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Dealership Inventory Feed Integration
Your vehicles arrive through the feed you already have, through your own website when there is none, or by hand, and every unit is decoded and ready to sell the moment it lands.
What is a dealership inventory feed?
A dealership inventory feed is a structured list of your current vehicles, one record per unit, that your website vendor, inventory provider or DMS vendor sends to the places that advertise your cars. Across the industry, feeds usually travel as a delimited file dropped on a schedule or as an XML or JSON document published at a web address, and they refresh anywhere from nightly to every few minutes depending on the provider.
Inventory Link is one of those receivers, and it does more with a feed than most. It stores your vehicles in a per dealer inventory store, decodes every VIN, fills the record from an automotive database and hands each unit to the LeadLocate CRM, the phone app, the inventory website builder, the embeddable widget, brand offer pages and the vehicle finder. That is automotive inventory feed integration in the practical sense: one feed in, every selling surface current.
It serves every kind of store we work with. Franchise dealers usually have a polished feed already going to listing sites. Independent, used car and buy here pay here lots often have a feed through their website vendor. RV and boat dealers send long records with heavy photo sets. Brokers and solo salespeople may have no feed at all, and Inventory Link has a path for them too.
What your feed should carry
Ask your provider to send your full inventory, new and used. A partial feed becomes a partial answer on every screen later. These are the fields that matter and what Inventory Link does with each one.
| Field | Why it matters | What Inventory Link adds |
|---|---|---|
| VIN | The key to the whole record | VIN decode supplies year, make, model, trim and body, plus government safety and efficiency data |
| Stock number | What your team says on the phone and on the lot | A stock number override keeps your own number when the provider's differs |
| Price | What every page and text will show | One price carried to every surface at once |
| Mileage | The second thing a shopper checks | Shown beside the decoded build everywhere the unit appears |
| Photo links | The first image decides the click | Promo photos and stock imagery cover a unit until your photos arrive |
| New or used | Sorts the unit onto the right pages | Used by the inventory list, the widget and the finder |
| Description | Options and condition notes | Vehicle text parsing pulls out the details shoppers search on |
Because every VIN is decoded, a thin feed still produces a full record for the build. The price, mileage, stock number and photos have to come from you, so those are the fields to check first. The VIN decode and vehicle database page explains the build data in detail.
Questions? Request a Call Back
Leave your number and a lead specialist calls you back to answer your questions about pricing, coverage, and setup. Mon - Sat, 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM Pacific.
Prefer to talk right now? Call or text 844-376-2274.
How the feed refreshes, and how you know it ran
Your provider sets the schedule, so the refresh is as frequent as the provider sends. Every feed you connect appears on the Feeds page of the dealer portal under Your feeds, with what it brought in and its Last refresh. The dashboard shows the same counts, which is the number to compare against what you believe is on the lot this morning.
Each refresh brings the inventory list in line with what the feed carries. New units arrive decoded. Units that left the feed leave the list. Price and mileage changes reach the CRM, the phone app, the widget and every text composer together, because all of them read the one inventory store. A stock number override you set by hand holds through every later refresh, so a correction made once stays made.
Faster is better for most stores. A sold unit that stays advertised for half a day produces calls about a car nobody can sell, so ask your provider for the most frequent schedule they offer.
When something in the dealership inventory feed is wrong
Feeds go wrong in ordinary ways: a provider renames a column, a trim imports blank, prices arrive with a dealer fee handled differently than your store wants, or a batch of units that should stay private starts publishing. Here is what to do for each kind of problem.
- One wrong stock number. Set a stock number override in the portal. Your number wins on every page from then on.
- A field that lands wrong for every unit. Open Ask us to change a feed, pick Which feed it applies to, or choose Not specific to one feed, and describe it under What needs to change. Our team adjusts the mapping in the feed editor and puts the change in production for your dealership.
- A thin or messy build description. VIN decode and vehicle text parsing correct the year, make, model and trim, so most of what you see is already right.
- A unit without photos. Promo photos and stock imagery keep it presentable until your own photos arrive and take the lead.
- A refresh time older than expected. Check the Last refresh on the Feeds page first, then call your provider, because the send happens on their side. Tell us as well and we will confirm the next import with you.
Fixing it at the source means you stop patching the same field by hand every week.
A morning with a working feed
It is 7:45 on a Tuesday. The used car manager opens Your feeds in the portal. The used feed shows a Last refresh from early this morning and the dashboard count matches the lot. Three units delivered yesterday are gone from the list. Four that landed from auction are in it, decoded from their VINs, with stock imagery until the photographer comes by.
At 10:00 a salesperson is texting a customer who wants a mid size SUV. In the composer she taps the vehicle insert button, picks one of the new arrivals, and the text goes out with the photo and price attached.
At 2:00 the manager notices the provider's stock number on one unit is wrong, so he sets a stock number override and the store's number shows everywhere from then on. At 4:00 he sees that prices are arriving with the doc fee handled differently than the store advertises, opens Ask us to change a feed, names the feed and what needs to change, and sends it to our team.
Nobody exported a spreadsheet, nobody emailed a photo, and the inventory the salesperson quoted at 10:00 is the inventory on the lot at 10:00.
