MENLO PARK, CA – OPENLANE, Inc., an online auction company in North America where automotive dealers buy and sell wholesale vehicles, announced Michael Briggs was promoted to vice president of transportation.

Briggs has been instrumental to the success of OPENLANE’s transportation services and is responsible for continually improving upon the transport process for consignors and dealers across North America. Since coming to OPENLANE through the company’s acquisition of CarsArrive Network in 2007, Briggs has made transportation an integral and widely-used online service among consignors and dealers, and one that is highly valued for its efficiency and cost-savings when buying and selling used vehicles.

Under Briggs’ leadership, OPENLANE has established itself as a transportation leader within the online remarketing industry. More dealers have continued to take advantage of the full range of services that the company has to offer, which has resulted in over a 200 percent increase in the number of vehicles moved and a 70-percent increase in the average transport distance from 2004 through 2008. As the company continues to develop the technology platform behind its transport services and online auction, dealers benefit from state-of-the-art services and new efficiencies within the online auction process. Since the integration of CarsArrive, OPENLANE has witnessed a 30 percent reduction in average days-to-delivery year-over-year and has a success rate of more than 95 percent in delivering vehicles earlier than the committed timeframe.

“By combining the transportation network of CarsArrive with the technology innovation of OPENLANE, we’re able to offer a unique array of services that make the entire online auction process efficient and seamless,” said Briggs. “The numbers speak for themselves. Between the reduction in cycle times and the timeliness in which cars are delivered, we are providing our consignors and dealers with a true value-added service that increases their satisfaction and loyalty.”

“The promotion of Michael to vice president is a measure of the significant impact his transportation expertise has brought to our company,” said Daniel Farrar, CEO of OPENLANE. “Fully integrated transportation services are a key enabler of the online auction model and the growth of our transportation services. The success we’ve realized with the CarsArrive Network has been such an important part of our company’s growth and positions us as the only online auction company with such a diverse and comprehensive offering.”

Briggs oversees OPENLANE’s carrier network, consisting of more than 4,500 companies with approximately 30,000 trucks, and ensures that all transport services are as seamless and efficient as possible. The company’s online auction, www.openlane.com, provides dealers with the ability to peruse and purchase thousands of vehicles from a breadth of consignors, including auto manufacturers, finance companies, rental companies and many others 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.