New software solutions make life easier for techs and shops.
Epicor announced a number of innovations at this year’s AAPEX Show. The company has added a graphic catalogue to their well-known PartExpert electronic catalogue of automotive replacement parts, which means technicians and counter people now get a blown-up view of the part they need, complete with a colour-coding system that identifies an OE part, along with the related parts that are needed. Josee Levert, National Account Manager for Epicor told CarCare Business that this is a helpful feature for less experienced counter people.
The graphic component was launched eight months ago as a standalone, then integrated into Epicor’s distribution system, and their jobber management system. Now, it’s part of the company’s e-commerce solution with their B2B website and B2C partners. It will soon be available for the value-added reseller.
Smart Inspection 2.0
Epicor also introduced a comprehensive automotive service workflow solution at this year’s AAPEX Show. The new solution, Epicor Smart Inspection 2.0, streamlines inspection, estimating and repair processes for increased productivity and improved customer satisfaction.
With a phone or tablet, the technician can inspect a vehicle, take photos, and then send a report to the customer’s phone, via email or text. The customer can then decide what they’d like addressed immediately and what they’d like taken care of at a later time.
Epicor Smart Inspection 2.0 is available now in Canada, and according to Levert, the goal is to integrate this feature into shop management systems.
Epicor announced that it has collaborated with Google to develop a new search feature covering automotive replacement parts. Powered by the Epicor ListingExpert parts listing solution, the feature will enable Google users to find parts available with a local jobber.
“We now have Google integration with the shopping cart,” Levert added. “So when people in your area are looking for specific parts, it will let them know that you have it available. Currently it’s available with google.com, and should be available with google.ca within six months.”
