Case Study2 - Car Valeters IT Implementation



The Requirement
One of the UK’s largest motor vehicle valeting service providers with a turnover in excess of £16 million. Based in Essex, they have valeting teams working nationwide within dealer groups, bodyshops and motor auctioneers. The services provided include
Preparation of new and used vehicles prior to sale.

Cleaning and polishing of vehicles following servicing and repairs.
Maintenance of stock vehicles on forecourts etc.

The valeting teams are controlled by local area managers who receive, check and subsequently submit their valeters timesheets to head office on a weekly basis. These timesheets detail the work carried out, the operatives involved and the customer sites on which the work was completed. All the supplies and materials used by the valeting teams are sourced centrally, deliveries are then made by the supplier, direct to the dealership.

The paperwork, some 1500 timesheets per week, containing up to 25 handwritten entries, covering varying job types, were processed by up to 5 members of staff at the Head Office, resulting in invoices being raised to the customers and paying the individual valeters for the work carried out.

The accounting system in use was not able to provide much in the way of management information and indeed was struggling to cope with the large number of transactions being manually entered on a daily basis.

This combination of inadequate systems and a log jam of paper resulted in a need to hire temporary staff to deal with continual backlog. The company wanted to speed up the processing of the timesheets and the resulting accounting process and obtain timely and pertinent management and financial information.

The Proposal
Having assessed the problem, Link Systems selected the Dimensions product from Access Accounting Ltd. as the most appropriate offering within their product portfolio.

Access Accounting Ltd was formed in 1991 to bring the benefits of the Windows operating system to the mid range sector of the accounting software market. Over the last 10 years, Access has gained an unrivalled reputation for innovation and excellence in this area.

Their use of true 32-bit technology makes their product range suitable for all Windows platforms (including Microsoft Office), and their use of industry standard databases and open system architecture provides an almost unlimited potential for reporting and integration with 3rd party applications.

It was this capability for reporting and integration coupled with its ease of use that led Link Systems to recommend Access Dimensions to the client organisation. In addition, they recommended that bespoke software be created to handle the paper input more efficiently by using the Access Transaction Broker software.

A suite of reports was to be developed to allow the users to monitor the system and to provide the desired management and accounting information.
Link Systems were able to take the transaction history and records from the old accounting system into the Dimensions system so that the users had records and historic data available to them.

The Solution
Agreement was made to the proposal and work on the new systems commenced.
Link Systems offered a complete solution from provision of the network cabling to the appropriate hardware and software required. The concept was to provide a comprehensive technical solution which would enable and assist the client to grow to meet its anticipated business targets.

An implementation plan was designed and agreed with the client, based upon the recommended solution and then delivered within two months. The plan was broken into discreet stages each of which were project managed, installed and tested prior to the next phase commencing. Stage one comprised a full site survey, to identify the appropriate cabling system and cable routes required to satisfy the pre-existing workstation locations. The appropriate hardware requirements were evaluated, agreed and delivered on completion of the wiring system.

Link engineers set up the hardware and commissioned the network and file servers. Full protection for the servers was achieved by providing a UPS system together with a comprehensive data back up and disaster recovery facility.

Network wide virus protection and internet firewalls were installed to provide maximum security for the system and the company as a whole. A Training schedule for the accounting package was drawn up, agreed and delivered to all users to ensure a good knowledge and understanding of the system prior to “going live”.

The comprehensive analysis options which the Dimensions system provides were reviewed and set up to enable timely business reporting to be supported. The documentation required for the new system was customised to portray a corporate style, featuring the client’s logo, and resulting in a modern and professional appearance.

At all times Link Systems have been on hand to provide support and training as well as technical advice. This has been delivered by review meetings, on site support, telephone support and the use of an on line link which enables speedy resolution of any problems which have arisen.

The Outcome
The benefits of the new system were almost immediately apparent. The client is now able to identify and report on several aspects of their operations previously unavailable to them. Examples of these benefits are as follows:-

Identification of where work has been carried out at both site level and vehicle level.
Identification of the true cost of each operation and the profitability of each service provided.
Provision of a detailed breakdown for customers of work being invoiced and when the work was carried out.

Full traceability of the supplies used in the work carried out thus allowing appropriate recharges and thus true costing.

Identification of, and thus recharge of operational expenses to the appropriate cost centres.
Credit control has become easier and more efficient, significantly improving cash flow.
The new system enables the full week’s work to be processed within one working day, providing a saving on staff processing overheads of 18 man days per week.

These benefits have all been achieved with the first stage of the project. Due to the flexible approach adopted at the outset of the project, the ability to grow and enhance the effect of the system is now coming into focus. Dimensions is a dynamic system which is always being enhanced and the client will have the ability to significantly improve the return on their investment still further without significant major expenditure.

The root concept of the project was to establish a comprehensive flexible portfolio of tools which will support the future growth of the business. The basic foundations are in place enabling the building blocks to be set for future growth and development of the company.

Looking to the future, Link Systems are investigating full automation of the timesheet operation using scanning technology. It is also proposed to use e-commerce facilities for the transmission of financial data both within the group and to customers.

Quote from the companies Finance Director
“The installation of Dimensions has proved immediately beneficial to our bottom line. We were able to recover costs which had previously been “lost” and speed up the invoicing process. Due to the improved costing information, our service prices now reflect the true margins we want and wastage has been almost eliminated.

The net effect is that our profits have increased by something in excess of £100k p/a. This represents an astonishing return on the capital invested and, there is still scope for more savings as the new systems bed in”

Update - 2007
Following a period of consolidation, an investigation was launched in 2005 to identify a method of electronically capturing the data relating to

Ultimately, a Web based solution was developed to provide electronic ordering of valets and track their progress to completion.

The data entered by the dealership is polled overnight by the client’s server and periodically entered automatically into the accounts system. The data imported is utilised to create both client’s charges and the valeter’s payment.

The data is also available to the dealership for enquiry purposes and as support to the weekly invoice. In addition, the system also provides an estimated cost to the dealership for budgeting purposes on a daily basis.

The system went live in May 2006.

The Outcome
Since the system went live, a controlled transfer of clients from the paper based system has taken place. Every new client added to the Web based system brings the benefit of a totally “Paperless” transaction from point of order entry to client invoice production on a weekly basis directly from the Access Dimensions accounting system.