Margins are under pressure. Regulatory uncertainty is making it harder to maintain pricing strategies and protect profitability. Electric vehicle (EV) adoption is accelerating — but not evenly — and trends shift from quarter to quarter. Across the board, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and dealers are navigating more complexity than ever. In an industry defined by constant change, effective business planning has never been more challenging — or more critical.
According to our recent research conducted alongside The Harris Poll* study, less than half of auto dealers are very confident in their ability to keep up with the changing needs of the future, down 10% from 2024. Yet many OEMs and dealers still rely on Excel-based planning models — manual, error-prone tools that can’t be updated on demand and simply weren’t designed for the pace of the modern automotive landscape. The result? A disconnect between strategy and execution, where static plans and limited visibility make it harder to compete and grow.
That’s why Urban Science created the FinancialView business planning module: a user-friendly, fully online solution that helps automakers and dealers navigate today’s market realities with clarity and confidence.
A Single Source of Truth
Spreadsheets are still widely used in business planning across the automotive industry. But they’re far from ideal. Manual data entry, disconnected files and version control issues slow decision-making and disrupt efforts to stay ahead of market volatility.
Urban Science’s new business planning module replaces these outdated methods with a centralized, web-based platform. The module is fully integrated with the broader FinancialView ecosystem so it automatically pulls in current financial and operational data from both OEMs and dealers. That means no more duplicate entries, fewer errors and better decisions made with up-to-the-minute information.
This connected approach improves forecasting and increases transparency. By working from a single source of financial truth, automakers and dealers gain a consistent, reliable view of performance, providing the context necessary to move from insight to impact.
A Plan for Every Possibility
The market doesn’t operate in a vacuum. Neither should a business plan. Whether it’s seasonal sales fluctuations, rising operational costs or uncertainty around evolving regulations, OEMs and dealers are facing pressure to respond quickly and decisively to economic fluctuations.
With flexible “what-if” scenario planning, the FinancialView business planning module enables users to explore a wide range of possibilities. From EV adoption and shifting policies to disruptive technologies and tariffs, teams can model how different variables might impact their performance.
This approach gives OEMs and dealers the ability to remain agile as conditions evolve. Rather than committing to a single direction, companies can assess multiple strategies and see how each plays out. That foresight helps build resilience and allows for more thoughtful, proactive planning, even in the face of uncertainty.
Aligning the Retail Network
Effective collaboration between automakers and dealers has always been important. But in this business climate, it’s essential. At its core, the business planning module is built to strengthen partnerships across the retail network, aligning strategy, execution and outcomes in a single, shared platform.
The solution allows for specific plans tailored to individual dealers along with high-level network plans that can be cascaded down to dealers within a particular market, region or zone. OEMs can distribute standardized templates to guide cross-network planning. At the same time, dealers have the freedom to adapt those plans based on local market dynamics.
This flexibility carries through to day-to-day use. With the ability to make real-time updates, the FinancialView business planning module helps both automakers and dealers adjust plans quickly, whether reacting to local market shifts or changes to corporate priorities. Instead of approaching it as a one-time event, teams can treat the business plan as a living document: one that keeps pace with performance goals and market conditions.
Benchmarking features bring added clarity. Teams can compare actual performance against their targets, spot gaps early on and take meaningful action to stay on track — all within the same platform.
More Time for What Matters
Beyond strategic alignment and real-time responsiveness, the new business planning module delivers something every team needs more of: time. The business plan that once took hours — or even days — to produce can now be completed in minutes. That frees teams up to focus less on creating plans and more on executing them.
By eliminating manual processes and outdated systems, the FinancialView business planning module equips OEMs and dealers with the tools to act with confidence, adapt with agility and plan with precision — no spreadsheets required.
Learn more about FinancialView and its ability to deliver on-the-go financial decisions that grow network health and maximize profitability.
