Latest / Auto Collabs / 39 Feet of Paper with Greg Uland

Transcript

39 Feet of Paper with Greg Uland · Auto Collabs

• 0:01
  [laughs] There was a long pause before the start of the podcast. [upbeat music] This is Auto Collab. I don't know exactly why- Well, it's because, I know why.
• 0:15
  It's because Michael looked to the side and he had that face like he's about to say something, and I think we were both waiting for him to say something.
• 0:22
  And then, and then, and then the only side of his face that we could see had that smirk, like someone else better start talking right now- Yeah... 'cause Cirillo's gonna say something.
• 0:29
  It was just a po- it was a polite leaning up to the microphone. Like, I have to at least pretend I'm gonna try to start this podcast.
• 0:35
  I love those podcasts though where the three of us are like, "Wait, who's gonna start?" And then all three of us are like, "Ah," and then- Yeah, right. Yeah... we all do it, because we feel the need to do it.
• 0:43
  Today's guest, um, Greg Uland, chief marketing officer of Reynolds and Reynolds, is also a podcaster. So he's gonna understand, uh, where we're coming from.
• 0:52
  It's not often that you see, like, a higher level, uh, exec making so much content. Yeah. Don't see that a lot.
• 0:57
  No, I actually, I remember last year at NADA, I loved their booth because, like, everybody else was doing stages and podcasts and stuff from, like, these massive stages, and he's got, like, this n- nicely designed- Oh, it was thoughtful...
• 1:10
  booth that's, like, all soundproofed. And it's, you know, he's got like... It just looks like a podcast deal, and it was, it was really cool. So this man understands content.
• 1:18
  He's a marketer, but he's also extremely savvy when it comes to, like, the actual business operations. He ties marketing to operations really well in the conversations that we've had with him.
• 1:28
  So we hope you enjoy this conversation that we are having with Greg. [upbeat music] Hey, Greg. Thank you so much for joining us today. We're excited to be here with you. Always a pleasure. Always a pleasure.
• 1:41
  We don't get to, uh, connect as much as, as I'd like to certainly, but, uh, it's always fun. Hey, if this is a step in the right direction.
• 1:49
  Um, you know, one of the things I was excited about having you on the show is that you obviously make—or maybe people don't know this—but you make a lot of content.
• 1:58
  You're usually in the studio talking to dealers and other industry partners, um, just trying to build the conversation around a lot of different topics.
• 2:06
  And, um, you know, so we were, we were wondering how you were gonna show up today, day before Thanksgiving. [laughs] Was it studio Greg? Was it office work Greg?
• 2:13
  And I think now people see, get to see the Clark Kent behind the Superman. [laughs] Yeah. We, there's, uh, there's many faces, right? Uh, you guys, you guys always have the same on, though.
• 2:23
  I mean, I'm surprised you're not in the, uh, the soccer scarves while you're recording, too. Oh, we can fix that. We do have... [laughs] We can always fix that if you want.
• 2:31
  What is, what is the story behind the soccer scarves? Why... I, I don't know. I just, it... Every time it catches my attention. Listen to this guy. This is what happens when you interview hosts.
• 2:36
  He's actually, he's like, "Okay, now, see, I'm gonna interview you. All right." [laughs] You get one question, Greg. You get one question.
• 2:44
  So, uh, you know, I'm a, if you, if you, if you're watching, if you're not watching, behind me is, like, a stack deep of, like, 12 or 15 scarves. Another couple soccer scarves over there.
• 2:56
  And then I have another, uh, 12 over there hanging up, and then another 20 probably in my, uh, in my, uh- So it's a problem... closet over there. So we have a problem here. Yeah. So I have a little bit of a problem.
• 3:08
  So two of these are ASOTU CON.
• 3:09
  So the reason why we chose soccer scarves is 'cause we, uh, were headed toward ASOTU CON 2022, and we were like, "What merch item are we gonna do that kind of sets the stage, sets it apart," right?
• 3:21
  Nobody likes, you know... Yeah, everybody's got notebooks from every company ever, right? And we just started to recogn- I, I started to talk through, like, what's the soccer mentality? Well, it's extreme fandom.
