LIVERMORE, Calif. – A California-based replacement parts distributor and dozens of its service dealer customers are accelerating the pace of vehicle repairs by leveraging the latest Internet connectivity and electronic catalog solutions from Activant Solutions, according to the company.
Six Rivers Warehouse in Eureka, Calif., has deployed an electronic parts research and ordering interface that enables service dealers to complete virtually any repair ticket and parts order in just minutes in conjunction with their existing R.O. Writer shop management software. The distributor’s Internet-based solution utilizes Activant AConneX connectivity to integrate area shops’ business management software with the Activant PartExpert electronic catalog and Activant Cover-to-Cover graphical eCatalog module, enabling users to more quickly complete a service estimate and then order and receive the necessary repair parts and supplies for a job.
Leon’s Car Care Center, Eureka, is leveraging the Activant-powered system to increase bay productivity and help ensure that customers’ repaired vehicles are available when promised. The shop prepares estimates, repair tickets and parts orders using the R.O. Writer shop management system, which is linked via an Activant AConneX connection to the Six Rivers Warehouse and its suite of Activant eCatalog products. “When a customer asks if we can have their car ready that same day, we don’t have to make a series of time-consuming calls or create estimates based on hunches or guesswork,” said Leon’s Car Care Center General Manager Dale Warmuth. “Thanks to quick access to parts and repair information through the Activant products, we can look the customer in the eye and tell them exactly when we will have their car ready.”
A majority of Six Rivers’ largest customers now utilize Activant AConneX connectivity to look up and order parts, enabling the distributor to handle more sales while eliminating the need to hire an additional counterperson. About 90 percent of the estimated 800 monthly parts orders received from Leon’s Car Care Center are now processed through the Activant AConneX connection, according to Six Rivers President Ken Cook.
“The volume of electronic orders is growing all the time,” Cook said. “Our customers love the convenience. They not only skip the phone counter, but they also get all the advantages of access to the Activant electronic catalog on our system.”
Warmuth of Six Rivers agreed. “There’s no way we could do the volume we do without Activant,” he said. “The Activant technology inside the R.O. Writer software streamlines virtually every step in a job. If we didn’t use Activant, we might still be in business but I think we’d be doing about one-third the volume.”
