Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has introduced Tire-HQ, its next-generation business-to-business Web site. Tire-HQ is the successor to Goodyear's XPLOR.
"The launch of Tire-HQ is one of the first actions by our new supply chain organization to improve and simplify the customer experience," says Jon Rich, president of Goodyear North American Tire. "Extensive customer feedback indicated Goodyear's B2B process needed some changes in order to make it easier for our customers to do business with us, and we are listening.
"We are committed to working with our dealers to ensure they get the maximum benefit from our products and services, and Tire-HQ exemplifies this."
More than 8,000 users and more than 10,000 business locations use XPLOR to conduct business with Goodyear. They can check tire availability, place orders, review order status and receive marketing and advertising communications.
Tire-HQ presents all of the functionality of XPLOR in a revised interface, but adds new functionality in the areas of invoicing, sales and adjustment processing.
Any Goodyear-affiliated dealer with an existing XPLOR account will be able to use Tire-HQ.
"Time is the most critical resource we have, and Tire-HQ is a good example of how dealers can save time," says Joe Cross, owner of Scott Tire Sales Inc. in Saginaw, Mich.
Cross was privy to a preview of Tire-HQ at the Goodyear Dealer Meeting in Orlando, Fla., in February. "HQ is so user-friendly; it's easy to understand and use. HQ has features that not only help to eliminate paperwork and mistakes, but also can help potentially generate sales. My people will be using it daily."
Cross says incorporating the Internet into your business is a necessity. "If you don't use the Internet, you're not in business. Having access to real-time information is a real competitive advantage."