• 3:33
  It's community. It's, uh, year after year we're, we're redesigning and redeveloping and, and recreating, and there's always, like, an extreme energy and passion around soccer.
• 3:44
  And so we were like, "What better than to signify what this automotive community is than through our soccer scarf?" It was the first one I ever owned, the first ASOTU CON soccer scarf. Really? Yeah, 'cause I, I didn't...
• 3:55
  You know, I'm not, not a real soccer fan. Um- [laughs]... but when I, when I, like, was introduced, really introduced to soccer a lot by Kyle and just the, the energy of it. And I put it on for ASOTU.
• 4:05
  I never took it off. I had it on the whole week. [laughs] No, they look good. Yeah. They look good. I like them. We'll have to send, we'll have to send you... We have, we still have some from 2022 and '23.
• 4:13
  We'll send them to you. All right. You'll make a note in the count. No, they look good. [laughs] All right.
• 4:18
  So you, I, I have, we have to go back real quick because, uh, found out, you know, you haven't always been with Reynolds', uh, company.
• 4:27
  Talk to us a little bit about exactly how you got into the auto side of the business, 'cause it wasn't all on, uh, the industry partner side as, like, your, your role is right now. Yeah.
• 4:37
  No, I mean, it goes back quite a ways, but I, I will tell you with Reynolds, you know, I've been here for, uh, over 15 years. I joined Reynolds in May of 2008. Um- Wow... and yeah.
• 4:46
  Yeah, and I was told by multiple people on, uh, many different occasions that that might not have been the best career decision ever, you know, to join a company that serves car dealerships exclusively.
• 4:54
  [laughs] We've, we may have heard that once or twice. Yeah. Yeah.
• 4:57
  So, you know, but it gives you a front row seat to, uh, to how great this industry is, how resilient the industry is, how great car dealers are, how resilient they are.
• 5:05
  Um, but you know, going back, I mean, I actually grew up in an auto parts store, retail auto parts store.
• 5:09
  My grandparents, uh, had, had a few parts stores, so I got to, I got to grow up working alongside, you know, my dad and my grandpa in retail auto parts, and then, um, kind of continued in retail through college.
• 5:21
  And then after college I started a, um, a wholesale parts business, uh, delivery business, and then, uh, after that I came to Reynolds.
• 5:27
  So been, you know, been around automotive pretty, I mean, quite literally my entire life. Um, but in retail automotive, uh, for the last 15 and a half years.
• 5:36
  I mean, coming from the parts de- side of the business, it's- Yeah... I mean, like, it's a pretty, it's rare enough that, like, an auto GM comes from the service side of the business. [laughs] Right?
• 5:46
  Having, have a marketing executive, uh, like, coming from the parts side is, uh-I mean, there's, there's not much, there's not much more ground floor than that, right?
• 5:54
  [laughs] You get to see the good, bad, and the ugly when you're on the parts stuff. Yeah, I mean, I got my first job, you know, my grandma would pay me 10 bucks a week to clean the bathrooms in the, uh, in the office.
• 6:02
  So that was, that was my first gig. Um, you know, scrubbing, scrubbing toilets. I like it that the grandma's the one making the- [laughs]... making the deal, too.
• 6:09
  [laughs] You know, I, I was actually thinking, like, on, uh, this morning I was having this thought because someone posted on LinkedIn about CRMs and DMSs in the auto space and how it's different than, like, the rest of the world.
• 6:22
  And my first thought wasn't, like, how do we sell a car or how do we reach out to a customer that wants to buy a car.
• 6:27
  My first thought was the things that I've been through, and I'm sure, like, being with Reynolds that you've seen now, but also in the wholesale and the retail parts business.
• 6:38
  The things that are so dramatically different just about the parts business within auto, and the connections, and the integrations, and the way that parts are listed, and then the way that they're changed over time, and the, uh, like, it's not just a straight up SKU number and all that type of stuff.
• 6:56
  Mm. Like, what was your experience and, and has been your experience in, in the parts side of the business? Because that's not one we get to talk about in the auto industry a lot, right? Sure.
• 7:05
  Well, I'd say, you know, first kind of, uh, retail parts outside of, you know, the dealership world, out- outside of the, uh, the franchise dealership world, um, it is definitely different, right?
