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Data Team Summary

What Does Data Team Do?

In short: Data Team processes and manipulates data from outside sources so that it can be entered into Dealer Car Search and then resent to other 3rd parties if needed - managing the flow of inventory and lead data in and out of DCS systems to and from third party companies.

More specifically: Data Team uses GUI processes to read information from delimited files that have been sent via FTP transfer into the Dealer Car Search database. Data team also supports the transfer of information to third parties in delimited file formats sent through FTP. This job is considered part of the Extract-Transform-Load category of Data Management roles.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extract,_transform,_load
Types of data cases

The type of case for data depends on the direction of Inventory flow. (* marks a case reason or sub -reason in systemadmin)

  1. Import* Cases - If inventory is coming from a third party to Dealer Car Search than the case is an import case.
    1. Import, Setup* - if a dealer needs an import created either initially on onboarding or because they want us to get their inventory from a new source than the case reason should be Import, sub-reason setup.
    2. Import, Support* - any trouble shooting of problems with an import job is an Import, sub-reason support case.
    3. Other Import sub-reasons: DMS Integration*, File*, Image Refresh*, Off Schedule Run*, Spider*, & Third Party Issue* - these sub-reasons may be applied to a support case by data depending on the nature of the case.
  2. Data Feed* Cases - if inventory is going from Dealer Car Search to a third party, than the case is a Data Feed, or export case.
    1. Data Feed, Setup* - if a dealer needs added to an export than the case is a Data Feed sub-reason setup case. Since many third party sites do not get feeds directly from Dealer Car Search but use other companies for this, all exports should be requested with the third party initially.
    2. Data Feed, Support* - any troubleshooting of outgoing inventory feeds is a Data Feed sub-reason support case.
    3. Other Data Feed sub-reasons: New Build*, & Third Party Issue* - these sub-reasons may be applied to a support case by data depending on the nature of the case.
  3. Inventory Support* - any inventory issues not directly related to an Import or Data Feed are inventory support cases. Examples: adding a make or model, deleting a vehicle from the database completely.
  4. ADF Import* - leads coming into Dealer Car Search in ADF Format from third parties
  5. ADF Export* - leads being sent out from Dealer Car Search to third party CRM systems in ADF format
  6. Chrome Vin Decode* - any case involving the Chrome vid decode product.
  7. Data Setup* - this is a system generated case reason for new accounts, it is not used outside of that context.
  8. Lead Export* - We do not currently have a system to produce files of leads information. If a customer is insistent that we send them a file of their leads information create a Lead Export case for data with the sub-reason request. Get a valid email address from the customer so we can email them the file once it has been created.
Basic Data Calls and simplified troubleshooting

"I need an export to resolution: Have the dealership contact the third party to request the feed through them. Many listing sites use other companies to process inventory (Cars.com uses CDK Data or Inventory Command Center, Carfax uses Vast, Offerup uses Inventory Command Center) Data cannot setup the export until we receive the request from the 3rd party to know which feed to add the dealership to.

Bulk "all dealer" feeds include CarGurus, Vast, Oodle, CDK Data (DMI_DSE), and a few others, all active dealers are automatically in these feeds under their DCS ID. The dealer just needs to give the 3rd party their DCS ID.

Call: "My import is not updating": Data is going to need more information. Are new vehicles not being added, is sold inventory not being deleted, did a price not update, did images not update? Try to get as much information as you can before creating a case or transferring the call. If at all possible get an example vehicle by stock number or vin.

Call: Missing Vehicle: The most common cause of a missing vehicle is a repeated stock number or vin number. Check the dealership's active and sold inventories for both the stock number and VIN number. Expand the date range past 30 days in the sold inventory, we actually have records of the dealership's sold inventory from the very day they opened their account to current. A repeated stock number from a vehicle the dealership sold several years ago is not unheard of. If you can't find a repeated stock number or VIN then case data.

Call: "I need my Dealer ID": If a dealer is calling in for their Dealer ID this usually means they need and import or an export setup. Please ask what they are needing the ID for and case Data appropriately.

Call: My Frazer Real Time Integration is not working: Frazer's Real Time Integration is a service that runs on the dealership's local computer. 90% of the time, the service has gone non-responsive and just needs to be restarted. If no one in data or Frazer support is available ask the dealer to reboot their Frazer computer. If the reboot does not work case data. We have a direct channel with Frazer support in teams, so either we or Frazer support will reach out to them. GET A PREFERRED CONTACT NAME AND PHONE NUMBER.

Call: "I want my feed to ... run Now!": Exports are setup by company not dealership. Dealers don't have feeds we can run off-schedule, Dealer Car Search has feeds a dealer may be included in that support multiple dealerships, as such they run on very set schedules and cannot be run off schedule for a single dealership.

Calls from 3rd party companies: Most of these will go to data but please ask what the 3rd party is calling about. Sometimes it is as simple as "Is this dealer still a DCS customer?" If you can provide a quick answer to a simple question like that, the assistance is greatly appreciated. We get a lot of those calls and emails to answer daily.

is a request to setup an export "it is our policy that we do not accept export request by phone, please email the request to DataExports@dealercarsearch.com"

If the 3rd party is CDK Data, ask what division. CDK is a huge company that receives multiple exports from us. Most commonly they will be from the DMI_DSE, Cars.com, or Dealer Portal divisions. Knowing which feed to look at greatly assists Data.

Also, if you transfer a call to data and the data person tells you to create a case, please assign that cases to the person you transferred the call to. Cases that are not for transferred calls just assign to "Data Team."

Misc Notes
  • We do not need to whitelist any companies. If the requesting server is US based, there is no need to whitelist them. We only block traffic from outside the US.