Thursday, 26th


July 2018 Motoring


Auto Cloud Tech - new software system for Factors


An Irish company


making a big impact at Automechanika Bir- mingham was


Cloud Tech (ACT). Based in Cork, ACT has


developed a complete En- terprise Resource Planning (ERP) software system for motor factors that handles all internal sales administra- tion and gives the business a full e-commerce capability. The system utilises the latest cloud-based technology to offer exceptional flexibili- ty and functionality, but is available at a price which is a fraction of most current alternatives. The man behind the sys-


tem is Derek Burke, ACT Chief Technology Officer. With a background in soft-


Auto


ware for pharmacies and newspapers, Derek’s inter- est in the aftermarket was sparked when he was ap- proached by Premier Auto Parts to develop an online sale capability. Derek says, “What quickly became ap- parent was the complexity of what motor factors do. They are dealing with some 23,000


around 10,000 parts and that is before modifications. It is a vast amount of prod- uct and data to handle and requires a bespoke solution specifically for factor busi- nesses.” Derek and his team care- fully studied the and worked closely


market with


Premier to gain an in depth understanding, before even commencing development.


They then set about devel- oping a dedicated online parts sales business. The result was Auto Factors Direct which has seen sales grow rapidly since 2016 to approaching €1.5 million, with over 2,000 registered garages. Based on this experience with


and models all with Enterprise backing from Ireland, Derek


established ACT with Phil- lip Barrett and a team of knowledgeable staff to de- velop a full motor factor ERP system initially for Premier. Derek says, “We have used our online expe- rience and relationship with Premier to design a software system that utilises the very latest digital technology, to provide a fully


integrated package. Previously, sys-


Latest generation Fiesta to use Ferodo’s copper-free Eco-Friction pads


Fe de ral-Mogul


Motorparts has an- nounced that its brak- ing brand, Ferodo, will provide pads for the latest


generation of


the Ford Fiesta. Fero- do’s Eco-Friction brake pads will be equipped to the


front


with environmental- ly-friendly, copper-free pads will giving owners of the new Fiesta confi- dence in the cars’ green credentials and braking performance.


Following five years


of dedicated research, Ferodo was first-to- market in the aftermar- ket


with copper-free


pads in the form of its Eco-Friction range. With over 1,500 mate- rials tested and 25 dif- ferent new compounds, the development and testing of the pads was rigorous. Comprised of greener materials


axle


and with a significant reduction in fine parti- cle emissions, the pads offer


increased safety,


noise suppression and first class performance.


Gozde Kirali, Brand Manager, Braking, Federal-Mogul Motor- parts EMEA says, “It is great to see another manufacturer adopt Eco-Friction pads, es- pecially on a model as popular as the Ford Fi- esta. Regulation chang- es necessitate a reduc- tion of copper content in brake pads, so we started development of our solution several years ago and had its first adoption in 2014. This demonstrates our commitment to being pioneers in the indus- try, developing technol- ogy before the market requires it.”


Brake pads are @eastcorkjournal / #eastcorkjournal a eastcorkjournal Tel: 021 463 8000 • Email: info@eastcorkjournal.ie • Web: www.eastcorkjournal.ie


formulation of 20-to- 30 different materials, each with different functions. During the design process, it was clear that


there was


no single material that could replace copper; as such, the Eco-Fric- tion range uses a vari- ety of metal sulphides, minerals, abrasives, fi- bres, ceramic particles and types of graphite to achieve


the same


wear and friction char- acteristics as pads with copper.