• 7:15
  You have, you have a lot more control over, um, what you carry. You have a lot more control over what you don't carry. Um, you know, how much you carry.
• 7:22
  You know, in today's world for a franchise dealer, a lot of that's gonna be dictated by the OEM, right? And there's software- Mm... that, um, uh, basically stocks your, your department for you.
• 7:31
  Um, so if you wanna have, um, a, a parts operation that, that you have more control over, you end up, uh, going down the wholesale path.
• 7:38
  And a lot of dealers are really successful in that world, um, you know, selling wholesale and delivering parts. And, um, you know, a lot of them have very large parts operations that, that are, are profitable.
• 7:48
  Um, but, you know, there, there's really those two different pieces to it.
• 7:52
  I mean, if you're running a parts department to, to feed your service department, that's great, and you're gonna get the parts that you need most likely.
• 7:58
  You'll special order the stuff that, uh, that the manufacturer says that you don't need every single day.
• 8:03
  Um, but, you know, when you're, when you're looking at expanding and finding new avenues, uh, of, of revenue and profitability, uh, that wholesale world is, is one that a lot of dealers have found success in.
• 8:14
  Does, does the parts department have its own subsection of buzzwords? You know, 'cause, like, the industry has one. Like, one I hear... Here's an example.
• 8:23
  Like, how often back in the day did you hear the word obsolescence? 'Cause- [laughs]... boy, do I hear that one a lot. [laughs] Obsolescence and dirty cores.
• 8:33
  You know, when you tell somebody about, you know, a dirty core- [laughs]... they're like, "What? What, what did you just call me?" Uh- [laughs]... you really, really be careful to, to pronounce your words clearly.
• 8:44
  Did you get that SOP? [laughs] Yeah, no. The SOP. The SOP, right? For your dirty core, bro. [laughs] [laughs] There are definitely, there are definitely those, those, uh, those phrases that- [laughs]...
• 8:57
  if you're, if you're not around it, you go, "What? What are you talking about?" But yeah. [laughs] Yeah. So let me ask you this. Over the last fif- you said over 15 years now at Reynolds. Mm-hmm. From 2008 to now,
• 9:08
  what have you seen as kind of the biggest developments, the biggest things that you've, you've noticed being in a company that long? Because, I mean, that's, that's longer than most people's careers, you know? Sure.
• 9:17
  So that's, you've got some, some vision there over a, a broad timeframe of how Ray-Ray, dare I call it, has evolved. I love Ray-Ray. Well, first, I appreciate you calling me old without calling me old.
• 9:30
  That's, uh, that's a good way to put it. He's, Cyrill's got a way about him. Yeah, I got, I got some grays in here. He's got a real way about him. Got some grays in there.
• 9:35
  He always gives you the backhanded compliment insult.
• 9:38
  [laughs] Um, yeah, as far as, as kind of what, what's changed, I mean, I think the, the biggest thing that's extremely noticeable, and this is, this is Reynolds, but this is across the industry, is just the, uh, sophistication of the technology, right?
• 9:51
  I mean, the, the things that we can do with software today that, that weren't possible 10, five, three years ago, um, it's, it's unbelievable.
• 9:59
  So I mean, that's, that's the big thing that stands out is, is how sophisticated the technology is.
• 10:04
  Um, you know, I've seen this company specifically, Reynolds, Reynolds, um, you know, make a, a real strategic decision, and this is going back quite a few years, um, to, to focus on building out an entire retail management system for dealers.
• 10:19
  Um, and, and there's a lot of different approaches to it, and we don't need to get into the details.
• 10:22
  But I would say, you know, the decision to do that and build this, this platform and this ecosystem to run your entire retail operation on, um, has really enabled a lot of those advancements.
• 10:32
  I mean, you look at some of the stuff that's out there today, and, and I'll speak to, to our stuff 'cause I have experience with it.
• 10:37
  But, you know, you look at things like Occupad, and you look at things like advanced service back and, and fixed operations.
• 10:42
  Um, a- and you look at what we're able to do from an online retailing perspective and having a single deal. Um, y- you can really only do that with a single system.
• 10:51
  So that, that's been the biggest shift and the most visible one.
