Why did Dewalt’s switch systems?
Greg Dewalt, owner of Dewalt’s RV commented, “We
couldn’t rely on the prior vendor – their products’ lack
of integration between sales and service required that we
look at other alternatives in order to meet both our present
and future needs.”
Why did you choose the IDS Astra system?
"The biggest thing is the versatility of the IDS
program versus the previous system," said Dewalt. "The
report writer allows us to create reports on historical analysis
to give us the information we need to make decisions so we
can be successful in the future." With their old system, “we
had little or no support. With IDS we call for support and
get answers."
How has Astra improved your business?
The IDS Astra system has improved Dewalt’s business
greatly since implementation. Dewalt emphasized “the
ability to see minimum stock reporting with the last three
years of information helps out tremendously for parts orders.
All part numbers are now cross-referenced to all our major
suppliers – Stag, Coast, DTI, and Atwood – this
has been powerful because we now have the choice to purchase
from the low cost supplier."
Astra has also greatly enhanced Dewalt’s ability
to track internal data. “It allows me to do a better
job of managing technicians – it can pull information
for either productivity of the shop or efficiency of an employee
to see who is extremely efficient."
Dewalt said, “Coach-Link integration [with Astra]
is huge for us because all we handle is the Coachmen
line. It
cuts our warranty claim submission time in half, and also
saves time ordering parts. IDS provides the mechanism
free of charge to all of their dealers so the payback
is immediate.”
What criteria do you recommend other dealers consider
when looking at new systems?
“Do your homework on the company,” Dewalt advised. “You
are entering a long-term relationship so you want to make
sure that your software supplier is on solid footing and
going in the right direction. IDS is working hard right now
on providing the electronic integration of suppliers and
dealers together to lower our transaction costs. Only a company
as committed to the RV industry as IDS is going to take this
initiative.”
Family owned and operated since its founding in 1966, Dewalt’s
is a dominant RV dealer that has been consistently recognized
for being among the top-ranked dealers in the country
and has received numerous sales and customer satisfaction
awards. www.dewaltsrv.com
