The Client
An NYSE-listed company generating over $2 billion in annual revenue, CDK Global provides end-to-end technology solutions for vehicle dealerships. From industry-leading Dealer Management Systems, to cutting-edge digital marketing and a range of other operational solutions, CDK is an industry leader.
The Situation
CDK Global operates in more than 30 countries and across a wide range of dealership types. From cars to heavy machinery, from boats to RVs, if it’s on wheels (or on water), CDK software powers the dealership and drives business success.
After 40 years of expansion through mergers and acquisitions, CDK wanted a website that gave it a cohesive presence worldwide. Leveraging Drupal 8 on Acquia, CDK set out to create “One CDK,” a global brand with a single unifying vision: Customer Connected. Dealer Driven.
The Challenge
This was a big project in every way. More than 40 existing websites spread across more than 30 countries had to be consolidated. More than 325 unique pages of content to be written for the US site and subsequently translated into 26 local languages. CDK had a lot of work to do quickly, efficiently, and to a high standard.
At this scale, it was also challenging to centralize the information scattered across so many sites. Excellent planning was required to accurately catalog what content existed, strategically plan what to include, and organize it in a logical, navigable way.
The Solution
Blue Foundation Media worked with CDK to design and develop a multilingual website to support 30-plus countries and languages using Drupal 8 on Acquia, merging all existing sites onto the same top-level domain and the same CMS. Due to the scale and magnitude of this project the Acquia support team played an integral part in making infrastructure recommendations that enabled a successful launch.
First, Blue Foundation Media conduct an extremely comprehensive two-part audit and strategy. This include auditing the existing sites’ performances, conducted stakeholder interviews with more than 30 individuals (the notes ran to more than 50 pages), conducted SEO research, and delivered strategic recommendations, user personas and a sitemap that set the project up for success.
Next, CDK built individual sitemaps for each country, each of which organized relevant information intuitively for the user. For example, on the US site – which served the most industries and contained the most content – CDK built a solution finder to enable dealers to address their main pain points quickly, without having to navigate deep into the site. Finally, Blue Foundation Media completed frontend and backend development to WCAG 2.0 Level AA compliance standards.
The Results
The brief was to create “One CDK”. With a single digital presence that delivers a compelling user experience, CDK Global now has one international, unified website that reflects its size, scope, and commitment to its customers. And with the scalability and capabilities that come with building on Acquia, CDK is set up for long-term success.
To date, more than 40 websites were merged and 25 languages are supported.