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u s i n e s s s e r v i c e s What’s going on in your workshop By William Barclay I often feel the workshop department in a motorcycle dealership is not valued as much as it should be. I remember back in the seventies, I was working for the Queensland Suzuki distributers rebuilding RE5 rotary engines (now that’s showing my age). One day the owner came down and asked me to investigate why that, although we looked busy, the workshop was not making any money. Now I love this sort of challenge and I really went to town looking at everything from admin to mechanic ratios to labour efficiency. However the biggest surprise to them was that the Workshop was in fact making money, it was just that the accounting systems were not reporting the internal work correctly. For example, a mechanic could spend all day working on sales bikes but because the internal transactions were not being reported accurately it showed Sales making artificially high profits and the Workshop (and Parts) making artificially low profits. Once we had accurate figures to work with it was easy to make decisions to improve not only the Workshop but business efficiency overall. A few years later, after I had started my own motorcycle dealership, we started looking for the ‘ultimate’ computer software to make this sort of thing easier. We tested countless computerised systems but they were either too long winded, or could not efficiently handle what we needed to do. We decided that the only way we were going to get everything we wanted was to design a system ourselves. Our first system was called ‘Biketech’ and it was a massive success in the UK (It has been the market leading Join the winning team! for motorcycle dealers 1300 652132 BIKEBusiness 8 Nov - Dec 2009 b u s i n e s s t o b u s i n e s s hi-performance software It’s powerful.. it’s easy to use.. It can evolve your business ! Evoposcrease sales, improve customer service and re- could be one of your best business decisions info@evopos.com.au motorcycle dealer system there for over 20 years). However with a changing industry, new technologies and the feedback from hundreds of our dealers we felt we could do even better, and for the last 8 years we have been quietly designing the latest generation of Dealer Management System called ‘Evopos’ at our Development centre in Queensland. The workshop features in Evopos are exceptionally easy to use and brings dealer reporting to whole new level. The workshop often used to be the last department to be fully computerised. One reason was that it was hard to get a computerised diary that was as easy to update and access as a manual diary. Another reason is that it was just too difficult or timeconsuming to log engineer’s time (especially on internal work). Evopos can solve both these problems. And because we are getting the full picture we are able manage and improve the workshop much more effectively. For example because we know the proficiency, efficiency and productivity ratios for each engineer, we can reward good performance and also highlight when an engineer may need additional training (eg: if taking longer times on electrical jobs). Evopos also helps in other areas, for example it helps ensure parts are not missed off the invoice and it helps controls sundries and consumables. Your customers will appreciate features like the automatic SMS or email reminder when their job is ready or parts are in. And with the automated ‘story’ generation, a detailed description can be created in a few key presses which can help enormously with the accepting of labour charges. So give the workshop it’s fair due. It can be a great profit centre and it is where many customers are won or lost. For more information contact Evopos 1300 652132. Bike Business Extra Value Over the past two years our readers have been enjoying the service offered by Bike Business providing easy access to industry related product updates industry news and technical applications. Always looking for a means to continue to enrich this service it has become apparent that delivering multiple copies of each issue to dealerships may do the trick. With multiple copies of the magazine each related department can have quick access to this industry resource. Typically the Service Department, Accessories Department and Management can receive their own copies of each issue of Bike Business. Best of all there is no charge for multiple copies the magazine is FREE to the trade. To register for multiple copies of each issue of Bike Business contact the publishers on 03 5862 3091, or email the request for extra copies to bikebusiness@westnet.com.au AUSTRALIA’S MOTORCYCLE PARTS & ACCESSORIES INDUSTRY MAGAZINE BIKEBusiness Issue 13 September - October 2009 b u ssi n e s s s tto b u ssi n e s ss Motorcycle Diagnostic Solutions Demonstrations available Australia wide A Revolution In Workshops motorcycle traction control Life of a Motorcycle Dealer PLUS - News - Accessories - Parts - Service - Workshop This issue:
u s i n e s s s e r v i c e s MCSales boast over 3000 bikes and 150 dealers Australia Wide Nearly 150 Dealers around Australia, have been signing up and embracing the fresh new approach from the owners of McSales, Steve Broberg and Kim Atkins who are dedicated to giving all users what is needed for the industry. Mcsales.com.au is just getting bigger and better, growing with many new and unique features, users can not only search for the exact make and model they want, they can also search for new, used, damaged or learner leagal motorcycles, and if that’s not enough searches can be carried out for just the style. Also added to the search menu are ATVs, Farm Utility Vehicles, Trike’s and Jet Skis. Users then have the choice to email, phone or drive straight to the dealership by printing the full listing page with Google Map location & contact details shown. While Dealer feedback is shaping the site into just what motorcycle dealers, farming and motorcycle community wants, plans are afoot to expand the site to accommodate Power Equipment, Mowers, Ride-ons, Small Engines, Pumps and Generators, as many country and regional dealers also stock these items for the property owners. While McSales aims to provide the best trading platform for all city and rural Motorcycle Dealerships, it is also looking into the demand of “dealer to dealer wholesaling.” The wholesale prices of dealer’s units will only be visible to users who are logged in on their dealer accounts, so private users won’t know this feature exists at all. This just might be the answer for old stock gathering dust, when other dealers might have ready buyers. McSales can also provide upgrade portals to replace dealers existing Autogate or Trading post portals, if they choose to switch to mcsales.com.au for their “View All Our Bikes” Link on their own website. The upgrade portal will show all bikes by a dealer, with no access to other bikes on the site. While there are four different subscription plans to suit all size dealerships, there is no hidden charges, no contracts, no email lead charges, and you will always be allowed to display full contact details and dealer locations for the life of www.mcsales.com.au. All dealers still get a dedicated home-page about them, linked to all their bikes. For set-up & Quarterly prices, go to www.mcsales.com.au and click on: pricing, contact us, or email steve@mcsales.com.au for a full dealer demonstration & sign-up. McSales Dealer Sales & Demos, Steve Broberg 07 55297 336 or 0418 758277 McSales IT assistance and Websites, Kim Atkins 07 5573 6101 or 0433 091199 Chifley Eastern Creek At Chifley Eastern Creek you are ideally positioned directly opposite Eastern Creek International Raceway, and just 2km from the junction of the M4 & M7 Motorways allowing for easy access to all areas of Sydney. The 4.5 star hotel features 104 stylishly appointed rooms and suites, complete with high speed broadband in all rooms and LCD televisions in the suites. Hotel features include 24 hour reception, indoor heated lap pool, fully equipped gymnasium complimentary onsite parking and shuttle service to surrounding areas. Phone: 02 8889 7700 Visit: www.chifleyhotels.com/easterncreek Email: reservations.easterncreek@chifleyhotels.com BIKEBusiness 9 Nov - Dec 2009 b u s i n e s s t o b u s i n e s s
Page 1: AUSTRALIA’S MOTORCYCLE PARTS & AC
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Page 10 and 11: i k e s & a t v s BRP ADDS A TOURIN
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Page 31 and 32: Genuine Yamaha oil filters Genuine
Page 33 and 34: t e c h o t a l k to the atmosphere
Page 35 and 36: ADVERTISING INDEX Admant 19 & 21 Ai

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