May 18 2021
There are countless ways in which vehicle data/VIN decoding can be leveraged within a business. And while each business’s use case(s) are different, there are common vehicle datasets that are needed to accomplish their goals.
In this article, we’ve covered some of the most common uses of vehicle data.
Some businesses, or specific use cases, only require basic vehicle identification (year, make, model, trim, body type, etc.). This might be to power a consumer-facing year, make, model, trim search for such things as an insurance quote/comparison, part lookup, or open recalls. Basic vehicle identification may also be valuable for internal processes, such as identifying fleet assets and/or automating data population.
Additionally, basic vehicle identification is the starting point for businesses that require much more comprehensive vehicle data.
Many businesses need a detailed vehicle database that gets into vehicle features, specifications, options and packages, etc. Returning this level of data from a VIN number is referred to as VIN explosion. The most common business uses for this data include, but are not limited to, those involved with vehicle shopping and retailing (dealerships, auto portals, research sites, etc.), risk management (finance and insurance), fleet management, and transportation/logistics.
Keep in mind that while some of these businesses may have use cases that only require basic vehicle identification, such as providing a preliminary insurance quote or powering a vehicle search feature, they often need more detailed data to accurately underwrite an insurance policy or list out vehicle features and specs on a vehicle details page.
Fixed Ops is the most profitable department of a dealership. As such, many dealers rely on vehicle service schedule data, often provided through a vendor, for targeted marketing and upsell opportunities right in the service drive. This data is particularly valuable in nurturing a relationship with customers who have purchased a vehicle previously, in hopes of securing future vehicle purchases when the time comes. Here’s an example of how DealerSocket leverages this data.
As mentioned previously, businesses in the risk management space, including insurance and finance, leverage VIN explosion services for VIN-specific vehicle details. More specifically, these businesses are interested in identifying installed safety equipment, particularly insurance companies. This is especially true as more and more vehicles are equipped with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, more commonly known as ADAS. Self-sourcing VIN-specific, options-level data, is no easy feat and requires partnering with a robust vehicle data provider, such as DataOne.
There are many other uses for vehicle data that go beyond this list, some that you might not expect. We enjoy working with each business to help support and strengthen their innovative, unique products.
Is your business looking to integrate vehicle data and VIN decoding into its products or services? We’d love to hear more about your data needs!
