Sullivan Tire & Auto

About Sullivan Tire

Sullivan Tire & Auto Service was founded in 1955 by Bob Sullivan in Rockland, MA. Despite rapid expansion, it remains a family-owned business to this day. Now boasting over 1,100 associates across five states, the business consists of over 60 Complete Auto Care Facilities, 14 Commercial Truck Centers and 3 Bandag Retreading manufacturing facilities. The company operates ten wholesale centers, has over 160,000 square feet of warehouse space and stocks every major tire brand.

Challenge

Sullivan Tire & Auto Service had historically used a DOS-based system to manage their business operations. However, as time went on and the company expanded in size, it became increasingly apparent that this legacy system was no longer suitable for a modern enterprise of its size. "We had our old DOS system for over 20 years," recalls Joseph Zaccheo, CFO of Sullivan Tire & Auto Service. "The old system certainly gave us our money's worth, but we knew we needed to upgrade to modern technology. We wanted to improve the experience for our customers, and the only way to do this was to look for a better solution and make the switch..."

Solution

"We were looking for a modern, state-of-the-art, Windows-based system," said Joe. "The X and Y generations have grown up on Windows technology, and it is easier to train new employees on a Windows-based platform, a huge time-saver considering our rapid growth. As far as functionality was concerned, we needed something that had integrated parts, labor lookup, and factory scheduled maintenance data embedded into the system."

We saw an immediate improvement to our profit margins as a result of VAST’s pricing matrixes.
Joseph Zaccheo – CFO of Sullivan Tire & Auto Service

Benefits

Upon upgrading to VAST, the improvements to Sullivan Tire & Auto Service were significant and numerous. “We saw an immediate improvement to our profit margins as a result of VAST’s pricing matrixes”, Joe says. "Also, the declined services feature has helped us increase the trust we have with our customers by keeping track of all services needed to properly maintain their vehicles. Sales associates simply tag services or items that have been suggested or declined, and when the customer returns or calls for an appointment, these items can be reviewed and offered on a return visit."

History lookup in VAST is a breeze; you can drill down to see where a part or tire was purchased and what the cost was, including the PO and vendor invoice number. Email and fax capabilities have reduced the costs and time involved in delivering work orders and invoices to customers. Using the factory maintenance scheduling information when inputting vehicle mileage and the subsequent recommended service printout is quick and informative, and can be easily explained to the customer. The way in which VAST displays tire images at the counter is also invaluable, especially when you are explaining the attributes to customers and do not have the specific tire in stock.

Joseph Zaccheo