PMF looks into how Cramlington Car Parts has implemented MAM Software’s Autopart Online and Autocat platforms.
Cramlington Car Parts has experienced rapid expansion over the past few years, and with new business management software in place, it now looks forward to accelerating this success even further.
The single-site motor factor started using Autopart Online and Autocat from MAM Software in April 2020. Since then, the solutions have helped the business to become more streamlined and adaptable during one of its busiest years to date.
Choosing a cloud-based software solution
Steve Wilson, Cramlington’s Director, explained how opting for the cloud-based version of MAM’s business management software made the most practical and financial sense to the company.
“There are so many benefits to using Autopart Online,” Steve highlighted. “From a space saving perspective, we’re a onebranch business, so it didn’t make much sense for us to host all our own servers. With the cloud, MAM takes care of all this on our behalf.”
The cloud also delivered unforeseen advantages for Steve and his team when a national lockdown was enforced in March 2020. Cramlington Car Parts had the latter stages of its implementation carried out remotely, as lockdown meant that the onsite training they had already started was no longer possible.
“Thankfully, we were at a point where we were able to go live,” Steve continued. “MAM’s Professional Services team was available whenever we needed them and offered remote assistance, but the system was so intuitive we could easily pick it up as we went along.
“One of the biggest benefits has been the fact we can use Autopart Online from anywhere; this made it much easier to deal with lockdown as it meant we could work from home.”
Remote accessibility is just one of the areas where Autopart Online has already proved to be superior to Cramlington’s previous software. “We’re relying on Autopart and Autocat for absolutely everything we do – they are a pivotal part of our business.
“Processes are now at least twice as quick as they were with our old system. We use the software for all our business needs, including quotes, sales and order processing.”
The importance of Autocat
Autocat, MAM Software’s electronic parts catalogue, has also become a core part of Cramlington Car Parts’ day-to-day business. The web-driven catalogue is integrated with Autopart and provides the most up-to-date component specifications from a variety of suppliers.
The retail side of Cramlington Car Parts has thrived over the past 12 months, and being able to access Autocat has helped the business remain both competitive and efficient.
Steve emphasised, “Quite simply, we couldn’t do without Autocat. It’s essential for the industry, as we need it for absolutely everything we do – you might as well close down if you haven’t got it!”
Positioning the business for future success
Steve hopes that Cramlington Car Parts will be able to further expand in 2021, and using Autopart Online will make this process much easier to manage. Existing members of the team have found it easy to learn how to use the systems, which will help the business when it comes to recruiting additional staff.
“As we’re using the cloud-based version of the software, it will be easy to add extra users onto our system. The scalability of Autopart Online is one of the features that appealed to us when we were looking for a new product,” added Steve.
Reflecting on the implementation and early stages of using the software, Steve revealed that he doesn’t know how the business ever coped before having Autopart and Autocat installed.
He concluded, “The software has been more successful than I could ever have imagined. I’m impressed, really impressed.”
