Article: How to Implement Computer Automation to Get the Results You are Seeking
By Doug Howard, President, BDG Entrepreneurial Services

There is no avoiding it. Computer automation is here to stay! Cash register systems, engine analyzers, and store scanners are all computer driven. But is all of this technology improving the way we operate our service stations and convenience stores?

Back office software for the petroleum industry offers convenience store and service bay modules designed to improve both store and bay performance. The fact is that only a small portion of the technology that is available in these systems is actually being used. In fact, many dealers who buy these systems are not getting the return that they could or should from their investment.

I believe that there are five steps to implementing automation successfully. And surprisingly, the first step has nothing to do with software at all.

The first step is to evaluate your business operation to determine what management information and automation results you need to improve your business. For example, in the convenience store business it may be helpful to know which items are not selling. Or, it might be helpful to know how many cigarette packs of particular brand were sold during a promotion. In a service station, you might want to know what your profit margin is for a particular vendor. Or, you might want to be able to print follow-up cards from the work orders that have been done in the past. For either type of station, you might want to be able to track expenses, monitor your accounts receivable or produce payroll. The first step in the process is to determine how automation can best impact your operation and enhance the bottom line.

The next step is to get the involvement of the people that will actually be using the automation tools. Store managers, service writers, auto technicians, bookkeepers and others must be included in the process. They will know best the type of information that will be useful in their work. This process will also indicate to you how much your organization is ready for change and where obstacles to change may lie. Keep in mind that if you are not going to change your operation based on the management information you generate from an automation system, it is unlikely that you will reap the benefits of your investment in such a system.

Once it has been determined what system features and management information is needed, it is then time to select the appropriate software. So what should you look for in a software system? Well the fact is that you should evaluate the software company as well as the software itself. You should consider the following:

1. How long has the software company been around?
Today’s world of technology is full of “flashes in the pan”. As a result, there are dealers in the area with systems that cannot get support or upgrades. Companies that have been around ten years or more have made transitions from DOS to Windows and other conversions and have survived.

2. How well does the software function?
Some programs are easy to use. Others are more cumbersome. The software you choose should be easy to navigate should not require entering the same entry in different places and should make it easy to access information. One mistake many automation buyers make is to look at how easy it is to put data into the system and fail to see how difficult it is to get information back out of the system.

3. What training will be received?
Training should be done on-site at your store location. It should include several of your key people to avoid the possibility of having the one person trained on the system leave your company. Training should also include some form of follow-up training once your people have gotten to work on the system for a while. Finally, included in your training should be proper set-up of the system. It does no good to be trained on a system that is not configured properly with UPC numbers, accounts receivable and accounts payable set up.

4. What support is available?
No matter what program you buy, there will be technical issues. You need to know how support is provided, what the support hours are and what the cost of support is.

 

5. Spend time talking to users of the software
There is no better source of information about how a system works and how a company supports the product than other dealers that have the system.

Once the software has been selected, training must be given a priority. The training company should have a schedule for training and checklist of items to be covered. You need to schedule properly to insure that you have several people available for training. You also need to be sure that during this training they are not completely distracted with the daily operation of the business. The more you commit to proper training, the better your implementation of automation will be.

The last step is the one most often overlooked.

The last step is to review your operation to be sure that management information being produced by the system is accurate, understood, being used and making an impact on your operation. If it is not, you will not get the return on your investment that you should.

With these steps followed, you will have the tools and information to improve your convenience store or service station. If you have a convenience store you will be able to control prices at the register. You will be able to monitor slow moving items. You will be able to track items that are frequently out of stock so that more can be ordered each week. You will be able to make merchandising decisions based on the profitability of section of the store rather than on gross sales.

For you service station dealers you will be able to use the system to implement customer follow-up to generate more repeat business. You will be able to track the performance of individual technicians. You will be able to track inventory parts to insure that unused parts are returned for credit. You will be able to produce professional looking work orders.

For either type station, you will know where you stand on cash, accounts receivable and accounts payable. Fuel reports will give you information about margin, projected volume and the true cost of what you have in the ground. In all, you will have more immediate information about your business.

If you are starting to automate your business, these steps should help guide you through the process. If you have already gone through the process and have not yielded the results you wanted, you should go back to step one, contact your software company and go through the process again. If you have not yet decided you automate your business, tuck this article away somewhere because your time will come!

Learn how BDG Automation Technologies can help you automate your business.