Point S: Efficient operation of repair shop and warehouse
Point S is a voluntary European chain of car repair shops focusing on tires, rims and general car service. In Denmark, there are 19 repair shops – and so far, five of them have decided to switch to Uniconta. Their decision to do so was partly due to their IT supplier, who developed a special module for the management of the tire hotels that are a crucial part of business for the Point S repair shops.
“We were 5 Point S repair shops looking for an alternative to the Navision systems the majority of us used. They were becoming outdated, and they were expensive to run. For example, it cost an arm and a leg to create an extra user access,” says Stine Kamper, who is both the owner of a Point S repair shop in Nykøbing Falster, Denmark and chairman of the purchasing association in Point S. Stine initiated the change of financial system, and her business served as the pilot project for the other four repair shops.
“With Uniconta, we get more value for money. In practice, this means that I can work with accounting, operations and invoicing while my employees use the system for sales. Before, I handled those matters early in the morning or towards the end of the day when our main focus wasn’t servicing the customers. With Uniconta, we now no longer need to fight for access, and can focus on our tasks at the same time.”
Brand new module
One of the important features of Point S was the administration of their tire hotels. The hotels help customers clear their hallways and basements, as they store their tires during summer or winter. It is crucial that there is clear overview of the placement of each customer’s tires, so they are easily found again when the customer needs them.
“Efficient management of the tire hotel was actually one of our requirements for the system when we spoke with JF-Data, in Nykoebing Falster, Denmark, about delivering a solution based on Uniconta. There was no standard solution for just that, so they simply developed a new module for us specifically designed for that purpose. This is not the only example of Uniconta’s ability to adapt and develop for the individual company’s needs,” says Stine Kamper.
Better services provides happy customers
JF-Data has e.g. helped make product search far more efficient than before by expanding the number of search criteria to 12. Simultaneously, all prices are updated centrally for all stores. This means that the 5 Point S workshops can search by manufacturer, tire size, tire type, price and much more when they need to service customers.
“Before, we could almost only search for one item number. With Uniconta, we have gained an overview of the warehouse, which means that we can service customers more efficiently and better. It merely takes a few seconds to find out if we have, for example, a given tire in stock – or if we have another that meets the same criteria. Customers are happy – and we sell more. It almost can’t be a better win-win situation,” she emphasizes with a smile.
New scanning system
Stine Kamper is also pleased with the new scanning system, which beeps the item number of all items that go over the counter, directly into Uniconta. It saves her many hours of troubleshooting and identifying incorrectly entered item numbers. And since the repair shop has 24/7 service for special business customers, she sees a great advantage in being able to access the system from home via iPad or laptop.
“I am often called from one of the ferries to Germany when they have a truck with problems onboard. It’s necessary that I can look up in the system and see if we have the tires or the spare parts that are needed to get them running again – without having to go to the office,” says Stine Kamper.
Easy to get started
Overall, she has been very pleased with the implementation, which has gone without major problems. In fact, it has been effortless to the extent that at one point she became worried and thought it could not be right.
“But that was it. Uniconta is really easy to get started with – and then it has certainly helped that all the workshops had experience with Navision or C5. The foundation is pretty much the same, so as a user you quickly feel at home.”