How to Convert a Multi-Location Dealership System

In continuation of the articles regarding switching Dealer Management Systems, we will soon be documenting and making public the steps, so that any dealership, even those with multiple locations, can easily move from one management system to another.

I have always said that business owners and managers make decisions based on the information that is provided to them. Prevalent in the automotive, marine, and RV industries is the fear of a costly conversion, not only in the upfront software fees but also the loss of wages, information, and sales. By publicizing these conversions, we hope to dispel those myths. There are many great options for dealers to choose from and they should be able to make those choices without fear.

Giant Recreation World, a Central Florida dealership with three locations and over $40 million in sales per year will be moving from their current IDS system to Systems 2000’s Software. Founder and CEO, Don McNamara has agreed to answer questions for any dealers wanting more in-depth information during the switch over.

At Independence RV, processes are running pretty smoothly and we will be entering the ‘Bells and Whistles’ stage. In this stage, we will start to implement the functionality that separates today’s systems from yesterday’s text or DOS based systems. These bells and whistles will create efficiencies and ultimately increases profits.

Last week, Rainmaker Software’s company president, Chad Carr, did a press release on their CRM enhancement called “360.” According to the press release, a dealership’s employee can view all sales information for a customer. The “360” enhancement also automatically notifies the salesperson when their customer’s RV is in for service. I haven’t seen a demonstration of their enhancement, but this type of tool is invaluable for a dealer and represents the type of cutting edge software that today’s dealers should be investing in.

Here at Systems 2000 we want to wish everyone a very safe and happy Thanksgiving and hopefully we will see you at Louisville!

– Carl Sconnely
President of Systems 2000, Inc.

Systems 2000 Tip
Excel Spreadsheets – you can customize your Dealer 20 Group Statement by adding your own pages into the spreadsheet. Just reference the data page where the raw data is displayed. This raw data appears in the same cell every time you open the spreadsheet. As an example, on your custom page just insert =Data!O142 into a cell. “Data!” is the page, “O” is the column, and “142″ is the row or line. Just replace the O142 with the column and row that you want to use.