June/July 2007

Digital pens, which have already been proving themselves in fully-mobile workforce applications, could also introduce savings in vehicle workshop environments.

That's the thinking behind a system called the Dealer Datapen, which has been developed by FGA Computer Systems in association with digital pen and paper specialist Destiny Wireless.

Using the pen, workshop staff can enter details of vehicle checks and related information on a paper form that looks similar to what they are already using. But the underlying technology allows the data to be captured digitally at the same time.

The two companies say that in trials, workshop staff have proved to be much more likely to complete these paper forms than they would be to enter data on a PC or a PDA. This, say the suppliers, makes the system a powerful potential tool for generating additional sales and improving customer relationship management.

 

In the trials, the data collected with the Datapen was transferred in real time into FGA's Digital Vehicle Health Check software, so that staff could identify 'upsell' opportunities. The software can also monitor the number of checks carried out per technician, per workshop, per dealer, per day, week or month.

FGA Computer Systems is an associate company of Forester Grant Associates, a specialist automotive consultancy company delivering outsourced solutions. Destiny is the UK agent for the Anoto digital pen and paper system.