Lange & Fetter Motors: Ending Lost Keys and Key Hunts at a High-Volume Ford Dealership

Before adopting Keycafe, Lange & Fetter Motors managed its massive inventory of 300 to 400 vehicle keys using a manual, free-rein system. Both new and used keys were stored indiscriminately in a single communal cabinet. This outdated setup lacked a paper trail and offered zero accountability when keys exchanged hands between sales, detailing, service, and external body shops.

Staff often spent valuable time searching for keys across the main lot and secondary overflow locations. Without clear accountability, misplaced keys disrupted daily operations, wasted employees’ time, and created ongoing costs for the dealership.

Lange & Fetter Motors implemented Keycafe to improve how the dealership manages its keys. Each employee uses a unique PIN to retrieve and return keys through the SmartBox, creating a clear and consistent process for controlling access.

As vehicles move through the dealership, employees digitally transfer key responsibility from one department to the next, whether from a salesperson to a detailer or a service technician. Every handoff is recorded, giving managers a real-time view of which department has each key and where the vehicle stands in the reconditioning or sales process.

Technicians can also quickly identify and retrieve the keys they need instead of searching the building for them. By replacing manual tracking with a clear record of key movements, Keycafe helps the team stay organized, locate vehicles more easily, and keep daily operations moving.

Lange & Fetter Motors saw immediate improvements in organization and efficiency after implementing Keycafe. Managers can see who has each key, how long it has been checked out, and whether it has changed hands. This makes it easier to locate vehicles when customers are waiting or a car needs to be brought in from storage. Staff no longer have to chase coworkers or follow paper trails to find keys, and the dealership has also seen fewer administrative errors.

The biggest impact has been the reduction in missing keys. Since installing Keycafe, the dealership has had no missing keys, helping avoid costly replacements while maintaining its standard of keeping two keys for every vehicle. By tracking every key movement, Keycafe helps the team monitor keys and resolve issues instead of reaching a dead end, avoiding potential losses of more than $1,600 per month and $19,200 annually.