One measure of the increasing influence of IT in the modern tyre business is the growth in use of integrated financial software programs designed specifically to meet the distinctive requirements of the tyre industry.
“Traditionally, many retailers and wholesalers have used off-the-shelf financial packages such as Sage and Pegasus, which are excellent in many ways,” explains Kieran Burroughs, finance manager at Cam Systems. “But while these provide the standard financial reporting systems required by all companies they are limited in the sense that most run independently of the main IT operating system. This means there is normally a great deal of double handling of journals and financial data between the two systems, which is extremely time consuming and prone to human error.”
Increasingly, industry software suppliers are making financial programs available which can be fully integrated with the tyre-specific operating system. In the case of Cam Systems, the Cameo program can now be integrated with the new GL (General Ledger) software, allowing seamless transfer of data between the two.
Programs like GL have many advantages over independent systems in that they talk the same language as the tyre-specific operating system. For example, they can recognise and deal with issues like warranty claims and returns, which are common in the tyre industry but not in general business.
Other key benefits include:
“There still needs to be the same level of discipline and rigour in working with these new programs because if you put rubbish in you’ll get rubbish out,” confirms Kieran. “But what they do allow business owners to achieve is a level of financial stewardship, rather than financial micromanagement, which is common when the information is less freely available or reliable.”
IT systems are only as good as the support available from the manufacturer or installer, so tyre businesses are well advised to satisfy themselves on this point before committing to a new way of financial reporting and management.
“Installation, training and support are obviously as important in this area as any other. Most companies now have in-house personnel who look after accounting functions so it is essential that they are comfortable with a change over. In most cases, accounts people are delighted with the freedom programs like GL deliver, allowing them to spend time on more rewarding and valuable tasks than repetitive double entry of data,” says Cam’s Kieran Burroughs.