Ferodo says it


Eco-Friction pads have proven pedigree. When tested on six vehicle


power than models, the


results demonstrated that Eco-Friction pro- vided up to 17% more stopping


competitors’ pads. The range also offer 90% market coverage.


tems available to factors


have been based on older platforms or have been pro- hibitively expensive. Our system can provide a com- plete


solution that offers


numerous benefits at a very affordable price.” Derek explains that


the


cloud based system can to- tally replace current coun- ter and accounting systems in a factor, which are often un-integrated, with one enterprise supply chain sys- tem, which will require less administration and takes less employees to operate. One of the first benefits of the system is effective real time


over multiple


This can also access suppli- er stocks and by doing so, greatly reduces stock costs and increase sales through having access to live stock information. The system also gives fac-


tors the capability to have a 24/7 online sales presence


with full e-commerce ca- pability. Derek comments, “Online


clutches and braking. This will help ensure that


sales is the fast


developing sector of the aftermarket, but few factors have an effective offering. Our system allows them to get all the benefits of an effective


e-commerce site


ready-made without huge development cost. One of the main features


stock control, even branches.


of the ACT system is that it offers factors a full registra- tion look-up facility that can not only be used for online sales, but also tailored to internal counter require- ments. ACT technology powered byTec Alliance group (Tec Doc) in conjunc- tion with CarTell delivers a system that offers speed and accuracy. Derek comments, “We became aware of the pitfalls of current reg look- up systems and developed a system that integrates the supplier’s OE information in some of the more com- plicated categories such as


that the


correct part will be deliv- ered because it is based on OE information. It


also


allows a factor to integrate its own parts intelligence, dramatically cutting down returns from the industry average of 20%+. The ACT system also


includes a fully integrated accounting package


and


very flexible management reporting, which allows a factor to easily assess sales performance, identify prod- uct gaps and get very accu- rate real time gross margin analysis. It also allows easy integration of new product groups, so for example, a factor could offer a range of tyres for next day deliv- ery to its customers without having to hold any stock. The


many more functions and customers


system includes can


adopt a


modular approach to best suit their needs. Derek says


the way it has been


designed makes it flexible, easy to implement and also very affordable. He com- ments, “Developing a sys- tem like ours from scratch could easily cost €100K+, but we can have a factor up and running quickly at just 10-15% of this cost. We also offer lower monthly outgo- ings than many factors are currently paying.” As well as being integrat-


ed at Premier Auto Parts, Derek says ACT will be op- erational shortly with other factor operations both in Ireland and the UK. For any factors keen to adopt more efficient systems and develop an effective online presence the Auto Cloud Tech team is available


to


provide a system demon- stration and to discuss busi- ness needs. Contact


on 021-500-5817, or visit www.autocloudtech.ie.


Frost & Sullivan sees a lightweight electric future


A new report by man- agement consulting firm Frost & Sullivan says that lightweight materials


will


play a key role in the fu- ture development of elec- tric vehicles.


The automotive indus-


try is currently concen- trating its efforts to make alternative powertrain technologies economical and key to this process is the practice


weighting. This is based on the theory that


of light- for


every part or component that goes into a vehicle, there is a prospect to re-


duce weight by replacing traditionally used materi- als with new lightweight alternatives.


This research service


titled “Material Technol- ogies Shaping the Future of Electric Vehicles,” dis- cusses the current state of electric vehicle (EV) adop- tion by giving a snapshot of the global and region- al penetration in 2017. A three-dimensional


view


is outlined to identify the factors that will influence the future growth in adop- tion of electric vehicles. In specific, the technology in-


fluencers are divided into two namely lightweight design and battery perfor- mance.


From a material science


perspective, key areas where materials can con- tribute to uptake of EVs are identified as materials for


direct


and materials for re-defin- ing battery performance contributing


to indirect


lightweighting. A list of key innova-


tors and inventions that could transform the EV landscape is provided in


the report along with pat- ent filing trends to give a perspective


of solutions


and opportunities that are evolving in the automotive industry.


materials discussed are: -


lightweighting


Some of the innovative Rare-earth-free


Mg-Alloys - More use of alumin- ium and advanced high- strength steel - Lithium-air


technology - Solid-state


battery polymer


electrolytes - Great recyclability for battery components


AutoCloud


info@eastcorkjournal.ie


25


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80