GARAGE VEYS CAN RESPOND AT SPEED THANKS TO CALMCO
“It is as if the mist suddenly clears and you have a clear view again. We had so much data that we could no longer see the wood for the trees. And then you suddenly have an understanding of everything, and in a very simple manner.”
Carl Veys, business manager Garage Veys
Volkswagen and Audi dealer ‘Garage Veys’ from Deerlijk can look back at a good track record. What once started as a small garage in 1928 has grown to become a successful company after three generations. Today sales are ticking over at some 1,000 cars a year, but the team is still small. The small-scale of the team is a force, but also requires efficient operating methods, clear analyses and a quick understanding of the figures. Current owner Carl Veys was immediately convinced that CalmCo’s tool could be an excellent aid here.
CHALLENGES
At Garage Veys they work with a Dealer Management System (DMS) also determined by the importer. That didn’t make the search for a user-friendly ready-to-use tool easy. Everything must revolve around the data in the specific databases. This was not a problem thanks to CalmCo’s experience, knowledge and analytical capacity.
“CalmCo was able to personalise the tool and adapt it to our systems. I am certain that tools you order from companies without comprehensive knowledge of the automotive sector for example are not so flexible and do not meet our requirements at all”, explains Veys.
THE SEARCH FOR MORE INSIGHT
Spending one and a half to two hours preparing for meetings and drawing up reports each day anew … Carl Veys was so tired of it all. What a loss of time too. He had already done some research into potential tools on the market, and the importer had also already made some suggestions, but no solution whatsoever met the expectations. Carl Veys was really in search of a total package. After a meeting with CalmCo and a half an hour demo he was immediately convinced and the contract was signed. “I cannot imagine there being another tool that simply shows all figures in such a visual and clear way”, says Veys.
IMPLEMENTATION
Considering CalmCo already had experience at other customers with the same DMS, the BI system was fully implemented in a very short while. The solution is user-friendly and self-explanatory. You can get going practically based on instinct. All parties were immediately involved with the project at Garage Veys. Sales, after-sales, accounts and Carl himself all needed the solution. The solution was also subsequently introduced in the workshop. The most important of all: all these end users now clearly see the effect of the switch.
IN PRACTICE
Today the after-sales department really knows how to keep a finger on the pulse better than ever; they see exactly how many work orders there are and for how long each work order remains outstanding. These data are now very easy visualised and are also associated with targets. This is examined each morning so the employees have an understanding of their performance themselves. Independence trumps all.
The figures are also used intensively by the sales department. “There are obviously quotas we must achieve. The sellers can now themselves see how they are performing, and at the sales meetings the figures and graphics are used to display evolutions”, explains Veys. “It has also been a vast improvement for myself. The preparatory work for meetings has now completely gone. A serious difference. The tool offers a lot of convenience, at the office, on the move… wherever I may be I can find and display all important information in no time at all.”
Veys has also already taken some steps from a finance perspective. A number of matters of which the cause was previously not clear have now been explained in a simple manner. The way of working has changed, and that can gradually be seen from the figures. Garage Veys is able to respond at speed, and in an extremely competitive market that’s what makes the difference.
COOPERATION
“Besides the solution, the services from CalmCo are also truly first class”, continues Carl Veys. “I needed a further number of highly specific reports. After a few hours of work I could probably have created them myself, but a call to CalmCo does wonders. The reports were already in my mailbox the next day. That’s what I call service.”