• 10:54
  Um, I would also say, you know, the way that we work with customers, um, work alongside them, a- and really partner with customers is, um, is something that's been really fun to watch grow and evolve.
• 11:06
  We've always, uh, you know, had a focus on our customer success.
• 11:09
  But the way that we've, um, evolved and, and really worked hand-in-hand with our customers certainly over the last few years, um, it's been, it's been a really fun, um, you know, fun ride to be a part of. Dude.
• 11:22
  That's awesome. So, uh, like, there is all of this tech, and there is- Yeah... all of this, like, trying to get everything into a single system or a single deal.
• 11:31
  Or like, our, our industry has been obsessed with how do we have the, the tech to enable, like, our people to do their daily job.
• 11:43
  When, when do we start talking about, like, do, do you really feel like we're mapping that to customer experience?
• 11:50
  Or is it this, like, innate desire to create something n- new or to connect something that we have more pain for than the customer has?
• 11:59
  Like, where's the, where's the connection point there, do you think?Well, I think there's a lot of... That's a, that's a question that there's a lot of ways to look at.
• 12:07
  And I, starting with, with consumer experience, are we mapping to it, I think the short answer is, is yes. But at the end of the day, um, you don't necessarily wanna be reactive to the consumer experience, right?
• 12:18
  It's important to understand what they want, what they expect, what they're seeing in other places.
• 12:21
  Um, but, but the, I think the true core value that, that we're gonna add as an automotive retail kind of ecosystem is, is building experiences that are, are certainly great for the consumer, that they may or may not know that they want.
• 12:36
  Um, but also create kind of net new opportunities for us as a car dealership to, to, uh, really interact with our customers and, and profit, right? And create that, that value in every interaction.
• 12:49
  Um, so when you think about it that way, and you think about, yes, we need to make sure we're meeting customers where they are.
• 12:54
  And, and quite honestly, I think a lot of us that, that talk about this stuff for a living, whether that's... We started by talking about, you know, content creation. We're all consumers, right?
• 13:03
  And, and I think we're, we're consumers every single second of every single day. Whereas, um, you know, car dealers are, they're car dealers a vast majority of their time.
• 13:13
  They're consumers too, but making sure to look at it through both lenses is important.
• 13:17
  And, and it's, uh, I think, a lot easier for a lot of folks to communicate, um, what it's like as a consumer, 'cause they live it every day, versus what it's like as a dealer to try to, uh, create opportunities.
• 13:28
  And, you know, you think about what's, what's possible today. Um, quick example. So we've probably all done this before, right? You're, you're sitting around, probably the three of you.
• 13:38
  Um, just, just watching you interact, I'm guessing that, that you talk to each other outside of these, uh, these podcasts that you do.
• 13:42
  So you're sitting around, you're talking and, and thinking about, you know, a concert you wanna go see or an album that you wanna buy, something like that.
• 13:48
  And a couple hours later you're sitting at home, maybe on the couch by yourself, and you're scrolling through your phone, right?
• 13:53
  And all of a sudden, miraculously, an ad pops up or a buy now button for tickets to that concert or, you know, to, to download songs from that album. Um, and, and we've probably all said it.
• 14:03
  [laughs] Well, Kyle's the only Swiftie. Is he? Okay. Don't you start with me on that. [laughs] Now, wait. Now you watch, you're gonna have something pop up on your phone later today.
• 14:13
  But the, the, the point is- [laughs]... right, these, these kind of big tech companies, they have so much information about us, they can create experiences, right? Experiences that are great for us, 'cause I want that.
• 14:23
  And, and Kyle wants those tickets to that Taylor Swift concert. He does. Yeah.
• 14:27
  And, and for, you know, whoever's serving that up to me, Facebook as an example, right, they're creating an opportunity, um, for, for, for profit basically.
• 14:35
  So you think about, um, all the information these companies have on us. Google as an example, right? They know everything about me, certainly everything about you guys probably.
• 14:44
  But I mean, they know, um, everything I search online 'cause I use a Chrome browser. They know my calendar 'cause I use Gmail. Um, they know when I'm home and away 'cause I have a Nest thermostat.
• 14:54
  Uh, they know my driving habits because I use Waze. Uh, what else? They, they know what I watch on TV 'cause I'm a YouTube TV subscriber. All these things, right? All your emails. Yeah. They'd know, yeah. Exactly.
