In 1994, Colony Marine was searching for a more efficient and affordable way to manage their three full-service Detroit area dealerships. Pete Beauregard, Sr., President, decided to find a system to better bring his business together. Upon a recommendation from another marine dealer, he contacted IDS. After having an Astra demonstration, Colony Marine implemented the system at all three sites.

Beauregard and Linda Yax, Controller, were impressed with Astra's ability to integrate different departments of the dealership. Yax commented, "Before using Astra, we had one system in Accounting, and another for Parts and Service that were not tied together at all. We were spending too much time taking information that was in one database and entering it into the other."

Colony looked at several other dealership software packages when evaluating their system needs. Beauregard felt that Astra had the most depth - besides consolidating the accounting and parts and service departments, Astra included additional management tools that the dealership could profit from, such as prospect management, inventory, and sales analysis. "Our systems consolidated nicely with Astra, which eliminated inconsistencies we used to have by running two different databases."

When asked about the ROI from Astra, Yax stated, "There is no way we could operate today without Astra. Doing business the old way would require double the internal staff and tons of paperwork. The management tools are excellent because they track our efficiency and show us where improvements can be made. We are very happy with the system."

Beauregard and Yax wholeheartedly recommend Astra and working with IDS to any marine dealership. Yax said, "IDS is with us all the way. When we need support, the turnaround time is incredible. It is comforting to work with a company that is well-established in the industry and continually grows its technology. Managing the dealership is so smooth due to Astra - it does everything you need it to do."

Colony Marine has been a family-owned business since its inception in 1957, and IDS is proud to provide its management for over nine years. With over 60 employees, Colony is Southeast Michigan's only Boston Whaler and full-line Sea Ray dealer.