Activant sees spike in distribution business

Many more distributors have stepped up their implementation of technology, say Activant officials, who recently announced a tenfold increase in the implementation of its Eagle® system.

And thousands more are upgrading or replacing their Prism systems.

The Activant Eagle® for the Aftermarket business management solution, the latest Activant computer platform for replacement parts distributors and jobbers, has quickly become one of the industry's most popular new business growth tools, the company states.

Introduced on a limited basis for national accounts in mid-2006, the new system has already been implemented in 78 store locations and is targeted to exceed 200 installations next year, according to a news release.

The Microsoft Windows-based solution, designed to help increase parts stores' sales, margins and customer loyalty, the Activant Eagle solution has already been purchased by such distributors as Parts Depot, Hahn Automotive, Pacific Supply, Parts Warehouse, Inc., Piston Ring Service Supply, Automotive Parts Headquarters, Vast-Auto Distribution, Tri-States Automotive, Distributors Warehouse Inc., and Entrepôt de Montréal. Single-location parts wholesalers are also implementing the system.

"Distributors and jobbers understand that the status-quo isn’t a viable growth strategy in today's aftermarket," says Tom Aliotti, vice president and general manager of the Activant automotive business. "That's why many of the largest and most successful store operators are proactively exploring new ways to serve their customers, and why many smaller businesses are investing in technologies to protect their competitive advantage and re-energize their operations."

The company also released a new release of the Activant Vision™ distribution management system featuring several new timesaving features and a significant extension of the solution’s Microsoft Windows-based graphical user interface (GUI).

Release 8.1 extends the platform's GUI to a variety of additional applications, including accounts receivable, purchase order entry/maintenance and vendor entry/maintenance. This “peer-to-peer” capability also enables the distributor to establish a balancing hierarchy by location, product line/sub-line and minimum part cost, according to the company.