A DMS by dealers, for dealers has Dominion duo together again

Conner, Yeargin driving force behind Dominion’s DX1

A DMS built by dealers, for dealers.

That’s how Dominion Powersports is touting its recently launched DX1 dealer management system. Former dealership owner partners Curtis Conner and Dave Yeargin are the brains behind the DX1 launch, which aims to bring easy and effective functionality to the cloud-based business platform.

“DX1 is unlike any business platform in the industry today because it touches on so many aspects of a dealer’s business,” said Jeff Littlejohn, president of Dominion Powersports. “DX1’s sole purpose is improving dealership efficiencies and profitability. You cannot achieve these critical tasks without the real-world experience that Curtis, David and many other Dominion Powersports staff members possess.”

That’s right. A relationship between a dealer and a consumer blossomed a decade later into a product that is aimed, ironically enough, at forging together a closer bond between dealers and consumers around the nation.

Conner serves as the lead architect for the development of the DX1 and Yeargin is in charge of Dominion Powersports’ strategic initiatives and partnerships. A decade ago, the two met in a California dealership and started on a journey that led them to the creation of an entirely new business platform.

“I like the direction we’re going in the early stages of the launch,” Conner said of the all-in-one dealership business platform that launched in January. “We’re transferring some of our current customer base to the DX1 platform, and it’s been a big initiative within the company.”

Conner, in fact, was Yeargin’s longtime customer, and the two eventually shared ownership of a dealership. Beyond that, they each owned separate dealerships later.

Conner, a former Microsoft IT engineer who designed back office systems for companies like AT&T Singapore and other multinational corporations, was astounded at what it took to maintain a functioning business platform at the dealership.

“I was flabbergasted at how much we were spending on it and amazed at how much effort it took to run the business,” Conner said. “There was a lot of information and data, but when you tried to put it all together to understand it, when you sold a major unit or submitted the repair order, it was nuts. Just nuts.”

Conner eventually founded ZiiOS and hired Yeargin to help him run it. Prior to that awakening, there were days that weren’t always so bright on the DMS front for the two dealership owners.

“Within the first six months of owning our dealership in Folsom in 2003, that was the conversation we had — it was blatantly obvious that our DMS was not an asset,” Conner said. “Like a lot of dealers, you get caught up in running the store that you don’t even realize what could be. And here I was an IT guy who was now an owner of a motorcycle shop, and I’m spending my Sundays when the store’s closed loading price files.”

And, Yeargin says, that’s still a very real situation, “with dealers spending Tuesdays updating similar data.”

“That’s exactly what exists now,” he said. “With server-based applications, I had to go hire someone to do the basic things. So it took additional time and effort, and I was still subject to losing data. Once we lost the server, and we lost six months of data with it. Those are the very real occurrences that happen because of the limitations.”

Conner’s response to his operations issues was the development of ZiiOS, which Dominion eventually bought. And now DX1 serves as the next generation of DMS solutions for dealers. It’s the ideal answer for the headaches that Conner and his wife encountered when they owned their own dealership.

“There are so many parts of the dealership that have the potential to cause problems within your operations,” Conner said. “DX1 allows everyone to be happy, from the parts and service guys to the OEMs that make the machines. It allows businesspeople to run the business and not the paperwork of the business.”

It’s also easily accessible via mobile devices, which allows for 24/7 access from anywhere with Internet access.

“The DX1 information is available at your fingertips,” he said.

The idea of one piece of software to handle all dealership business operations has been met with much acceptance.

“The feedback from the dealers has been very positive,” Yeargin said. “What we’re doing is extremely unique and groundbreaking. Dominion has a very unique background themselves, owning so many industry-leading products. For us, DX1 was a luxury to build. They gave us the ability to create a completely new platform, and the dealers are seeing the benefits of a single-source platform.”

Similar to an automotive DMS, Yeargin said DX1 was designed from the start to allow deep, real-time integration with OEM partners.

“OEMs now, more than ever, need to be business partners with dealers,” he said.

Similarly, distributors can offer dealers a real-time look at inventory quantities, with special orders from dealerships designed to link and integrate with them. Back order notices are provided in real time.

DX1’s staff has reached 115 employees in the U.S. and abroad. That’s a long way from the area where Conner found his inspiration for the product.

“I was at a dealer meeting, and started talking with some folks who told me they thought it was stupid, that we’re nuts and it’ll never work,” Conner said. “So then I talked to five dealers and told them about it, and they said if I could do that, they would sign up right now.”

And the sign-ups continue to flow. Which means that for now, Conner doesn’t get to ride his motocross bike at Hangtown near his home as much as he’d like. Similarly, Yeargin’s off-road and desert riding trips have taken a back seat to DX1 duties.

Dave Yeargin and Curtis Conner, A DX1 Timeline

(Youth) Dave rode motorcycles since he was 7-8 years old; Curtis becomes an avid motocross nut at 13 years old.

Prior to 1999: Dave worked in the mortgage industry with a software developer. Curtis worked in the IT field, including at Microsoft.

1999: Dave purchases Capitol Yamaha in Sacramento, a single-line dealership. Dave had been introduced to the business side of the motorcycle industry through a friend, a dealer principal in Florida.

1999-2002: Dave runs Capitol Yamaha and during this time befriends one of his customers, Curtis, a Microsoft employee. During this time, an OEM point opens in the Sacramento area. Dave and Curtis begin discussing a partnership where Dave will run the store and Curtis would be a silent partner.

2003: The Dave & Curtis partnership blooms into Capitol Powersports, a single-line Yamaha dealership in Folsom, Calif.

2003-2005: Dave runs both dealerships and Curtis remains at Microsoft, although he is active in the Folsom operations.

2005: Curtis retires from Microsoft, purchases Dave’s interest in the Folsom dealership and becomes active in the day-to-day operations of the Folsom store. Folsom adds additional brands to its mix.

2008: Dave and Curtis sell their California dealerships in separate, non-related moves.

2009: Curtis begins developing a DMS, ultimately called ZiiOS, for the powersports industry.

2010: Curtis hires Dave onto the ZiiOS staff.

Feb. 2010:  ZiiOS DMS is unveiled to the industry at Dealer Expo.

August 2010:  ZiiOS is acquired by Dominion Powersports. Curtis and Dave remain with ZiiOS, playing key roles in building it to be one of the industry’s most established DMS providers.

Feb. 2013: Curtis and Dave are key players in the development of the next generation of dealer management systems in the powersports industry, Dominion Powersports’ DX1.