• 15:03
  But in a silo, all this information doesn't do a lot. But when you tie it together, that's when they're able to create these cool experiences.
• 15:09
  And you think about a dealership and the information they have on their customers, right? They know who they are, where they live, how much money they make, who their spouse is, what their driving habits are like.
• 15:16
  They know a lot. Um, but the, the, the real fun starts when you can tie all that information together to then create these kind of next level experiences.
• 15:26
  So that's a really, really long-winded way of answering your question.
• 15:30
  But, uh, I think there's a lot of ways to look at it, and it's, it's really a blend of yes, reacting to the consumer and what they expect, but also creating these net new experiences that, that are great for the consumer, but also great for the business.
• 15:43
  You know, you have a really difficult job. [computer notification sound] Because, you know, obviously there's a lot of legacy around the company. Sure. Big company. Um- 157 years. Yeah.
• 15:53
  [laughs] Oh my gosh, I didn't realize it was that many. Yeah. Wait, when did you... How many is it? 157 years. So what did Reynolds and Reynolds do before there were automobiles?
• 16:03
  Uh, yeah, so it was basically a, a general business forms company. So we would print paper forms for businesses. Think like a, a general ledger, right? Something an accountant would use or a business owner would use.
• 16:13
  Um, and so- Did you do, like, checks? Like business checks and stuff? Like, you- We still do. Yeah. We actually still do. But yeah, so checks, forms, that kind of stuff. Yeah, the, the...
• 16:22
  You, you two may not know this, but Reynolds still is the provider of the majority of the industry's paper. Mm-hmm. Like- I did not know that. Yeah.
• 16:33
  So, like, and, and, and not just, like, the majority of the industry's paper, like some of their largest competitors, and correct me if I'm wrong here, but some of their largest competitors still use Reynolds paper to get things done.
• 16:47
  Yeah. [laughs] It's just, it's a nuts thing. It's nuts, yeah. That is mythic. But as you... Yeah, absolutely.
• 16:52
  But as you, you know, move forward too, we're starting to see clearly a growth in, in moving that paper into digital formats. Right. Which, which actually makes the licensing a lot easier. So, um, you know, for...
• 17:03
  You mentioned competitors. But no, seriously, I mean, when you have a, a form- [laughs] It makes sense. I was just blown away...
• 17:07
  a, a retail, a retail installment contract, right, the LAW 553, everybody uses that contract because it's recognized by all 50 states.
• 17:15
  There's, you know, all the, the, uh, associated F&I forms are available for all 50 states. That's, those are licensed Reynolds products- Yeah... with the IP as yours. Right. Right. Yes. Wow. I love that.
• 17:27
  So see, I, we just blew their two minds. I love this part of the conversation. [laughs] I'm gonna buy Kyle those Taylor Swift tickets now. Well, because both of us before this were like, "What'd you do in, in the 1800s?
• 17:36
  Horse mobiles?" Not die. Right. [laughs] Yeah. [laughs] Well, but here- Boil your food. Okay. So let me... Le- let's map that, right? Yeah. Because that's where the, it's actually the same exact thing.
• 17:47
  It's like the connective tissue of auto is just moving digitally. Right. Right? And so what you're saying about the way that Google knows everything about, like, what your interaction is- Mm-hmm...
• 17:59
  to create really cool experiences, we're moving paper digitally. We're moving interactions digitally. We're mo- moving consumer data digitally. Yep.
• 18:08
  And whether you're-Um, you know, in a single system or in multiple systems, the necessity for that stuff to be licensed or accessed or available quickly is extremely high. Like, it is of necessity- Right...
• 18:24
  right now that we do that as an industry. And I'm sir- I'm sure, like, Reynolds is dealing with how do we, how do we make sure that the marketplace is, is, is ready for that right now? Yeah, 100%.
• 18:35
  And, you know, the, the reality is with where we are right now today, um, take all the, all the voices out there in the world that, that are, you know, obviously positioning and, um, uh, kinda having their, their voice heard, which is important.
• 18:49
  Um, with where we are today, the, the... Still the most effective way and, and one of the only ways to execute on tying all this together is to have a single system.
