Article: Getting the most out of your technology investment
By Doug Howard, President, BDG Entrepreneurial Services

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.

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.

There are important steps to getting a return on your technology investment:

• Have clear and written goals for your business each year
• Determine how computer automation will help you achieve these goals
• Select and purchase software that will meet your automation objectives
• Successfully implement the system and provide adequate training to all of those that will use the technology
• Monitor your operation to be sure that the system is being used properly
• Review information generated by the system to identify possible areas of improvement for the business
• Make changes to your operation to improve your performance

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.

If you have a bay management system in your service station or auto repair shop, ask yourself...

• Do you have workstations in the bays for work orders to be entered?
• When a customer brings in warranty work, can you access the necessary information on the computer?
• Do you use follow-up cards and letters to thank customers for their patronage and to encourage return visits?
• Do you use your customer base to identify customers that have not been at the station for some time or to do promotional mailings?
• Do you use your system to track productivity of your techs and consider this information when setting their hourly rates?
• Do you use your system to track credit card batches to insure you’ve gotten all of your payments?

If you have a scanning system in a convenience store, ask yourself…

• Do you use the system to track slow moving store items and then replace those items?
• Do you use the system to monitor cost changes from your grocery vendor and adjust prices accordingly?
• Do you maintain a perpetual inventory and evaluate your stock loss each month to determine where problems exist?
• Do you use sales and gross profit reports to identify merchandising changes needed and to evaluate the results of those changes?
• Do you use your system to get electronic invoices from your grocery vendor?
• Do your use your system to track accounts payable, write checks and reconcile your bank account?

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:

• 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
• Change the way the business uses or fails to use information being generated by the system
• Contact the software company to get additional training on those aspects of your system not being used
• Find another dealer that has the same system and discuss with them how they are using the system and information generated from the system
• 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.

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.

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.

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