ADP Lightspeed signs on as MDCE sponsor

MAPLE GROVE, Minn. — ADP Lightspeed has signed on as a “Powered by” sponsor for the 2010 Marine Dealer Conference and Expo. The conference, hosted by Boating Industry magazine, the Marine Retailers Association of America and the marine industry’s leading suppliers, takes place Nov. 14-17 at the Rosen Plaza Hotel and Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.
“This conference is an extension of what we do, working with dealers and industry consultants to provide real-world, business solutions,” says Laurn Rice, VP of ADP Lightspeed. “This is a great venue and a great event to share some of the best practices and technologies we’ve developed with the entire industry.”
In addition to ADP Lightspeed’s role as sponsor, the dealer management software supplier is also sharing, first-hand, some of the insights it has into making dealers more profitable. ADP Lightspeed’s Hal Ethington will share details on how dealer principals can manage their dealerships by identifying, monitoring and improving key result influencers in his session Fact-Driven Dealer Management, scheduled as part of the Powering Profits Track at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 17.
“We’re thrilled to partner with ADP Lightspeed on this year’s conference,” says Matt Gruhn, publisher of Boating Industry. “ADP Lightspeed has a history of helping dealers better manage their dealerships to stronger bottom lines, and that is evident through the company’s educational webinars and its numerous other products and services. The MDCE is proud to partner with a company so focused on educating dealers.”
Last year’s MDCE, which took place at Disney’s Coronado Spring Resort in Orlando, attracted 743 total attendees, an increase of 199 percent over 2008. Of those who attended, 439 were dealership personnel, an increase of 122 percent over 2008, and 228 individual dealerships were represented. In addition, 75 companies exhibited during the show, filling 58,000 square feet of exhibit space, which also represented a substantial increase over 2008.
This year’s event, MDCE 3.0: New Decade, New Market, New Strategies, will once again feature a first-class educational lineup, including three concurrent tracks and more than 20 total educational sessions all designed based on feedback generated through a survey of marine dealers. The exhibit hall at the Orange County Convention Center, a five-minute walk from the host hotel, offers 106,272 square feet of space.
ADP Lightspeed, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, is a part of ADP Dealer Services, which provides integrated computing solutions to over 25,000 auto, truck, motorcycle, powersports, and recreational vehicle dealers throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. ADP, with approximately $8 billion in revenues and 550,000 clients, is one of the largest providers of a broad range of premier mission–critical, cost effective transaction processing and information-based business solutions in selected markets on a global basis. For more information www.adplightspeed.com.
The Marine Dealer Conference & Expo is the Marine Retailers Association of America’s annual conference. It focuses on dealer education in areas such as Sales & Marketing, Service, and this year adds a third track geared toward dealer principals titled “Powering Profits.” Through a five-year agreement signed in 2009, the MDCE is co-produced by the MRAA and Boating Industry magazine. The partnership began in 2008 when Boating Industry provided marketing support and content creation services to the MRAA in addition to helping re-brand the event. That year dealer attendance doubled, and in 2009, aided by a move to Orlando, Fla., the partnership lead to a 200-percent increase in total attendance and exponential growth in exhibit space sold. For more information and to register for the event, go to boatingindustry.com/mdce.