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Trading a boat for an RV back in the 1960´s may not be a conventional start to an RV dealership, but then again not much about Collier RV Super Center in Rockford, IL is conventional.

Collier RV Super Center began back in 1964 when Ed and Jim Collier´s father traded a personal boat for an RV. After making the trade he saw potential in the potential in the RV business and started the company. Since then Collier RV has grown to be one of the Midwest´s largest dealerships. Ed Collier, co-owner (along with his brother Jim Collier) of Collier RV Super Center, attributes most of his success to the ability to innovate. From converting an old lumber yard warehouse to a 52,000 square foot indoor showroom to constantly looking for new ways to communicate with their customers, the dealership continually finds cutting edge ways to do business. The goal of doing things differently at Collier is to improve their customer´s experience.

"My wife just started a Twitter account for our dealership," said Ed Collier, "It´s a new way to communicate with our customers."

+ Finding the Inventory Sweet Spot

The focus on innovation at the dealership extends to their Dealer Management System too. "We needed visibility and a system that helped us find what we were looking for fast," Ed said. They found what they were looking for in ADP Lightspeed´s RV Dealer Management System.

Ed sees one of the major attributes to their success as the ability to stock the right mix of unit selection for their customers, while controlling their inventory costs. Their stocking process relies on the ability to analyze real sales numbers that help forecast the correct models to stock and at what levels. Ed looks to his Lightspeed DMS to find the perfect mix. "The reporting in Lightspeed is so flexible. Easy-to-define sales reports let me know what is moving, at what price point they are moving and what has the best margin," said Ed.

"To make it through this (bad economy), we have to right-size our inventory to what is selling." Ed said. "We are constantly working to downsize our inventory to current market demand while keeping what is hot on the lot... ADP Lightspeed helps us do just that by giving us real visibility into our business."

With a complete view of the sales operations, Collier is able to find the right blend of inventory on the lot and stay profitable during the economic downturn.

+ Speed is Still the Name of the Game.

Collier looked to ADP Lightspeed to manage processes in a way that allows them to focus on what they do best, serving their customers. Gathering information and inventory management are essential to a successful business, but they did not want anything to get in the way of serving the customer quickly.

"One area that really saw an improvement was our Service department. ADP Lightspeed has made it easier and faster to look up customer information, track every aspect of our repair orders, make sure the work was done, billed correctly and the customer was taken care of," Ed said. "It is easy to track every detail on every ticket."

ADP Lightspeed simplifies Collier´s complete business operation, maximizing effectiveness and efficiency. Increased productivity also extends to the back office operations.

"The new payroll system in Lightspeed alone saves us about two hours a payroll run by eliminating double entry," Ed said.

+ An Innovative Partnership.

With a Dealer Management System touching every part of a dealer´s operations, it was important for Collier RV Super Center to find a partner that they trusted. Finding the correct fit that made sense for their business in the long and short term was a major factor in the decision.

"ADP Lightspeed is a good company to work with. They are very responsive to changes in the market and support is always right there when needed. The Lightspeed system is very easy to use and gives wonderful reporting to create virtually anything you need to see," Ed said.

So does Ed feel he made the right decision in a technology partner?

"ADP Lightspeed made me a happy camper," responded Ed.

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