Closing the Absorption Gap — Key Takeaways from Dealership Minds Summit 2025
At this year’s Dealership Minds Summit in Iowa City (July 29–30), the message was loud and clear: aftersales isn’t just important — it’s mission-critical.
With more than 300 dealer principals and decision-makers from across the U.S. ag machinery market in attendance, the summit brought urgency to the table. We were proud to be there alongside them, represented by Keith Oliver, President of Blackhawk.io Americas, to listen, learn, and share how we’re helping forward-thinking dealerships grow their aftersales business, even in a tough sales environment.
The Reality Facing Dealers
Here’s what we heard over and over:
- New machinery sales are down — significantly.
- Inventory is sitting idle — some lots are backed up 12+ months.
- Tariffs and macroeconomic uncertainty are holding buyers back.
In this climate, survival depends on one thing: hitting 100% Service Absorption. But most dealers are sitting at just 73% absorption. That 27% shortfall isn’t just a number — it’s the difference between profit and loss.
What We Learned — and Why It Matters
The Summit confirmed what we’re seeing across the U.S. ag market: dealers need new, proactive ways to drive parts and service revenue — and they need them now.
There’s huge margin opportunity in aftersales:
- ~35% Gross Profit on Parts
- ~65% Gross Profit on Service
Dealers told us they want tools that:
- Get more customers back in the door
- Make recurring service easy to manage
- Automate customer follow-ups
- Use data to improve timing and accuracy
How Blackhawk.io Helps Dealers Close the Gap — Fast
Blackhawk.io is built to supercharge dealership aftersales performance. By using smart IoT tracking, automated service reminders, QR-based customer engagement, and predictive maintenance workflows, we’re helping dealers:
- Increase Parts & Service Revenue by up to 30%
- Lift Absorption by 20%
- Convert idle equipment into repeat business
“I’ve sold more in the first quarter of the year than all of last year,” reports one of our dealership customers. That’s what happens when you stop waiting for customers to come back — and start giving them reasons to.
Learn more:
- Aftersales case study with Youngman Richardson
- Solutions for Dealerships
- Learn about how we deliver Aftersales Growth
- Why service absorption matters and how to actually improve it
- Our connected aftersales platform – NEEDME.com
- Custom, white-label solutions – should you build or buy your own connected aftersales platform?
Want to learn how to improve your absorption ratio? Let’s close the absorption gap—together.
Let’s Keep the Conversation Going
We came to Iowa City to listen — and we’re heading home more committed than ever to supporting dealers in hitting their absorption goals, retaining customers, and growing a more resilient business. If we didn’t get a chance to connect at the Summit, we’d still love to talk. Contact our team, or message Keith Oliver directly on LinkedIn.