Who sets up what
Feed setup is a short project with three parties. Here is who does each part.
| Who | What they do |
|---|---|
| Your store | Asks the provider to add Inventory Link as a destination with your full inventory, tells us who the provider is, checks the first import unit by unit, and names the people who get portal access |
| Your provider | Sends the feed with photos, prices, mileage and stock numbers, on the most frequent schedule it offers |
| Our team | Connects the feed, maps it in the feed editor, confirms the first refresh on the Feeds page, and makes every later change you request |
The feed belongs to your store, so asking your provider to send it is a request you are entitled to make. A feed in a format we have not seen before is available on request; our team puts it in production for your dealership. A store with two sources, new from one system and used from another, runs two feeds, each with its own refresh on the Feeds page.
Training comes with every plan: Live Training sessions for your managers and the video training library for everyone else. The step by step version is in how to connect an inventory feed.
No feed? Import from your website or add vehicles by hand
A feed is one way in, and an inventory feed and DMS access are not required. There are three others.
- Your own website. Inventory Link can import inventory from your website, with your permission, recognizing 28 dealer website platforms. The vehicles you already publish online become the vehicles in the platform. The import appears on the Feeds page like any feed, with its own Last refresh, and each import picks up new units and drops sold ones.
- By hand. Add vehicle in the portal, plus the edit page for the vehicle and its photos, is how a wholesaler with a handful of units or a store with one special unit gets it in today.
- No lot at all. Auto broker inventory mode connects brand offer pages with manufacturer incentives for the makes a broker sells, with no inventory needed.
All of these land in the same per dealer inventory store, so a store can start by hand today, add a website import next week and connect a provider feed next month without redoing anything.
How the feed connects to the rest of LeadLocate
Once your vehicles are in, they are the same vehicles everywhere you sell.
- The CRM. The Inventory menu of the LeadLocate CRM shows every unit, and the dealer portal opens from the My Inventory button on the dock with single sign on.
- Every message. The vehicle insert button in every text and email composer reads from the feed, so you can send vehicles by text with a tap.
- Your websites. The inventory website builder publishes from the same data, and the dealership inventory widget shows it on any page you already own.
- Offers and search. Brand page lead forms with Show matching vehicles from your inventory answer a shopper with the units you have, and the vehicle finder searches the same list.
- The phone. The LeadLocate app carries the inventory list with a detail sheet, so a salesperson on the lot sees what the feed delivered this morning.
What feed integration costs
Inventory Link, including feed integration and the website import, is part of every LeadLocate plan. Your bill is built from a few clear parts:
- The plan. Inbound, Marketplace Acquisitions, and Buyers and Sellers Hybrid add Marketing Effort Levels for buyer leads, seller leads or both on top of the platform. CRM Only is the software for a store that brings its own lead flow. Every plan is month to month with no long term contract.
- Users. Each plan includes a login to start, and more users are an add-on.
- Usage credits. Prepaid packs for bulk texting, bulk email, ringless voicemail deliveries and phone and email validation, bought in My LeadLocate when you need them.
Your provider may charge to add a destination to your feed, so ask them when you request it. The plans themselves are listed on the pricing page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a dealership inventory feed to use LeadLocate?
No. An inventory feed and DMS access are not required. Inventory Link imports inventory from your own website, you can add vehicles by hand in the portal, and a broker with no lot runs in auto broker inventory mode. The platform works the same either way.
Which feed formats does Inventory Link accept?
The feed your inventory provider, website vendor or DMS vendor already sends to listing sites works here. Our team connects it and maps it in the feed editor. A format we have not seen before is available on request, and our team puts it in production for your dealership.
How often does the feed refresh?
On the schedule your provider sends it. Each feed on the Feeds page shows its Last refresh, and each refresh brings in new units and drops the ones that left the feed. Ask your provider for the most frequent schedule they offer.
How do I check that the feed ran this morning?
Open Your feeds in the Inventory Link portal and read the Last refresh for each feed, then compare the dashboard count with what you know is on the lot. If the time looks old, call your provider and let our team know.
What happens when the feed sends a wrong stock number or price?
For a single unit, set a stock number override in the portal and your number wins on every page. For a field that is wrong across the feed, use Ask us to change a feed, name the feed and describe what needs to change. Our team fixes it at the source.
Can we run more than one feed?
Yes. A store with new units in one system and used units in another runs two feeds, each listed on the Feeds page with its own Last refresh. Both land in the same inventory store, so the CRM and every page show one combined inventory.
How is feed integration priced?
Feed integration is part of Inventory Link in every LeadLocate plan. Your total depends on the plan you choose, any users you add and any usage credits you buy. Plans are month to month and listed on the pricing page.
Bring your inventory in, with a feed or without one
Tell us who sends your feed, or give us your website address, and we will show you your real vehicles decoded inside Inventory Link and ready to text. Month to month, no long term contract.
Prefer to talk right now? Call or text 844-376-2274.
LeadLocate™ All rights reserved. Other product and company names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
Answers to your questions:
LeadLocate is an all-in-one lead generation software and CRM platform. We generate in-market sales leads and provide you with all the tools necessary to sell that customer. All of your leads, texts, calls, emails, deals, and files are available in one place, accessible with a single login.
LeadLocate™ All rights reserved. Other product and company names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
Answers to your questions:
LeadLocate is an all-in-one lead generation software and CRM platform. We generate in-market sales leads and provide you with all the tools necessary to sell that customer. All of your leads, texts, calls, emails, deals, and files are available in one place, accessible with a single login.