Choosing the right workshop management software is crucial for the performance and growth of an automotive business. Here are our tips.
Automating your workshop with a management software is the best way to ensure efficient control of your activity. It also helps anticipate needs and simplifies information sharing. To develop, facilitate and make my vehicle or equipment rental activity profitable, it is important to make the right choice. Here are hitech’s software recommendations.
5 key features of a workshop management system
Choosing the right workshop management system means above all choosing a tool with functionalities that meet the challenges of my business. Here are 5 key features that any good workshop management software should offer.
Workshop appointment
Booking a workshop appointment helps estimate the work needed on a vehicle or equipment. It also helps secure the tasks to be scheduled for the technician. It ensures better resource organization and optimizes the workshop’s occupancy rate. Additionally, it improves communication with the customer by providing clear visibility on upcoming services.
Repair order management
The repair order, also known as an internal maintenance order, must be able to be edited from an quote, a workshop appointment or created directly upon receipt of the work to be carried out via the workshop management system. It must show the technicians assigned to the operations and the duration of the tasks. To optimize workshop management, the repair order must be reflected in the technicians’ schedule. Once the car maintenance check is completed, the voucher can be closed to record the operations in the vehicle sheet. It can then generate a possible invoice.
Technician planning
The workshop management tool must be able to feed a database of technicians, jobs and type of tasks thanks to an intuitive and efficient planning. This technician schedule must be updated by creating repair orders by assigning the technicians in charge of the job to be done but also by assigning various tasks (rest, cleaning, inventory …).
Repair order planning
The repair order planning of the workshop management software must make it possible to display with a simple or detailed view the information contained in a maintenance order (vehicle / equipment reference, technicians in charge of interventions). It is preferable for the schedule to be dynamic in order to allow the modification of existing interventions or the addition of new ones. This allows it to filter repair orders exclusively or to also consider scheduled appointments. It is the same for the job types.
Performance analysis
The workshop management application must offer numerous analysis centers that can be fully configured, giving you access to detailed statistics and analyses on your entire activity (extraction of lists of documents, items, vehicles or equipment, inventory reports, customer extractions, dynamic cross tables, etc.). Inventory and supply management in a complete analysis center helps anticipate needs and improve response times. This is just one example.
Automated management is nowadays a major issue to develop the overall performance of a company. Enabling information to be shared and sharing access to all relevant data saves considerable time. This is why these key features are necessary for any good workshop management software to allow me to efficiently manage my activity.
What are workshop management tools?
There are many workshop management tools, in addition to dedicated software, that can also contribute to the growth of your business. The main add-on tool that perfectly complements a workshop management system is a trading and inventory management module. This tool must be compatible and synchronizable with the workshop management software. This allows you to centralize information, avoid duplicate entries, and ensure optimized real-time management of parts and consumables. As a result, you increase efficiency while reducing the risk of errors and stock shortages, improving both customer satisfaction and the overall performance of your workshop.
All these IT tools should enable you to seamlessly manage three highly complementary activities in the automotive industry: distribution, rental, and repair. A trading and stock management software allows you to manage your trading activity completely. This activity is often closely linked to rental and maintenance operations. The management of stocks, purchases and suppliers is therefore managed through this module. The trading and stock tool can also be extended to the resale activity with all the commercial steps from quotation to invoicing.
Finally, a trading and stock management software will be useful for all your activity. On one hand in rental, where it is possible to add the content of a quote / the reservation / the contract an item sold. And on the other hand, in the maintenance and workshop where the use of consumables, spare parts and services call upon the article database. Hence the importance of a trading and stock management software compatible with a workshop management software. A seamless integration between these tools ensures accurate stock movement tracking and streamlined invoicing while improving your profitability.
How to choose a workshop management software provider?
When selecting workshop management system, you’re also placing your trust in the workshop management software provider. This is a crucial factor, as the provider will support you in both the implementation and daily use of the tool. Technical support quality and maintenance are just as important as the software’s features. With 35 years of experience and a skilled team, hitechsoftware has developed a suite of rental and fleet management solutions. These are compatible with leading workshop management tools such as MecaPlanning by 3Dsoft, designed for automotive after-sales management.
This intelligent tool optimizes the planning and execution of all preventive maintenance and repair work for vehicles and machinery. Additionally, this workshop management software is fully compatible with our myrentcar car rental management solution. Whether for business valuation or internal management, this solution records all expenses and automatically rebills accordingly, optimizing workshop operations. Explore the full potential of the best automotive industry software on the hitech blog.
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