“Shopping for a car has become extremely efficient,” Visconti said. “You can go to any of these OEM websites and research, shop and build, look at nearby dealer inventory, get trade-in quotes, and even financing. I think we can have an early run of Pro-Direct in a few months. We’re talking to NADA about interfacing with prices. It’s one-stop shopping.”
Earlier this month, the company hired chief technology officer Carol Hindsman to lead Pro-Direct’s development and roll-out.
Visconti said Pro-Direct will enable prospective buyers to customize boats, compare prices and inventory, apply for financing, evaluate trade-in values, and even arrange delivery — all at their convenience. The primary goal is to create a cohesive experience that bridges the gap between the builder, dealers and consumers.
Visconti emphasized that dealers will still play an important, integral role in the hybrid Pro-Direct model.
“We don’t sell direct,” he said. “People want to check out models on the lot and take a boat ride. If someone builds and purchases a boat on Pro-Direct, the dealer in that area will get credit for that boat. The platform will make the buyer’s experience better. At the end of the day, this has to be about the customer.”
The creation of Pro-Direct brings together all of the systems involved in a boat purchase, including the dealer-management system, the lead-management system, inventories and more into the web-based platform.
“No one in the marine space has pulled all this together under one roof. We’re really trying to bring a product that’s good for the industry that we can white label,” Visconti said. “It will be Pro-Direct, not Twin Vee Pro-Direct. Our goal is to get it working right and then roll it out to other manufacturers. We’ve got to think big.”
The ultimate ambition for Visconti and Twin Vee is to license Pro-Direct to other boatbuilders to create a more integrated marine marketplace “benefitting consumers and dealers alike,” Visconti said. By modernizing the boat-buying process, Visconti hopes to reduce costs, increase accessibility and maximize value for prospective buyers.
“The big goal,” Visconti said, “is to build excitement around an amazing industry and get people and their families out on the water to enjoy themselves.”
