Sonic Automotive: Protecting Car Dealership Business Continuity

Sonic Automotive

Sonic Automotive is one of the largest car retailers in the United States. They operate over 100 dealerships across the country, and they regularly surpass over 100,000 auto sales a year. They work in two different segments, one part consists of franchised dealerships representing over 20 different new vehicle brands, and the other offers cars in the pre-owned market. Each dealership has its own unique threats to continuity, and Sonic needs to be ready for everything from earthquakes to fires. 

Challenge:

On two separate occasions in 2014, Sonic Automotive reached out to Agility with severe continuity problems. The roof at a dealership in Orlando, Florida, collapsed, and the building was condemned. In the early hours on Thanksgiving morning, a small fire damaged a Texas dealership and crippled the building's power. Any pause in sales for a dealership is a major loss in revenue, but Black Friday is one of the year's largest vehicle sales weekends. 

Solution:

In each recovery situation, Agility deployed a mobile unit to serve as a temporary office. After employees showed customers their inventory, they could bring them back to the recovery unit to speak. Each employee had access to work stations and meeting areas, as well as computers and phones. Agility’s generators powered the units, and our 4G LTE router provided the Internet connection. 

Results:

The dealership in Orlando resumed normal operations within days of making the call, and agents worked out of the temporary office until a permanent replacement could be built. Within 48 hours of the Texas location reaching out to Agility and implementing their recovery plan, the mobile office was operational. Their ability to recover before the Black Friday sales event prevented Sonic's devastating loss, the dealership, and the individual employees.

To call on Thanksgiving and to have Agility respond and be up and running within 48 hours was amazing.

Tim Hallice, Director of Risk Management