Great Lakes Auto Auction

What Great Lakes Auto Auction does

Great Lakes Auto Auction (GLAA) is a dealer-only auto auction headquartered at 25784 State Road 2 in South Bend, Indiana, founded in November 2022. The company operates a single physical facility with four auction lanes hosting weekly Tuesday auctions and serves licensed automotive dealers across Northern Indiana, Southwestern Michigan, and the Chicagoland metropolitan area. GLAA operates as a sister facility to Greater Rockford Auto Auction (GRAA), with shared leadership under President Ryan Clark and affiliation with the ServNet national auto auction network.

The core product is the weekly live vehicle auction, extended digitally through the GLAA Anytime Digital Sales Program, which automatically uploads dealer inventory from management systems to Edge Pipeline, OVE, SmartAuction, and the GLAA website for 24/7/365 sales. Online simulcast bidding via Velocicast enables remote dealers to bid across all four physical lanes, and GLAA Virtual Vehicle Tours allow video-call-based inspection. Ancillary services include a transportation department for vehicle pickup and delivery, reconditioning (full detail, wash/vacs, sale day washes), and post-sale inspections. The company partners with nine floorplan financing providers, including AFC, DPC, NextGear Capital, and Kinetic Advantage, to support dealer inventory purchases.

Revenue is generated primarily through transaction-based fees on vehicle sales, including a $50 online convenience fee for digital purchases and an additional $125 fee for automatic mechanical post-sale inspections on green-light vehicles. Reconditioning and transportation are billed as separate professional services, while floorplan services generate transaction-fee revenue by facilitating dealer financing through partner providers. The go-to-market combines event-driven weekly auctions, inside sales through dedicated online and inside sales representatives, and loyalty-driven retention via the Captains Club point program and annual Customer Appreciation Sale. No public revenue, funding, or institutional ownership has been disclosed.

Name

Great Lakes Auto Auction

Legal name

Great Lakes Auto Auction

Website

https://greatlakesaa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Great Lakes Auto Auction operates a dealer-only auto auction facility in South Bend, Indiana, running weekly live auctions with online simulcast bidding. It serves licensed automotive dealers across Northern Indiana, Southwestern Michigan, and Chicagoland through digital sales, transportation, reconditioning, and floorplan financing partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wholesale Auto Auction Services

NAICS

Automobile and Other Motor Vehicle Merchant Wholesalers (423110)

SIC

Wholesale-Motor Vehicles & Motor Vehicle Parts & Supplies (5010)

akta.pro primary industry

Wholesale Vehicle Auctions (Physical & Online) (TLABAKAA)

Keywords

• Dealer auto auction
• Vehicle remarketing services
• Online simulcast bidding
• Dealer floorplan financing
• Post-sale inspection

Headquarters

HQ city

South Bend

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Vehicle Auction Sales Commission: Transaction-based revenue from vehicle sales at auction. Sellers pay competitive sale fees for vehicles sold through the auction platform.
2. Online Convenience Fees: $50 online convenience fee charged to buyers for online purchases. Additional $125 fee for automatic mechanical Post Sale Inspection on vehicles bought with green light (AG).
3. Reconditioning Services: Full detail, wash/vacs, and sale day wash services provided for vehicles sold through the auction.
4. Transportation Services: Full service transportation department for vehicle pickup and delivery, charged as a separate service.
5. Floorplan Services: Works with multiple floorplan providers including AFC, DPC, NextGear Capital, Kinetic Advantage and others to facilitate dealer financing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Great Lakes Auto Auction is a private, dealer-only auto auction house in South Bend, Indiana that runs a weekly Tuesday in-lane vehicle auction for licensed automotive dealers. It supplements its physical sales lane with online simulcast bidding (via Velocicast) and a 24/7 digital sales program called GLAA Anytime, and offers bundled remarketing services including transportation, reconditioning, post-sale inspections, virtual vehicle tours, and dealer floorplan financing.

