CarMax 2004 Annual Report Download - page 10

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Please find page 10 of the 2004 CarMax annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

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Consumer
Offer
Purchasing/
Inventory
Management
Reconditioning
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Finance
Originations
Our business is not unlike an iceberg. Our unique consumer
offer is what draws customers to our stores; it is what can
be seen “above the waterline.” However, our key processes
and systems “below the waterline” are what make our business
successful — sophisticated purchasing and inventory manage-
ment, reconditioning, and finance originations, all supported
by proprietary information systems. Competitors who have
tried to copy our concept have typically failed because they
focused only on our consumer concept. They ignored the
hidden danger of failing to build strong operating processes
early in concept development.
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
■We recognized at the very beginning of CarMax’s concept
development that management information systems
would be critical to success in the complex used car
retailing business.
■Our systems capture data on every aspect of our business.
•Every vehicle purchased is electronically tracked
through its CarMax life from purchase through
reconditioning and test drives to ultimate sale.
We also capture data on vehicles we wholesale,
helping us track market pricing changes.
•In addition, we collect data on activities such as:
>Customer visits.
>Sales consultant/customer engagements.
>Appraisals.
>Extended service plan sales.
>Financings.
■This information is continually used to enhance
our processes and systems.
■We believe our processes and systems provide us with a
key competitive advantage. These enabling technologies
have been developed over our more than 10-year history,
and we are dedicated to their continuous improvement to
maintain this competitive edge.
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CARMAX 2004
3
PROPRIETARY
PROCESSES AND SYSTEMS
PROPRIETARY PROCESSES AND SYSTEMS