PowerBand Solutions (TSXV: PBX) this morning announced that it is partnering with a global leader in big data and artificial intelligence to enable the firm to offer nearly 4.5 million vehicles for sale or lease on its virtual transaction system known as DRIVRZ. The arrangement will see these vehicles made available for sale and lease across the United States, in the current 14 states that the company operates, as well as in Canada.
The licensing arrangement will enable PowerBand to access a database with an average of 4.5 million vehicles that are available for sale across both the US and Canada. With inventory updated four times a day, the arrangement will enable the company to offer a live suite of vehicles available for sale to consumers and dealers alike while also greatly improving the inventory available on PowerBand’s proprietary platform.
Even better, is that PowerBand is able to make these vehicles available for sale without having to purchase a large inventory before sales are made, removing the requirement for large capital outlays that traditional dealerships are subject to. It also removes the risk of inventory depreciation that dealers commonly have to deal with.
“Just like Airbnb, which can book hotel stays without purchasing a hotel, this agreement means we now have access to an inventory of 4.5 million cars to sell or lease, without the need to purchase a single vehicle in advance. This is transformative for the automotive retail sector and will also give consumers greater choice.”
Kelly Jennings, CEO
Further, the licensing arrangement will enable the company to have access to a suite of machine learning and artificial intelligence tools that will ultimately benefit both dealers and consumers. Examples of this tech including predictive analytics as well as sales-trend analysis which will ultimately enable dealers to have a competitive sales edge while also providing a better understanding of market trends.
The company has indicated that as a result of securing this significant amount of inventory with no capital outlay, it is expected that revenue from its auction platform, as well as its leasing platform, will “increase dramatically.” Commercial details of the arrangement meanwhile have been “withheld for commercial reasons.”
PowerBand Solutions last traded at $0.19 on the TSX Venture.
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