

Modern Technology for Attractive Jobs

A modern and ergonomic user interface makes day-to-day work with Vehicle Sales & Service easier and supports efficient processes.

  • Widespread SAP expertise makes it easier to recruit qualified professionals
  • A large SAP partner and service ecosystem provides flexibility and reduces dependencies

Centralized Mapping of Complex Structures

VSS on SAP S/4HANA is designed to efficiently support even complex organizational structures and international business models.

  • Multiple brands, countries, and languages within a single solution
  • Support for Various Companies and Legal Entities

Scalable for businesses of any size

Whether it’s a single company or an international corporate group, Vehicle Sales & Service’s scalable architecture grows along with the demands of the business.

  • Designed for high business volumes—from thousands to millions of units per year
  • Suitable for several hundred to several thousand users
  • Use in individual companies as well as in complex corporate structures

Open Architecture for Long-Term Flexibility

The open architecture of proaxia Vehicle Sales & Service makes it possible to flexibly integrate new requirements and technological developments into existing processes.

  • Support for OEM-Driven Requirements and Innovations
  • Flexible adaptation to new customer requirements as well as legal and business conditions
  • A future-proof foundation for the ongoing development of sales and service

FAQ

A Dealer Management System (DMS) is the central software platform for managing the key business processes of a car dealership or dealer group. These include, among other things, vehicle sales, aftersales and service, workshop processes, customer and vehicle management, billing, and leasing. An integrated DMS connects these areas and creates a shared database for end-to-end processes.

An SAP-based dealer management system integrates industry-specific processes in the automotive and equipment retail sectors with SAP’s ERP functions and technologies. proaxia Vehicle Sales & Service (VSS) is based on SAP S/4HANA and integrates sales, service, and rentals with core business processes. This enables operational, commercial, and financial information to be processed on a single platform.

Many traditional dealer management systems map individual processes within a dealership’s operations to separate applications or interfaces. proaxia VSS, on the other hand, integrates dealer management processes with the SAP S/4HANA platform. This results in end-to-end processes and a consistent database across sales, service, leasing, and other business areas.

Yes. proaxia Vehicle Sales & Service is the next evolution of SAP Dealer Business Management (SAP DBM). In 2019, proaxia took over the further development of the SAP DBM solution and evolved it into VSS based on SAP S/4HANA. This enables companies to combine proven dealer management processes with a modern SAP platform that can be further developed over the long term.

The transition from SAP Dealer Business Management to proaxia VSS requires a structured analysis of existing processes, data, integrations, and custom extensions. Based on this analysis, a suitable transformation and migration strategy can be developed. The goal is to effectively carry over existing processes while leveraging the capabilities of SAP S/4HANA and VSS for future business models.

Yes. proaxia VSS is designed for complex multi-brand and multi-site structures. Different brands, locations, companies, countries, and languages can be mapped within a single system landscape. This makes VSS particularly well-suited for larger retail groups and companies operating internationally.

Yes. Integration with manufacturer systems is a key component of modern dealer management systems. proaxia VSS enables the connection of OEM systems and other external solutions through flexible integration options. This allows information and processes between manufacturers, importers, dealers, and other partners to be seamlessly linked.

A modern dealer management system digitizes the entire service process—from scheduling appointments and receiving vehicles or machinery, through workshop planning and service orders, to performing the work, billing, and returning the vehicle or machinery. Thanks to a shared database, service advisors, technicians, and other stakeholders have access to relevant customer, vehicle, and order information at all times. This reduces administrative overhead and improves transparency, utilization, and the customer experience.

Yes. In addition to sales and service, proaxia VSS also supports end-to-end rental processes. These include, among other things, availability planning, reservations, rental agreements, vehicle or equipment handoff, return, billing, and integration with service processes. This enables companies to manage sales, service, and rentals on a single platform.

proaxia VSS is not only suitable for traditional car dealerships. The solution also supports companies dealing in commercial vehicles, buses, construction and agricultural machinery, as well as industrial trucks and other heavy equipment segments. Thanks to its scalable architecture, VSS can be used by both individual companies and international dealer groups.

Artificial intelligence can support and automate numerous processes in the automotive and machinery trade. In proaxia VSS, AI-powered features can be used, for example, in customer communication, scheduling service appointments, identifying upselling opportunities, or analyzing business and process data. It is crucial that AI is directly connected to existing customer, vehicle, machinery, and process data.

Yes. That is precisely where a key advantage of an integrated dealer management system lies. proaxia VSS connects the customer journey from the initial lead through the sale of vehicles and machinery, delivery, and service visits, to long-term after-sales support and rentals. This eliminates the need to maintain data multiple times in separate systems and allows information to be shared across departments.

Yes. proaxia VSS supports complex corporate structures involving multiple companies, locations, brands, countries, and languages. At the same time, its open architecture enables the integration of local requirements, OEM systems, and other solutions. This allows a common global platform to be combined with local processes and market requirements.

SAP S/4HANA provides a powerful foundation for integrated business processes, real-time data, analytics, and scalable enterprise structures. When combined with proaxia VSS, these capabilities are enhanced with industry-specific processes for vehicle and machinery sales, service, and rentals. This provides companies with a unified platform for dealer management and core ERP processes.

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Shape the future of your vehicle and equipment dealership with proaxia Vehicle Sales & Service—for dealer organizations that integrate sales, service, and rentals, from the first customer interaction through to long-term customer loyalty.

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