Product overview

Great Lakes Auto Auction (GLAA) operates as a dealer-only auto auction platform headquartered in South Bend, IN. The core offering is a weekly live vehicle auction across four lanes, supplemented by multiple digital sales channels and ancillary services. The platform portfolio includes the core Weekly Vehicle Auction, Pre-Sale List for inventory preview, Buy It Now List for immediate purchases, and Post Sale Reports. Digital extensions include the GLAA Anytime Digital Sales Program (24/7 sales via Edge Pipeline, OVE, and SmartAuction integration), Online Simulcast Bidding via Velocicast, and GLAA Virtual Vehicle Tours for remote vehicle inspection. Ancillary services encompass Transportation, Reconditioning, Post Sale Inspections, Floorplan financing partnerships, and the Captains Club loyalty program culminating in the annual Customer Appreciation Sale. The company positions itself as serving Northern Indiana, Southwestern Michigan, and Chicagoland areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Weekly Vehicle Auction In-lane vehicle auction held every Tuesday at 9:00 AM Central Time at the Great Lakes Auto Auction facility in South Bend, Indiana, where licensed dealers consign and bid on wholesale vehicles, with online simulcast bidding available to remote dealers.
• Online Simulcast Bidding Remote bidding capability powered by Velocicast that allows licensed dealers to participate in the live Tuesday auction online, with a published $50 online convenience fee per purchased vehicle.
• GLAA Anytime Digital Sales Program 24/7 online digital sales platform that enables licensed dealers to list, browse, and transact wholesale vehicles any time, outside the weekly live auction.
• GLAA Virtual Vehicle Tours Remote vehicle inspection offering that provides prospective bidders with detailed virtual tours of consigned inventory, supporting confident online and simulcast purchasing decisions.
• Transportation Services Vehicle transportation service that picks up and delivers consigned and purchased vehicles for dealer customers, reducing logistics overhead for regional buyers and sellers.
• Reconditioning Services Vehicle reconditioning service that prepares consigned vehicles for auction sale, helping consignors maximize sale outcomes and buyers receive retail-ready units.
• Post Sale Inspections Post-sale vehicle inspection service, priced at $125 per vehicle, that verifies the condition of a sold unit before delivery to the buying dealer.
• Floorplan Services Dealer floorplan financing service that provides funding for dealers purchasing vehicles through GLAA, supporting inventory acquisition at the auction.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Greater Rockford Auto Auction (GRAA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated company under same leadership. Ryan Clark serves as president of both GLAA and GRAA. Chad Anderson became GM at GRAA in 2014 and VP at GLAA upon its opening. Shares staff and resources including sales team and general office personnel.
• ServNetcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational auto auction network affiliation. Ryan Clark sits on the ServNet board. GLAA operates as a member of the ServNet network providing national reach for dealers.
• National Auto Auction Association (NAAA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry association. GLAA follows NAAA policies and arbitration guidelines effective June 1, 2026. Chad Anderson sits on the NAAA Midwest Chapter Board.
• Auction EdgecoreTechnology or IntegrationRyan Clark serves on the Auction Edge board. Edge Pipeline platform is used for online simulcast bidding, Buy It Now listings, and GLAA Anytime Digital Sales.
• International Automotive Redistribution Association (IARA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry association for automotive redistribution. Chad Anderson serves on the IARA Board of Directors.
• OVEcoreTechnology or IntegrationOnline vehicle exchange platform. Automatic vehicle upload from dealer DMS systems. Part of GLAA Anytime Digital Sales Program for 24/7 vehicle sales.
• SmartAuctioncoreTechnology or IntegrationOnline auction platform integrated with GLAA. Vehicles automatically uploaded for online sales through SmartAuction as part of GLAA Anytime Digital Sales Program.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• IAA (Insurance Auto Auctions): Large salvage and total-loss vehicle auction operator (owned by RBA/Ritchie Bros.), complementary to GLAA's dealer-only used vehicle model but uses similar online auction infrastructure and competes for buyer attention.
• Manheim: The largest US wholesale auto auction operator, part of Cox Automotive. Operates hundreds of physical auction sites nationwide plus the Manheim.com online platform — the dominant incumbent GLAA competes against for dealer consignment volume and buyer draw.
• Copart: Leading online vehicle auction platform with hundreds of sites, strong in salvage but expanding into dealer consignment. Competes with GLAA for online buyer mindshare via digital channels.
• ADESA: National wholesale auto auction brand owned by KAR Auction Services with dozens of US sites and the ADESA Live online simulcast platform. Directly comparable business model to GLAA at massive scale.

Direct peers

• America's Auto Auction: Multi-site US dealer-only and public vehicle auction operator with similar physical-lane and online simulcast capabilities. Closest mid-scale peer to GLAA in terms of operating footprint and target customer.
• Greater Rockford Auto Auction: Sister/affiliated auction under the same leadership (Ryan Clark as President, Chad Anderson as GM/VP). Operates a dealer-only vehicle auction in Rockford, IL with the same business model, services, and operational playbook — essentially a parallel site.

Regional players

• Memphis Auto Auction (now United Auto Exchange): Mid-South regional dealer auction where GLAA's General Manager Heath Phelps previously worked. Comparable dealer-only auction model and physical lane operations but in a different geographic territory.

Emerging players

• SmartAuction: Online-only dealer vehicle auction platform that GLAA integrates with via GLAA Anytime. Competes with GLAA for online-only dealer transactions but at smaller scale than Manheim/ADESA.

Others

• Edge Pipeline (Auction Edge): Technology platform provider powering online simulcast and dealer-to-dealer vehicle sales across multiple auctions including GLAA. More of a platform/ecosystem partner than direct competitor.
• ServNet Auction Network: National network of independent auto auctions that GLAA belongs to; member auctions share buyer reach and operational standards. Peer as a comparable affiliation/operating structure rather than direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Great Lakes Auto Auction