LIVERMORE, Calif. – Activant has reported that an independent automotive parts distributor in West Virginia is strengthening its bottom line and capturing new service dealer business with the help of its Activant Eagle for the Aftermarket computer system.

Wholesale Auto Parts, Summersville, W.V., says it has increased its gross margin by 1.5 percent and landed an $80,000 to $100,000 multi-store commercial account since implementing the Eagle system in 2007, according to owner Mark Smith. The distributorship has also dramatically strengthened its competitive advantage over the several retail and wholesale auto parts chains in this town of just 3,400, he explained.

“We understand that our success is based on our ability to set the benchmark for quality, service and professionalism,” Smith said. “If we’re going to be as good as we say we are, we have to give ourselves and our people the tools to deliver on that promise. That’s why we chose the Activant Eagle system.”

The Activant Eagle solution is a functionally rich, user-friendly business management system designed to help increase parts stores’ sales, margins and customer loyalty. The system provides store employees with fast, easy access to all of the tools – including the Activant PartExpert catalog with VIN lookup, Activant OE Carry-Forward data and Activant Cover-to-Cover graphical eCatalog module – needed to provide a superior customer experience. The system enables Smith’s staff to complete virtually any business transaction without leaving the counter.

“We’re completing more work with the same amount of people,” he said. “Overall, we’re faster, smarter and more accurate. The Activant Eagle system allows us to be that good.”

Smith also has leveraged the Activant system’s advanced Internet connectivity tools to offer customers 24/7 access to billing records and other account information, graphical parts catalog and the Internet Auto Parts (IAP) electronic store. The availability of these Web-based services helped Wholesale Auto Parts land the largest commercial account

in its history, Smith said. “We had been trying to earn their business for several years. The Internet capabilities we now have thanks to the Eagle system made a huge impression on them,” he said.

In addition to extensive Internet functionality, the Activant system has given Smith’s employees an array of additional tools that are tightly integrated into their counter workstations. Each counter position now features Activant’s suite of electronic catalogs; a functionally elegant point-of-sale system with bar code scanner; electronic signature pad; and ready access to account information, including customized notes designed to help the counterperson provide a superior customer experience. Each counter terminal also automatically alerts staff members when an online order is received via the business’s IAP electronic store.

“Our customers are genuinely impressed with the technology we use,” Smith said. “They see we really are committed to leadership in everything we do. We’re not just another guy who wants to sell them oil filters.”

The Activant system also has helped Smith to reduce the time needed to complete many back-office tasks while dramatically enhancing his “control” of important processes. “I’m making better, smarter sourcing decisions and saving a lot of money in the process,” said Smith, who used the Eagle system’s flexible inventory tools to save $8,000 in purchases over the course of a single month. He also is using the system to capture significantly higher volume discounts from multiple vendors.

Smith said the Activant Eagle solution’s extensive reporting capabilities allow him to more accurately track reasons for lost sales and address these issues on a scheduled basis. These and dozens of other benefits have made the move to the new system a powerful catalyst for growth, he said. “We looked at just about every other system out there, and this is by far the most comprehensive.”

For additional information regarding the Activant Eagle system and other innovative business management solutions, contact your Activant representative, call 1-800-380-9015, or send an e-mail to [email protected].