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Article: Getting the most out of your
technology investment
By
Doug Howard, President, BDG Entrepreneurial
Services |
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| It was not all that long ago that service
stations and convenience stores were making the decision
to bring a computer into the business. Today, computers
can be found in most stations. But are dealers getting a
return on this investment in technology? Now that’s a
different question. |
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| Technology is a tool. It can be used to transform
a business by gathering data and producing management
information that can help a dealer operate more
profitably. But, computer automation is not easy and
results are not guaranteed. To get a return on your
investment, you must commit to not only install computer
hardware and software, but also to use what comes out of
your system to change your business and improve your
operation. |
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| There are important steps to getting a return
on your technology investment: |
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Have clear and written goals for your
business each year |
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Determine how computer
automation will help you achieve these goals |
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Select and purchase software that will meet your
automation objectives |
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Successfully implement the
system and provide adequate training to all of those
that will use the technology |
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Monitor your
operation to be sure that the system is being used
properly |
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Review information generated by the
system to identify possible areas of improvement for
the business |
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Make changes to your operation to
improve your performance |
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| Many dealers put great emphasis on selecting
software and getting it installed. Much less emphasis is
put on making sure that employees are getting full use
of the system and on using the information generated
from the system to make changes in the business to
improve profitability. |
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| If you have a bay management system in your
service station or auto repair shop, ask
yourself... |
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Do you have workstations in the bays for work
orders to be entered? |
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When a customer brings in
warranty work, can you access the necessary
information on the computer? |
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Do you use follow-up
cards and letters to thank customers for their
patronage and to encourage return visits? |
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Do you
use your customer base to identify customers that have
not been at the station for some time or to do
promotional mailings? |
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Do you use your system to
track productivity of your techs and consider this
information when setting their hourly rates? |
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Do
you use your system to track credit card batches to
insure you’ve gotten all of your
payments? |
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| If you have a scanning system in a convenience
store, ask yourself… |
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Do you use the system to track slow moving
store items and then replace those items? |
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Do you
use the system to monitor cost changes from your
grocery vendor and adjust prices accordingly? |
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Do
you maintain a perpetual inventory and evaluate your
stock loss each month to determine where problems
exist? |
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Do you use sales and gross profit reports
to identify merchandising changes needed and to
evaluate the results of those changes? |
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Do you use
your system to get electronic invoices from your
grocery vendor? |
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Do your use your system to track
accounts payable, write checks and reconcile your bank
account? |
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| If you have already automated your service
station or convenience store and find that you should be
getting a better return on your automation investment,
you have some options: |
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Spend some time working with your system to
see all that it can do and identify expanded uses of
the system that could benefit your business |
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Change the way the business uses or fails to use
information being generated by the system |
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Contact
the software company to get additional training on
those aspects of your system not being used |
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Find
another dealer that has the same system and discuss
with them how they are using the system and
information generated from the system |
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Retain a
consultant to review your use of automation and your
operation to identify areas for improvement. This
consultant should also be someone that can help
develop and implement strategies to get more from your
investment in technology. |
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| If you have not yet introduced computer
technology to your station or store, now is the time to
develop strategies for doing so. It is important to
understand that there is more to the process than just
picking the right software. The introduction of
technology to your business is a fundamental change that
can affect all aspects of your business. However, if you
go through the process properly, it can yield tremendous
results. |
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| One thing that has become clear about technology
is that it is a moving target. That which is
state-of-the-art today, will be outdated tomorrow. All
business owners must learn how to move forward with new
technology. They must do so in a way that allows the
technology to impact the way that the business operates
so that a return can be realized on what will be a
continual investment in technology. |
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| Learn how BDG Automation
Technologies can help you automate your
business. |
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