Dale Howard Auto Center on how PartsEdge guided them through a DMS conversion and more
Tony Howard: I’d be happy to speak on that. We we partnered with PartsEdge, I think we’re going on just over two years ago, and really came down to looking for additional support and resources for tools that that we can provide Ryan to help his continued growth and development as the Parts Manager and continue to give him resources to help him get even better at his job than he already was. And then just the additional support. I mean, it’s really, really complicated, really hard to find good people that have a good sense. We’re in a rural market. So we’re a smaller store, and the ability for us to attract good talent is a challenge. And so, this was a partnership, we thought made a lot of sense in that it could take some of Brian’s workload off of his plate. We have some people that are very- this is what they do. They’re experts, they’re subject matter experts in the field of parts. And so we felt it was an opportunity for us to without bringing on an additional person that maybe couldn’t handle the workload, or be brought up to speed as quickly, it was a way for us to get partnered up with somebody that could provide some of those resources. Kaylee, as you know, our situation’s a little unique. We’re a single point dealership, so it’s just one rooftop. In the state of Iowa franchise laws are very favorable for the dealer. So we have Chevy, Buick, GMC, Ford, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram- everything’s in one building. So it’s one rooftop for sales, one service drive for service, and one, one, room for parts. So Ryan’s got a whole lot of stuff going on in there, and a whole lot of hats that he has to wear. And so in addition to the partnership to provide the support for him and additional resources, it was also training and development. Chuck and his team, you guys have been fantastic and the calls that we’ve had and talking through some of the challenges that we’ve seen. We just had an issue here recently where we’re actively working with Chuck and the team to figure out you know, what’s going on and, and try and track down something in regards to an inventory. So it’s, it’s been a great relationship.
KF: That’s great. And Ryan, how long before you guys hired PartsEdge were you in the position?
Ryan Hastings: I started here in 2010 as a parts kind of person. I believe in 2015 they made the move to the Parts Manager- never had done before.
KF: That’s normal.
RH: You know I had never done anything for Ford or Chrysler before. So I was strictly GM. So coming here was a new thing for me to do all three in one building.
KF: Yeah.
RH: There was a whole lot going on. PartsEdge really freed up- I work the back counter of the part department- so PartsEdge really freed up my time from having to worry about the sourcing of the parts and making sure, but other guys are making sure they got them in the right sources. I don’t have to worry about that now. It’s just taken care of overnight. And if there’s any issues, then I call Chuck and not many places can you call the owner of the company and talk to him directly about a problem.
KF: Yes exactly. It’s awesome. It’s a good, it’s a good thing for Parts Managers. And we we’ve been doing it for over 20 years and just know what Parts Managers need to save time, so that you can focus on growing the business because that’s the ultimate goal really is so that you can grow the business. I did want to bring up though, Tony, when we initially started working together, you had concerns because you guys were a smaller operation. And I just wanted to bring up like, how did we overcome those because- of the size of the operation, we’re still able to make an impact with working with you guys.
TH: Without a doubt the concern for us has got to be there’s so many different vendors that are constantly approaching us and talking about the value that they can add for our organization and different sales promotions that all you got to do is sell one more car and it’ll pay for itself. We hear all those types of things over and over again. So we’re skeptical anytime there’s a new vendor partner coming in. I want proof of concept show me that it’s gonna work before we sign on and, and bring everything on board. So the way we went about is that we came on board was said, ‘I know we’re all under one roof and everything’s there, but based on how things are set up for you guys based on franchises, I totally understand’. So we said ‘Well, let’s go ahead and start with GM’, that’s the majority of our parts and service business makes up the biggest share of the three. And so let’s start there and see how things go and if things work as you say they’re going to work, then we’ll take a look at it. And just get some feedback from Ryan early on in the process. We were also about ready to make a DMS conversion. And so we wanted to make sure you know what additional tools resources were out there, again, coming back to the experts, people that that focus in this area and know what to do and knew the Chuck and the team could could help us with that transition as well. So I just thought it made sense. And we talk about expenses. It’s never easy to add an expense, because we know that that takes right from the bottom line. But this is one that we feel that by bringing everything on board, it’s been able to allow Ryan to focus his time and efforts in other areas, like you said, growing the business, helping develop his team and and just one less one less piece that we have to worry about.
KF: Yeah, that’s great. Yeah, that’s exactly, you know, what we focus on. So it’s, it’s great to hear from with your words, you know, what we’ve done, and just I hope to continue working with you guys. It’s been a little over two years and I think we’re gonna keep on making more results and keep going with everything. So.
TH: Absolutely. And it’s, like I said, it’s been great on our end. I know, Ryan’s, I think you won the best idea session at 20. So it’s, it’s been a great, great relationship for us great partnership. And, and I look forward to the continued support and development with Ryan. I mean, when we get a chance to connect with Chuck and the team about, you know, help us understand this, or I just got an email about Ford coming on the RIM Program. And, you know, having somebody that is an expert in that field to be a resource we have access to is invaluable.
KF: Yeah, we, Chuck just did in analysis with all the FORD dealerships that are on RIM. And so I’m excited to share that with everyone else. You know, we’ve been sharing with our clients, but I’m going to share with everyone else just you know, the impact of the has made on the dealerships. And you know, the difference, you know, the guaranteed inventory, the not guaranteed inventory. So yeah, it’s very important.
TH: Absolutely.
KF: Yeah. All right. Well, thank you guys so much for your time and have a great day.
TH: Bye Kaylee.
RH: Thank you
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