The rapid development of new communications technologies and their integration with IT systems are opening up opportunities for the tyre industry to reap huge operational benefits.
According to Cam Systems, a greater number of tyre businesses are now taking advantage of these opportunities, which have been made possible by advances in internet, broadband and GPRS technologies and the improved sophistication and reliability of IT systems.
Cam has been at the forefront in helping businesses take advantage of these new opportunities. Its market-leading Cameo software programme utilises broadband links to receive and process data and work to deliver new facilities and services which can revolutionise the way companies go about their business.
Real time trading
The ability to track sales, stock, distribution and invoicing as it happens in real time across a network of locations and sites means vastly improved efficiencies and time savings.
Mike Allen, managing director of Cam Systems, says real time trading offers the opportunity for retailers and wholesalers to radically update and improve the way they go about their business.
“Improved IT systems and the wider availability of competitively priced internet and telephony services have made it possible for many more businesses to consider moving to real time trading. We have more than a dozen customers covering all sectors of the industry that have made the switch or are planning to in the near future,” he said.
A selection of the customers who have already worked with Cam Systems to change to real time trading include Micheldever Tyres, Treadfirst Tyres, Philip White Tyres, Tanvic Tyres, North Eastern Tyre and Exhaust, Town Tyres and Mr Tyre. At least four more will make the switch in the next few months and there is interest from many others keen to move their businesses forward.
For Louise Larvin, wholesale director at Mr Tyre, the benefits of real time trading are found in improved efficiency, particularly in working with the company’s 20 retail outlets. “It’s made an enormous difference to the way we work. Because each centre can see the exact stock position at any time, we can supply more of their requirements, which reduces the amount of external sourcing they need to do. The reduction in paperwork and administrative time is also a major bonus, as is the improvement in the picking and distribution of orders from the wholesale centre, particularly at peak times such as Monday mornings when weekend orders are processed,” said Louise.
With real time visibility of job cards, invoices, sales and pricing information for all networked locations, a live operating environment gives instant access to accurate reporting on performance to predefined targets. Users can analyse volumes and margin at any time and react according to both local and global performance.
All stock held across the business is immediately available for sale, with real time visibility across all locations. The well worn statement of “I think we have some at our other depot,
but I’ll have to check” becomes a thing of the past as a live operating environment brings significant improvements in stock transfer between sites, eliminating the need for re-keying. Improved real time information means improved customer service and improved sales.
Stock files are constantly updated with product code, description, manufacturers’ part number or bar code and prices. With Cameo supporting unlimited stock locations this means complete control across multi-warehouse and multi-centre businesses. Transparent, real time view of stock holdings allows values to be accurately recorded, making stock quantities and valuations totally reliable.
Despite the clear benefits now within reach of most businesses, the majority of tyre businesses still rely on end of day and overnight transfer of data to a head office or central location. Compared to real time trading this is relatively inflexible, less efficient and much more time consuming.
Based on the unmatched experience of helping more than a dozen customers move to real time trading environments, Mike Allen believes it is possible to improve operational efficiency by up to 30 per cent for many businesses.
“Real time trading cannot paper over the cracks of a poorly run business but it can definitely improve efficiency and add margin to those who are well structured or have ambition to grow. Across the board, I’d say it is entirely feasible to improve efficiency by up to 30 per cent, which is a huge step forward in most cases,” said Cam’s managing director.
