Kalamazoo - Reynolds and Caffyns:
Two companies with over a century in business and at the leading
edge of dealership technology
Caffyns is one of the motor industry's enduring success stories. A family run business, established in 1865 and supplying vehicles since 1903, Caffyns set the standards for today's dealerships. Over the years Caffyns has become a publicly quoted company and now runs 29 retail and trade sites throughout south east England. The company holds franchises for 14 makes of vehicle and is an ever-present member of the prestigious Automotive Management Top 100 dealer groups.
Caffyns also has a long history with Kalamazoo - Reynolds. Having initially signed in 1993 they extended their agreement with Kalamazoo - Reynolds in 2005. Over that 12-year period Caffyns has been in a position to build on their investment through the continued additional functionality provided by Kalamazoo - Reynolds. Where it has been necessary for other dealer groups to completely change their DMS, Caffyns has enjoyed an uninterrupted and continuous process of enhancement.
Chris Fullalove has been the company's Director of IT for 4 years and in that time has worked with Kalamazoo - Reynolds to introduce many of the software developments that have contributed towards Caffyn's success.
When asked about his relationship with Kalamazoo - Reynolds Chris commented, "I appreciate Kalamazoo - Reynolds' depth of automotive industry experience and fully acknowledge their contribution to our company's success in recent years."
Kalamazoo - Reynolds - helping Caffyns staff make the difference
There are a number of areas in which Kalamazoo - Reynolds has contributed significantly to Caffyn's success. Staff are a key element in every organisation and at Caffyns, staff trained to use the Kalamazoo - Reynolds system make a vital contribution to the success of the business. One of the many benefits of this training is the level of skill the staff then bring to the business and the ease with which they can move from site to site with minimum interruption to the workflow.
Taking advantage of the latest technology offered by Kalamazoo - Reynolds, Caffyns is currently planning interactive, Internet based training for their update classes. This means that the staff can have exactly the update training they require without leaving the dealership therefore minimising disruption to everyday business.
Providing the control you need
According to Chris, Accounting and F&I are particularly strong areas of the Kalamazoo - Reynolds system. With F&I, sales staff find that they have the tools to close more deals in less time and at a greater profit. Elements such as negotiation tools and sales aid screens all combine to make the sales process more efficient and effective.
Accounting is a particularly powerful part of the Kalamazoo - Reynolds system and fulfils Caffyn's desire for centralised control over all business transactions. Chris adds, "We find that the Kalamazoo - Reynolds software provides us with all the financial and management information we need. The customised reports are particularly helpful in analysing the financial position of the business."
Support - the vital ingredient
Support is a vital part of the relationship between DMS supplier and dealer, and one on which Kalamazoo - Reynolds places a great deal of importance. Kalamazoo - Reynolds support staff are assigned to their own individual customers. In this way they build a detailed knowledge of their customers' system set-up and their particular needs. This is a situation which, Chris says, "Works very well," adding, "it's good to know that when we call Kalamazoo - Reynolds support, we reach a member of their staff who not only understands our software but our particular business needs too."
Building stronger relationships
Dealerships are now making greater efforts to build relationships with both customers and prospects. The accuracy of customer and prospect data is therefore a major influence on the success of the operation. From a Caffyns point of view Chris comments, "The Kalamazoo - Reynolds software has played a key role in gathering high quality customer information around which we have built our CRM processes, particularly the merging of our customer and vehicle databases."
Kalamazoo - Reynolds is proud to have had such a long association with a company of Caffyn's stature within the motor industry. The foundations of that relationship lie in understanding and meeting the customer's requirements and aspirations. Kalamazoo - Reynolds will continue to play our part in what we believe will be a long and successful future for the Caffyns name.
