How This Top 50 RV Dealer Keeps Track of Its Vast Inventory Online and In-Store

For Vogt RV Centers in North Texas, you either “go big or go home.” The dealer has been in business for over 40 years and carries a vast array of new and pre-owned RVs along with servicing everything that it sells. Always putting its customers first, the dealer also has its inventory online.

Vogt RV has been recognized both by the RV industry and in its local area. The dealership won several RV Business Top 50 Dealer Awards. It is also one of the top 100 privately owned companies in Tarrant County. It’s been one of the leading motorhome dealers in Texas for over 30 years.

The dealership was founded by Danny Vogt in 1967 in the lot next to his parent’s marine store (when he was still a teen) and is now on its second generation of owners. Greg Walker is the Chief Operations Officer at Vogt RV and has been in the industry for about five years. He explained to us how going big on inventory can be simplified when the inventory number is always right.

How would you say your dealership sets itself apart from the competition?

Greg: “We care a lot about how we do things and doing them the right way counts. We prioritize our customers; we excel at service and taking care of them. We’ve been family-owned and operated for 40 years. We also sell a big assortment of high-quality brands in our industry, including Airstream, Jayco, Leisure Travel Vans, Midwest Automotive Designs, Pleasure-Way and Tiffin Motorhomes.”

How do you ensure your products and services meet your customer needs?

Greg: “First, you’ve got to listen to the customer – that’s one of the biggest things. Then we make sure that we permeate excellence in everything that we do. So, you want to have the right people, the right process and the right vendor partners.”

Can you talk a little bit about your role and key responsibilities?

Greg: “I came on as the Chief Financial Officer and now I’m our Chief Operating Officer. My job is to help support the whole operation, with direct involvement in everything other than Sales and Finance. So, I help a little bit in IT, Admin, Human Resources, Marketing and some Fixed Operations. With direct involvement with everything sales or finance.”

What would you say is the toughest part of your job?

Greg: “I really like my job; we have a lot of fun. I don’t know that there’s any single toughest part. Sometimes, it’s a challenge to get good folks. We get some, but you always want more, so staffing appropriately is where we put in some extra effort.

We are always looking for help. The employment industry has changed over the last 10 or 20 years. Obviously, we’ve moved to a more digital approach, and even that continues to change at a fast pace. We’re always trying to figure out the best way to get our name and our story out there.

We try to pay a lot of attention, when recruiting, to hire the right people. We have a relatively well-thought-out testing process on the front to get some assessments to see who’s a good fit.”

When did you implement IDS, and what was the initial reason for getting it?

Greg: It may have been driven by Y2K, so our dealership started with IDS in 1999.

What would you say are some of the must-haves when it comes to a system like IDS, and does IDS have them?

Greg: “Obviously, you need all the basics. You need to be able to handle Accounting, Inventory and Sales. On a more advanced scale, you want it to integrate with your CRM. It’s got to connect with your website; that’s as clear as day in today’s world. You also want it to be intuitive and easy for your users.

So far, we’ve been very happy with IDS. It has everything we want.”

What would you say is the biggest reason to own a system like IDS?

Greg: “I think it depends on where you are in the life cycle of the dealership. When you’re young and small, it isn’t as important – you can use Quick-books or something similar. Once you get to a certain size, you’ve got to have an integrated system that can handle all of it, that connects all aspects of the business and is available for every department to use. Pretty early on, you’re going to need something that covers the whole scope of the dealership.

In the long run, you want accuracy from your reporting, and you want to make sure that you’re gaining time efficiency between all of the folks that work with it. You need an integrated system that everybody can use, or else, you’ll never make it.”

What functionality helps you the most with your job?

Greg: “Inventory. In my mind, it takes no effort. If we input a piece of inventory, it’s in there and it’s right. As long as we can get the system to talk to the website, which is not normally a problem, then it’s always correct.”

How much has IDS contributed to the overall success of your dealership?

Greg: “Having a system like IDS has been very, very helpful. You know the old adage, ‘You get out of it what you put into it.’ The more effort that we put in and the more resources we have dedicated to understanding all the capabilities the system has, the more it’s rewarded us.”