June 2021

D igital garage management systems will have an important role to play as workshops begin to plan their way through to a post- pandemic world. Long-term, they will also enable them to compete with both franchised dealers and fast-fits by making their operations more efficient and effective than ever. Anthony McAteer, Trading Director SMR at LKQ Euro Car Parts commented: “Garage management software can boost efficiency and productivity by automating key processes, reducing the managerial burden on garage owners. Using data to predict the length of each job is the best practical approach to scheduling work, and means that garages can maximise billable time while ensuring that the correct level of resource is in place. This is especially important given the disruption to seasonal demand patterns caused by the pandemic, which has made workloads much harder to predict.” Commenting on their own offering, Anthony continued: “Exclusively available to LKQ Euro Car Parts customers, our GMS, CarSys, is designed to boost productivity and efficiency in the workshop, while delivering a more streamlined and professional customer experience. “Totally cloud-based, CarSys houses both customer and vehicle databases, meaning technicians have vehicles’ MOT 38 AFTERMARKET JUNE 2021 GARAGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS www.aftermarketonline.net Garage management systems can help garages run more efficiently in a world where all your time is going to count GET ORGANISED and service histories at their fingertips, and can identify the necessary parts required for a service via a simple VRM look-up. Parts can be ordered quickly and easily through Omnipart, our dedicated online parts ordering system. CarSys uses Haynes Pro data to underpin quoting for, scheduling and completing repairs, and integrates with accounting solutions Sage, QuickBooks and Xero. This allows for slick and professional quoting over email, with all invoices carrying each garage’s branding to ensure a consistent look and feel, giving customers the confidence that they’re dealing with a high-quality outfit.” Anthony concluded: “Visit omnipart.eurocarparts.com for more information.” Newer, smarter As we have seen, post-pandemic, businesses will need to be organised to make the most of new opportunities and cope with shifting workloads. According to TechMan National Sales Manager Leo Freebairn, digital transformation is vital for workshops going forward and in a changed world, garage management systems will play a key role: “Too often we hear the words ‘digital transformation’ when discussing workshops, but what does this actually mean? To some garages who run paper diaries, hand-written job cards and invoice through an Above: TechMan as seen across a range of devices

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