Order on Sunday, sell on Monday

General Motors Corp. hopes a new strategic alliance with Reynolds and Reynolds will bear fruit within a year and result in pilot build-to-order systems that ultimately will allow custom-made vehicles to be delivered to consumers in a matter of days. "I think pilots are going to start showing up very quickly over the next year, even this year. But to build it out will take a number of years, over the next two, three years, to make that fully happen," says Ralph Szygenda, GM chief information officer. The alliance includes GM taking a 10% ownership position in Reynolds, a Dayton, OH-based supplier of auto industry information management systems. The companies will work to integrate GM's e-business information technology and dealer-management systems to offer better online and in-store experiences.