Alliance WD Reduces Lost Sales Through Integrated Features of Activant Eagle System

Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance shareholder Piston Ring Service Company is leveraging several innovative features of its Activant Eagle business management system and Activant LaserCat 3 electronic catalogue to dramatically reduce lost sales caused by incomplete parts data.

“We have counter people across our network who are each saving one sale almost every day using these tools,” says Trevor Tennant, corporate development manager for Piston Ring. “Just a few minutes ago we saved a $400 hard parts sale by using the Activant BuyerAssist feature to quickly analyze the coverage of a competing manufacturer’s part number and then the corresponding, non-catalogued part from our primary manufacturer. Our own supplier didn’t know this part number fit the application, but the Activant tools allowed us to make the sale.”

The most common process for searching for a non-catalogued part is to find a competing supplier’s part number and then “interchange back” to the preferred brand. In cases when the part is not properly listed by the manufacturer, however, the interchange might be incorrect or out of date. Together with Activant All Lines, the Activant BuyerAssist tool provides the Activant LaserCat 3 catalogue user with a list of other applications covered by the competitor’s part number. He or she can then look up these applications through the preferred manufacturer and select the right part for the customer’s job.

“If you’re the counterperson in this situation, unless you’re using Activant’s LaserCat 3 catalogue, you’ve hit an absolute dead-end,” Tennant said. “But in our scenario, we get the sale and everyone’s happy. This is the type of capability that puts us ahead of the competition in the eyes of the installer.”

For more information, please visit www.activant.com.