• 18:58
  Where we're going, I think, where, where I think everybody sees, sees us going, and it's a matter of, uh, you guys talk about it all the time, collaborating and, and finding ways to work together, is, is you're still gonna have a, a single system, right?
• 19:11
  And a single system that, that ties all these pieces together. But it's going to take in and spit out information. The power's gonna be in that, um, that kinda cleansing process, for lack of a better word, right?
• 19:24
  De-duping and, and, uh, making sure everything's accurate. And, and then, uh, your word's right, Kyle, in that you want it to be instantaneous, right? It can't be a, a push and a pull. It's, it's one set.
• 19:37
  So, in today's world, you do that with a single system.
• 19:40
  But when you look forward, and as everything does go more and more digital, it's, it's going to be extremely important for, you know, our industry to, to be able to have that, that real time, um, availability of all of those data points if we wanna be able to, uh, create these, these next level experiences.
• 20:00
  It reminds me, just as we're winding down here, it reminds me of, um, the CEO, this was a few years ago, the CEO of IBM who stands on stage back then and says that data is the new natural resource.
• 20:14
  And then it pans to this room of people and they're like, "That might be the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my entire life."
• 20:20
  [laughs] And you fast-forward just a few years and I think, I, I think I heard something, Greg, where it was like every five years we are experiencing 100 years' worth of innovation.
• 20:32
  And so it's, it's cool to kinda get your vantage point. 150 years of history at a company. There is certainly some understanding of how quickly and how rapidly innovation is happening.
• 20:43
  So I'm curious from, from your vantage point now, what, what is the next, ba- based on what we've been talking about, what does the next three, five years in your opinion w- look like? Um, the next three to five years.
• 20:56
  Well, let me get the crystal ball out of the closet over there, I guess. [laughs] Yeah. Give us the next three to six months. Three to five months. Yeah. What does the next 90 days look like?
• 21:02
  Now that Sam Altman's back, what does the next 90 days look like? [laughs] So, well, all right, you're gonna give me... So next 90 days, first of all, is, uh, is NADA. So guys, get ready. Right. We're ready.
• 21:13
  You know, if you, if you weren't ready for that- Oh... you should be now. We're, we're, like, 10 weeks away- Gosh... at, at time of recording. So I don't know when this thing's gonna air. But- Yeah...
• 21:21
  um, so yeah, next, next 90 days I think you're gonna see obviously some, some interesting things come out around NADA. That's always a stake in the calendar for everybody.
• 21:30
  Um, you know, we're certainly gonna have some, some pieces to that puzzle where we're tying things together, uh, from a, a data standpoint like we've been talking about.
• 21:38
  Um, but I think as we look forward to something that, um, is going to continue to be important and potentially grow in importance is, um, you know, the used vehicle space, honestly.
• 21:51
  Uh, you know, when you think about, uh, dealers, right, franchise dealers, they, they sell new cars. Um,
• 21:58
  but the, at the end of the day, they don't have a lot of control over what their margins look like in that new car space, right? The manufacturer's gonna set the bar.
• 22:06
  Um, supply and demand is gonna limit what they can do around that bar. Um, when you look at the used vehicle space, while it's not their core business, um, they do control a lot more of it, right?
• 22:16
  So you, you decide what you buy the car for, you decide what you sell the car for. The market indicates it a little bit. But for the most part you, you have much more control over that.
• 22:24
  So I think you're gonna see, um, a decent focus there, um, o- on, from a lot of different retailers.
• 22:30
  We've seen this kinda dip recently, right, where some of the, certainly the bigger, um, bigger groups have, have peeled back out of that world a little bit. Um, there's been some volatility. They've struggled there.
• 22:40
  Um, I think, you know, uh, with, with everything you're gonna have those ebbs and flows. And over the next six to 12 months, I, I do think that we're gonna see, um, an increased focus there.
• 22:50
  Uh, and, and it's an important area for, for dealers to be able to be successful, react quickly, um, and have what they need to, to be successful. Awesome.
• 23:00
  Well, Greg, listen, it's always fun to be able to catch up with you. We're glad that we were able to do that today, and wanna thank you for joining us here on AutoFlops. [upbeat music] Always a pleasure.
