The latest software updates to TireSmart, from JMK Computerized TDIS Inc., allow a tire dealer’s customers and employees to use their smartphones in ways that potentially benefit the dealer’s operations, customer service efforts and profits.
Jim Krakower is the director of system development for TireSmart, powered by JMK. A former tire dealer who has spent the last 30-plus years creating software solutions for the industry, says, “We give features to help a dealer increase their business. A lot of (software companies) do features to record the sale. We do features to embellish and expand (the sale.)”
He says tire dealers are working with both a mobile employment base — employees are hard to find and retain — as well as a mobile customer base, as tire shoppers have seemingly endless options.
“The dealer is like a piece of bologna between two pieces of bread,” he says. “The customer can go anywhere. The employee can go anywhere.”
TireSmart is trying to create solutions to keep employees happy by making their work easier, alongside solutions that make it simple and automatic for consumers to remain connected to and do business with a tire dealer.
In operations and on the employee side, TireSmart released Scan & Load, a program that fully automates every inventory receipt. Tire product code numbers and descriptions from invoices are interfaced with TireSmart’s J-Library, a comprehensive database of tires from hundreds of tire manufacturers. This eliminates data entry errors and speeds up the manual entry process.
J-UPC allows employees to use their smartphones to adjust inventory quantity and bin assignment, and those changes are live in the system immediately.
On the service side, TracSmart gives the front counter sales staff a live view of the status of a vehicle in the service department. Line items note if the work is in progress, if it’s complete, or what technician has been assigned a task yet to be done. If the tire dealership integrates with the J-Buzz texting option, as soon as the work order is completed the store can notify the customer via an automated text message or email.
ServiceSmart is designed for a tire dealer’s customers — whether retail or commercial. TireSmart says it tethers “a customer’s smartphone to your dealership.” A QR code sticker on the windshield gives the customer direct access to the tire dealer to schedule a service appointment (and tie into the store’s actual calendar of availability, so there’s no back and forth.) But the QR code also provides a complete service history with invoices, alignment images, plus upcoming service recommendations, targeted coupons and loyalty point rewards information. Dealers can also attach it to social media platforms to give customers a quick link to write a review.
“Smartphones (and) tablets are ubiquitous for both customers and employees. These bespoke features allow for their innovative application for forward-thinking tire business applications,” says Jonah Toch, senior project developer at TireSmart, powered by JMK.
“Dealers can now leverage their customer’s and employee’s love of their smart devices to maximize dealership operational efficiency.”
