ITASCA, IL — Progressive Automotive Systems, Inc. (PAS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Midas International, had announced the release of R.O. Writer Smart eCat, an Internet parts acquisition tool that reaches out to IAP, AConneX and independent online parts vendors for real-time parts availability and pricing.
R.O. Writer Smart eCat was demonstrated in November to industry participants at the SEMA, CARS and AAPEX tradeshows in Las Vegas, according to Paul Van Camp, PAS director of sales.
Van Camp said that shop owners and managers are always asking, ‘How can I see the parts store’s price in my Activant parts catalog?’
“R.O. Writer Smart eCat provides that information by showing both price and availability of the part in a matter of seconds,” said Van Camp. “Shop staff can create an estimate for virtually any job knowing that the parts are available and can confidently price those parts as well. … While the R.O. Writer Shop Management Suite contained functionality for electronic parts ordering for several years, that technology was generic and independent repair centers could only connect to one supplier at a time," Van Camp said. "With the new R.O. Writer Smart eCat application, independent service centers now have the ability to search multiple suppliers’ inventory levels simultaneously and to display real-time parts availability and cost when preparing repair estimates or ordering parts. We believe this is one of the most important developments in the automotive shop repair industry this decade."
James Nagy, PAS’ director of development, said "We are always looking to provide innovative and efficient tools that help improve our customers’ efficiency with the R.O. Writer Shop Management System. R.O. Writer Smart eCat allows service writers to see actual parts availability and cost and enables them to accurately and confidently communicate the price of a repair and vehicle delivery time to their customers. Finding the lowest cost supplier does not help the shop if that supplier does not have the parts or the parts cannot be delivered in a timely manner. R.O. Writer Smart eCat solves that issue for the shop."
Nagy also said, "Importantly, Smart eCat supports the independent service center’s method for conducting business with their parts suppliers. The products from their preferred supplier or ‘first call’ all show up together, and then as you scroll through the R.O. Writer Smart eCat screens, other parts suppliers also appear in the ‘next call’ order. The R.O. Writer Smart eCat user interface is clean, efficient and modern. We think that it is the best electronic parts ordering tool on the market today."
