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Partner Interview
Published December 17, 2025

Pinewood: DMS Implementation, Closed Suite vs Partner Ecosystem

Executive Bio

Former VP at Keyloop

Summary

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Interview Transcript

Disclaimer: This interview is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions. In Practise is an independent publisher and all opinions expressed by guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of In Practise.

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My next question is about Pinewood. Let's use a hypothetical UK dealer. Many of them are on Keyloop, and they are being pitched by Pinewood. I am sure Pinewood has approached all of them by now. In your opinion, what are the differences and similarities in the product offerings and capabilities? Could you discuss aspects like cost, ease of use, and functionality? How do Pinewood and Keyloop compare?

Pinewood is far from best of breed and is a closed system. There is a strategic difference; Pinewood's strategy resembles CDK's strategy from about 15 years ago, which was to not open up to anything or let partners in, aiming to develop the best solution in every part of their system. That is really difficult. Keyloop's strategy encourages partners, and they have around 200 partners with API connections into their systems.

This is a snippet of the transcript.to get full access.

My next question is about Pinewood. Let's use a hypothetical UK dealer. Many of them are on Keyloop, and they are being pitched by Pinewood. I am sure Pinewood has approached all of them by now. In your opinion, what are the differences and similarities in the product offerings and capabilities? Could you discuss aspects like cost, ease of use, and functionality? How do Pinewood and Keyloop compare?

Why is that important? You can't win every battle, and giving the customer a choice between different vehicle health check solutions means they ask for less development because they choose between the options. Sometimes car manufacturers dictate a particular solution, which is significant outside the States. For instance, in the UK, Jaguar Land Rover mandated the use of a product called enquiryMAX. Dealers who resisted were told they had no choice and had to use it. Keyloop bought that business in 2021, and it already had API connections. You will find Renault might dictate one solution, and another manufacturer might dictate another, leaving the dealer without a choice.

This is a snippet of the transcript.to get full access.

My next question is about Pinewood. Let's use a hypothetical UK dealer. Many of them are on Keyloop, and they are being pitched by Pinewood. I am sure Pinewood has approached all of them by now. In your opinion, what are the differences and similarities in the product offerings and capabilities? Could you discuss aspects like cost, ease of use, and functionality? How do Pinewood and Keyloop compare?

There is a different strategy. One group says, come to us, we have got everything you want, but the product doesn't do as much as Keyloop. The other says, you can have a choice. You don't have to change your DMS. If you have got a problem in the showroom, you don't have to upgrade your DMS. You can just buy one of our showroom solutions and plug it in, and we will fix that for you. There is a very different strategy. There is a general belief in the market that the Pinewood strategy isn't there and it is not working.

This is a snippet of the transcript.to get full access.

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