Wholesale Auto Parts - Epicor

“We’re completing more
work with the same
amount of people. Overall,
we’re faster, smarter, and
more accurate. Epicor Eagle
allows us to be that good.”
Mark Smith, Owner | Wholesale Auto Parts
Wholesale Auto Parts
Reinforces Market Leadership with Move to Epicor Eagle
Company Facts
• Location: Summersville, West Virginia
• Industry: Automotive
• Number of Stores: 1
• Employees: 8
Leadership Proven in Every Transaction
Epicor Success Story
Counter professionals at Wholesale Auto Parts in Summersville, West Virginia, wear
T-shirts that read, “Let me guess, you’ve tried everyone else.” The message reflects
two key facts: one, there are several parts businesses in this town of 3,400; and
two, when customers want the right answer, right parts, and best service, they
eventually end up at Wholesale.
“We compete with Advance Auto Parts ® , AutoZone ® , NAPA ® , Fisher Auto Parts ® ,
and two independents, and we understand that our success is based on our ability
to set the benchmark for quality, service, and professionalism,” said store owner
Mark Smith. “Basically, we’re telling the competition, ‘We’re this good—don’t you
wish you were?’”
Not surprisingly, this “fiercely independent” store has doubled its sales and
significantly enhanced bottom-line performance since Mark’s purchase of the
business in 1995. In fact, when vehicle dealerships struggle in finding specific
parts or interpreting diagnostic codes, they too turn to Mark’s five highly trained
counterpeople. Highly trained and well equipped, that is, thanks to Wholesale’s
recent transition to Epicor Eagle for the aftermarket.
“Our customers are genuinely impressed with the technology we use,” Mark said.
“They see that we really are committed to leadership in everything we do. We’re
not just another guy who wants to sell them oil filters.”
Technology as a Competitive Edge
Being the best means getting it right—catalog lookup, anticipating and addressing
customer preferences, locating rare parts, maintaining a laser focus on pricing and
margins, and offering value-added services—in every transaction. It means offering
new conveniences such as online ordering, electronic invoices and statements,
electronic signature capture, and fax or e-mail delivery of detailed parts photos—
services not available through many larger competitors. Ultimately, it means partnering
with shops to, as Mark describes it, “drag them into the 21st century.” Epicor Eagle
has been the ideal solution in each of these areas and several more, he said.

“If you’re going to be as good as we say we are, you have to give
yourself and your people the tools to deliver on that promise,” he
said. “We’ve established the expectation for always having the right
answer, the right brands and products, and being able to locate
parts no one else can. The Eagle system is key to that.”
The Eagle solution’s seamless integration of POS and catalog
enables Wholesale’s staff to do what they do best—sell. There’s no
need to leave the workstation to locate old invoices, track down
parts online, or verify that the product they’re sending matches
what the customer is holding in his or her hands. “The ability to be
talking on the phone with your account and instantly fax or e-mail
him a photo of a part or technical service bulletin…well, that’s a
beautiful thing,” Mark said.
This enhanced customer experience enables Wholesale to level
the playing field with the “big boys. ”Wholesale’s Eagle-based
document imaging and electronic signature capture tools, for
example, eliminate the paperwork hassles that impair other store
operations. In spite of these new capabilities, Mark said the Eagle
system was an easy change for his staff thanks to the consistent
look and feel of each software program.
Availability of the system’s Cover-to-Cover graphical eCatalog
at each counter station is itself “worth its weight in gold,” Mark
added. Another key catalog-related benefit is The Epicor exclusive
OE Carry-Forward feature, which automatically updates coverage
listings for existing SKUs when the application design doesn’t
change from one model year to the next. “In the past we had to
guess and hope we were right [about carry-forward parts], but now
our catalog does the footwork,” he said. “This helps us sell more
parts more confidently.”
Success Story – Wholesale Auto Parts
A sales-driving feature of Eagle is a special alert function that
supports Wholesale’s special orders business by eliminating
improper returns, and catalog prompts that suggest related sales
during lookup. Mark is making more strategic buying decisions
as well by leveraging enhanced reporting and PO capabilities to
capture more volume discounts.
“When Mama’s Happy, We’re All Happy”
The benefits of Eagle don’t end at the counter. In fact, the system’s
integrated inventory control tools have helped drive consistent
performance improvements. “Thanks to Eagle, our gross profit is
up 1.5 points because we know precisely what our real costs are,”
Mark said.
Then there are the benefits that come with keeping the back-office
staff happy, particularly when that staff is your wife, Kim. “Kim
used to spend eight to 10 hours at the end of each month just
to copy invoices and send them to our customers,” he explained.
“With Eagle all of that wasted time was eliminated. Believe me, that
made her happy. And when Mama’s happy, we’re all happy.”
“We’ve established the expectation for always having the right
answer, the right brands and products, and being able to Iocate
parts no one else can. The Eagle system is key to that.”
Mark Smith, Owner

Also making Mark happy are the Eagle system’s extensive reporting
capabilities. Wholesale is now able not only to record lost sales,
but assign a reason code to each. Mark can regularly pull reports
indicating lost sales based on lack of adequate stock, national backorders,
pricing concerns, and other issues. This insight ultimately
contributes to faster, smarter stocking decisions.
Indeed, faster and smarter are two characteristics that can be
applied to most areas of Mark’s business today. “We’re completing
more work with the same amount of people. Overall, we’re
faster, smarter, and more accurate. Epicor Eagle allows us to be
that good. We looked at a lot of other solutions. This is the most
comprehensive system out there.”
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Success Story – Wholesale Auto Parts
Epicor Software Corporation is a global leader delivering business
software solutions to the manufacturing, distribution, retail,
and service industries. With more than 40 years of experience,
Epicor has more than 20,000 customers in over 150 countries.
Epicor solutions enable companies to drive increased efficiency
and improve profitability. With a history of innovation, industry
expertise, and passion for excellence, Epicor inspires customers to
build lasting competitive advantage. Epicor provides the single point
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For more information, visit www.epicor.com.
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The contents of this document are for informational purposes only and are subject to change without notice. Epicor Software Corporation makes no guarantee, representations or warranties with regard to the enclosed information and specifically
disclaims, to the full extent of the law, any applicable implied warranties, such as fitness for a particular purpose, merchantability, satisfactory quality or reasonable skill and care. This document and its contents, including the viewpoints, dates and
functional content expressed herein are believed to be accurate as of its date of publication, August 2012. The usage of any Epicor software shall be pursuant to the applicable end user license agreement and the performance of any consulting
services by Epicor personnel shall be pursuant to applicable standard services terms and conditions. Usage of the solution(s) described in this document with other Epicor software or third party products may require the purchase of licenses for such
other products. Epicor, Business Inspired, the Epicor logo, Eagle, and OE Carry-Forward are registered trademarks of Epicor Software Corporation in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU. Advance Auto Parts is a registered trademark
of Advance Stores Company, Inc. AutoZone is a registered trademark of AutoZone, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. NAPA is a trademark of the National Automotive Parts Association. Fisher Auto Parts is a trademark of Fisher Auto
Parts, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. Copyright © 2012 Epicor Software Corporation. All rights reserved. Job# 1,065.