VAST Online Journey - Earl Davidson from Discount Tire

Summary

In this discussion, Earl Davidson, who oversees Discount Tire’s expansion into full-service offerings, shares insights into the company's growth. He highlights the challenges faced with legacy systems and the integration of new point-of-sale solutions. Earl explains how Discount Tire has successfully incorporated additional services such as wiper blades and alignments while ensuring smooth integration across 32 stores. He praises the flexibility, ease of use, and customer-focused features of the new system, emphasizing its role in enhancing employee satisfaction, improving inventory management, and attracting top talent with modern digital tools like vehicle inspections and text-based customer communication.

Takeaways

• 😀 Discount Tire expanded its services beyond tires, adding wiper blades and alignments to their offerings over the last two years.
• 😀 The company faced challenges with using multiple point-of-sale systems across acquired businesses and needed a unified solution.
• 😀 Earl Davidson, with 21 years of experience, led the creation of a new full-service division to address the company's needs.
• 😀 After evaluating several options, Discount Tire chose a cloud-based point-of-sale system for its user-friendliness, customization, and scalability.
• 😀 The integration of the new system across 32 stores was completed in just a few months, with minimal training required for employees.
• 😀 The system's inventory management features led to immediate improvements in inventory replenishment, margin increases, and ease of cost adjustments.
• 😀 The ability to manage roles and permissions has streamlined the onboarding process and limited employee access to sensitive tasks.
• 😀 Digital tools like vehicle inspections and text message communications have improved both customer engagement and technician recruitment.
• 😀 The system's user-friendly design has enhanced the customer experience by providing clear visuals and text-based explanations of services.
• 😀 Earl noted that the system's support team is highly involved, providing on-site assistance to resolve issues swiftly and build strong relationships.
• 😀 The integration of the system with external tools like Podium and CarSide has improved operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Q & A

Why did Discount Tire decide to expand its services beyond tires and wheels?

Discount Tire recognized that as they expanded their service offerings, including wiper blades and alignments, their existing point-of-sale system was not sufficient to handle the new services. This led to the creation of a full-service division to support these expansions.

What were the main challenges faced by Discount Tire with their previous point-of-sale system?

The main challenges included a lack of scalability, the need for multiple systems to operate stores, and difficulties with training employees due to complex systems and the need to remember codes and other complicated procedures.

What specific features of the new point-of-sale system made it appealing to Earl Davidson?

The new point-of-sale system was cloud-based, user-friendly, customizable, and offered strong inventory management. Earl Davidson valued its ease of use, which reduced the training time required for employees and simplified store operations.

How did the new system improve inventory management at Discount Tire?

The system allowed Discount Tire to adjust costs and retail prices with ease, which led to immediate improvements in inventory management and margin control. It also simplified ordering, receiving, and managing shrinkage.

How was the integration process of the new point-of-sale system at Discount Tire?

The integration was smooth and efficient. Earl Davidson highlighted that within a couple of months, 32 stores were transitioned to the new system without significant issues. The system was customizable, and the support team was highly involved, ensuring a successful migration.

What role did the support team play in the successful integration of the system?

The support team from the POS system provider was integral to the integration process, providing hands-on assistance, troubleshooting issues in real-time, and ensuring the system was set up properly in stores. This high level of support contributed significantly to the overall success of the transition.

How did the digital vehicle inspection tool impact Discount Tire's recruitment process?

The digital vehicle inspection tool helped attract better technicians, especially those coming from dealerships. Technicians were more interested in working with modern, electronic tools rather than older pen-and-paper methods, which led to a better quality of hires.

What were some of the challenges Discount Tire expected with the digital vehicle inspection tool, and how did it turn out?

Discount Tire initially anticipated pushback from technicians when introducing the digital vehicle inspection tool. However, the response was overwhelmingly positive, and the technicians were eager to use their own devices, making the transition easier than expected.

How did the text messaging feature benefit Discount Tire's customer communication?

The text messaging feature allowed Discount Tire to reach customers more effectively. Customers were more likely to respond to text messages than phone calls, which improved engagement, facilitated faster responses, and helped convert more inquiries into sales.

How did the role-based permissions feature in the new point-of-sale system improve operations at Discount Tire?

The role-based permissions feature allowed Discount Tire to control what different employees could access within the system, ensuring that only relevant information was available to each person. This simplified the user experience, especially for new employees, and helped prevent errors or unauthorized actions, such as pricing changes.