• 23:08
  We'll do it again soon hopefully. Um, you can, you guys can come back on Connected and we'll catch up, or, uh, we'll prob- I'm sure we'll see you at NADA, too.
• 23:17
  I'm so sad that the last part of our conversation after we hit, after we said goodbye, we, like, stopped recording, we kept talking. And he told us that if you laid out a car deal end to end,
• 23:31
  it takes, it's 39 feet worth of paper. [laughs] It's brutal. 39. It's unbelievable. For one deal. For one deal. That is where I'm sitting all the way to the end of my driveway. Right. Yeah. Basically.
• 23:46
  You've measured that. I, I just- [laughs] I, I've got a good sense of distance. There you go. Yes, he, he walks, he unzips the tent door- Well, and this is why.
• 23:53
  I mean- And then- Like, okay, 39 feet of paper times a SAR of 17 million units. [laughs] And you start looking at that im- We're kids of Moon. How far is it to the Moon?
• 24:02
  Are we gonna do this calculation right now or what?Well, either way, you start looking about, at the impact of- Love it... like, what, like, let's get that straight before we start talking about EVs, right?
• 24:12
  [laughs] Like, the number, the number of trees that automotive knocks down every single year because we don't have our digital processes in line. Mm-hmm.
• 24:19
  And I'm glad that, that Reynolds and Gubagoo and their suite of companies is working toward, toward eliminating or at least dramatically reducing that. And a lot of the industry is.
• 24:28
  I'm not saying it's everyone, but that's nuts.
• 24:31
  Well, well, well- I feel like I'm, I'm doing some calculations, and I think I'm doing them wrong, because now I don't hear what anybody else is saying 'cause I'm on my calculator app. Yeah.
• 24:38
  And I'm going 39 times, what'd you say? 17,000? 17 mil- million. 17 million annual SAR.
• 24:46
  All right, so we're going 17 million, and now we're gonna divide that by 5,280, which is, for the Canadians in the room, that is the distance of a mile. [laughs] That's 125,000 miles.
• 24:59
  So if we can figure out how far the moon is, I feel like we have a social media post in the works. Everybody's, "Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo." Here it is. Ky, how many? How far is it to the moon? 238. 200...
• 25:13
  So we can get halfway to the moon. Okay. Yeah. We could get halfway to the moon every year in paper that was supplied by Reynolds and Reynolds [laughs] to the automotive industry.
• 25:22
  [laughs] That's a good business proposition. It's a great business proposition. Oh, man. The tech is- That's great... no, but, but I, I think, I mean, I always love when stuff like that comes out.
• 25:31
  Kyle knew when he dropped that in the interview. He was like, "I knew that was gonna get the two of you," right? We love stupid stuff like that. That's not stupid.
• 25:38
  It just shows you that the evolution over time of any industry, uh, doesn't, doesn't typically, like, get rid of everything they developed up until that point. They were making paper back in the 18-- Well, what was it?
• 25:50
  18- Yeah. I mean, 156 years. 1800s. Good- Yeah... good night. Well, and- And they're still making paper. And it's still being used- Contrast this against-... to close a car deal...
• 26:00
  contrast this against the, the, the news today about in- what innovation is. It's like, yeah, there's a lot about the open AI stuff, and there's a lot about just AI in general and different, you know,
• 26:12
  doodads and gadgets. But innovation can also, like, for, for the operators out there, innovation is also leveraging tools and resources [laughs] that already exist to create a new package, to create a new experience.
• 26:26
  Mm-hmm. They're looking inward. So, so, like, my point being is Reynolds and Reynolds is looking inward and saying, "You know what'd be innovative? If we just figured out a way to kill all this paper, save the planet,
• 26:38
  and, and make the process more efficient," and therein lies in innovation. There it is. There it is. And saving the, and saving the planet. Well, hey, on behalf of myself, Michael Cirillo, and Paul J.
• 26:51
  Daly, we really appreciate you joining us on this episode of Auto Collapse. See you next time.
• 26:57
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• 27:09
  If you love this podcast, please leave us a review and share it with a friend. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you next time.
• 27:19
  [upbeat music] Welcome to Auto Collapse. Welcome to Auto Collapse. [laughs] Why are we recording? [laughs] Are we rolling yet? Not yet.