LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Activant LaserCat 3 electronic catalog – a new solution designed to help aftermarket distributors and jobbers revolutionize the parts lookup and selling process – was unveiled yesterday at the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo.
Based on research conducted as part of an Activant-commissioned multi-year catalog usability study, the Activant LaserCat 3 eCatalog was designed to help counter professionals dramatically reduce the time needed to look up, recommend and sell the right parts for millions of vehicles. Featuring a graphical user interface that consolidates critical information within a single screen, the new eCatalog enables the user to launch a look-up with any of three application inputs – year/make/model, vehicle identification number or part description. The eCatalog’s advanced logic also significantly reduces the number of “clicks” required for most look-ups and allows the counterperson to reduce or even eliminate the need to take notes when serving a customer.
“Many customers provide different pieces of information, in different order, to the counterperson,” said Thomas Aliotti, senior vice president and general manager of the Activant automotive business. “When the store is busy and the phone is ringing off the hook, the counterperson is often forced to scribble notes about an application until he or she can ‘catch up’ in their eCatalog. Activant LaserCat 3 instantly launches the lookup with any of three pieces of information, and then helps the user quickly drill down to the right part.”
In addition to providing increased flexibility, the new Activant LaserCat 3 eCatalog helps accelerate each look-up by eliminating unnecessary application questions, according to Activant. Some eCatalogs require users to enter specific vehicle attributes that often are functionally unrelated to the desired part – such as identifying “engine size” when researching brake pads. “When you’re forced to ask those extra questions, a shop owner or service writer can lose confidence that they’re working with a knowledgeable counterperson,” Aliotti explained. “The LaserCat 3 eCatalog speeds the process and helps the counterperson project a professional image.”
The Activant LaserCat 3 eCatalog is available immediately for customers using the Activant Eagle for the Aftermarket business management system. Activant plans to make the new eCatalog available on other Activant platforms in the future.
“This is by far the most powerful, efficient and user-friendly electronic catalog we have ever developed,” Aliotti said. “It becomes even more valuable as a business-building tool when it is tightly integrated into the distributor’s point-of-sale system, as it is with the Activant Eagle platform and, in the very near future, the Activant Prism and Activant Vision solutions.”
