The challenge
McDonald Automotive Group is a family-owned dealership that has served customers in Colorado for over 65 years. With 13 dealerships across the state, they needed a better way to view performance across the entire business. Even after implementing a new dealer management system (DMS), they continued to rely on manual processes and data entry across multiple applications. This made reporting slow and inconsistent, and it was difficult to compare results across locations. In some cases, leaders were seeing different numbers for the same metric.
For executives and owners who review performance daily, inconsistent reporting outputs made it harder to compare information across rooftops and to evaluate trends efficiently. They wanted to move away from manual reporting and use data directly from the source system to create a more consistent, enterprise-level view of the business.
The solution
Our team assisted McDonald Automotive in assessing its reporting environment, identifying reporting gaps, and documenting management’s selected reporting priorities. We focused on modernizing the analytics architecture while aligning with the team's existing report consumption.
While most of our work was completed remotely, an in-person meeting during the assessment phase helped us accelerate alignment. By demonstrating a sample dashboard and a more modern reporting experience, we built executive support and momentum for the next phase.
With leadership aligned on the vision, we worked with management to turn that momentum into a client-approved, Microsoft-based reporting environment. Management identified the DMS as the primary source for selected reporting data, supporting a centralized reporting view. Power BI dashboards provided a more interactive way to access information while complementing the team’s existing use of printed reports. This gave leadership greater visibility across dealerships, helping management identify opportunities to act more efficiently.
From start to finish, our approach met leadership where they were, easing the transition from existing reporting to dynamic and trusted analytics.
The benefit
With a centralized and reliable reporting environment in place, McDonald Automotive now has immediate access to consistent performance data across all dealerships. More than 100 report consumers now receive sales reports in their inbox each morning. With access to these validated enterprise reports, they can more easily compare actual results to forecasts, act on insights with greater confidence, and spend less time validating or reconciling reports.
“The automatic daily reports that Plante Moran helped us configure have been crucial for organizational leadership,” said Zach Adams, McDonald’s accounting FP&A director. “What used to be a manual, time-consuming, and error-prone process is now automatically delivered each morning to decision-makers. As our reporting needs have continued to evolve, Plante Moran’s expertise has been critical in helping us update our reports so they remain relevant and useful.”
As a result, McDonald Automotive is positioned for long-term adoption and expansion of its analytics capabilities across the business. By using data more strategically to support ongoing operations, McDonald Automotive has the platform it needs to power future growth.
