Automotive Service Parts upgrades business software, streamlines operations

Aug. 18, 2015
Oregon-based Automotive Service Parts (ASP) recently upgraded its business software, allowing the distributor to improve efficiency, provide better visibility into sales and inventory, and enhance its delivery operations.

The time and expense involved in upgrading business management software often causes companies to avoid a much-needed upgrade for too long. That has real consequences, as older software platforms aren't able to keep up with new technology advancements, which deprives companies of the benefits of those new technologies.

Oregon-based Automotive Service Parts (ASP) recently upgraded its business software, allowing the distributor to improve efficiency, provide better visibility into sales and inventory, and enhance its delivery operations.

ASP was formerly Eugene Service Parts, an independent auto parts warehouse distributor in Eugene and Medford, Ore. It has been in business since 1974. The company started as a repair shop and automotive service center, and then branched out into parts distribution in the late 1970s. The company then acquired another local distributor. ASP now operates two warehouses, along with a service center and machine shop, and has 66 employees. ASP operates as a two-step distributor.

Originally, ASP used Epicor's Prism solution. The business ran on that platform until 2014, when the company implemented Epicor's Vision system and Epicor Compass analytics software. The company simultaneously deployed a GPS-based vehicle tracking system to help track deliveries.

"We had known we needed to move to a different platform for a while, but we stuck with Prism because it was easier and less expensive than upgrading," says vice president and co-owner Gary Davis. "But we needed a system that was more compatible with general computing. We wanted to be able to do things faster, and do things in Excel and then move the data back into the system. It was cumbersome to do that with the old platform."

For larger product lines, it was difficult for the company to run any type of report or create tracking spreadsheets. "We just needed to break an old habit," Davis says. "It's hard to shake everybody up when you're in business. People get comfortable with the way they do things. When you change the software, you're really going to rock their world."

Better data analysis

The updated software has streamlined several operations, and enabled new functionality. When orders are called in to the company's call center, a parts list on the invoice is printed at the warehouse. Warehouse staff pull the parts and take them to a sort table, where they are scanned to match each invoice. Drivers call the warehouse when they are five minutes out from arrival, which serves as a signal for the dispatcher to scan their runs. The parts are placed in a cart by the dock door with each driver's name attached. As soon as they arrive, they can load the parts and begin their deliveries.

The deliveries are tied to the driver and vehicle within the system. The GPS system notes when the drivers arrive at each delivery stop, which closes out the delivery in the system.

With the new system in place, ASP was able to complete its first fully scanned inventory. "We were already scanning everything in as it arrived, but now we scan and verify everything as it leaves the building," Davis says. "We can see every time the part was touched. We know when it arrived in the building, or if it was put away wrong."

ASP is able to create new types of reports, and export the data into spreadsheets for analysis and manipulation. "With Prism, we had to go through several steps to extract the data and get it into a spreadsheet," Davis says. "With Compass, almost anybody can write a Compass repot and extract the information immediately into Excel, and then put it back into Compass."

Davis particularly likes the daily project report he receives every morning. ASP also creates weekly reports on performance and emails them to each sales representative automatically. Data is also sent to OEConnection automatically.

Each time a purchase is made, a copy of the invoice is sent directly to the accounting department. If an invoice gets lost, the system can easily recall it, and then reprint it or fax it to the customer. If a salesman overrides price on an order, management is automatically notified so they can assess the price changes.

ASP has 18 delivery vehicles in Eugene as well as another six in Medford, and also hires couriers for deliveries outside the normal area. The company's new GPS tracking system is integrated with the Epicor Dispatch and Delivery Management System (DDMS). That has helped make loading the trucks faster, and provides automatic confirmation that the deliveries were made.

"It improves our ability to take care of our customers," says Scott Lewis, general manager and co-owner of ASP. "It can interlink with our delivery system, which equals better customer service."

That integration across the platform has been critical to the systems' success. "Before, we had a dispatch guy who would manually type invoices into than Excel spreadsheet to track drivers," Davis says. "Automating that was huge. It's helped us in a lot of different ways. When you deal with as many lines as we carry, our guys were spending a lot of time writing orders, and they didn't have the information in front of them. With Compass, our sales guys can write a report and get the answers they need. We couldn't do that before."

According to Davis, the company is only just beginning to explore the potential benefits the new platform has enabled. "We are at the point now where we are trying to understand how the system works, and that's where our creativity starts to come into play," Davis says. "We're realizing there is more that this system can do for us."

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