Chance Kamp kept getting asked about auto window tinting.
Though focused on tinting building windows commercially, the constant questions about car windows made him realize he had to learn automotive tinting, too.
Automotive window tinting turned into customers asking about car steps. Or grill guards. Chance asked a local business to wholesale parts to him, they agreed, and Allout Offroad was born
Since then, Allout has grown from a tiny three-man shop to a 7-location, $50 million business with 150 employees. And Mike Clark, who helps oversee the business, has been there for 20 years.
The journey from small business to multi-location success story, Clark explains, involved long hours, hard work, and plenty of hurdles and growth challenges to overcome. There was 2008-09, when the company had to borrow money from multiple banks to keep their staff employed. There was the second location that almost failed before finally taking off. There was getting into wholesaling to sell to dealerships.
And there was EBMS.
As they grew and added new locations, the team at Allout realized it was time for an ERP. They looked around and found some tools they thought would work but, as is often the case with software like this, their initial investment didn't work out well. They started to look into working with Koble, and though they were hesitant to take the “new software” risk again, they were impressed with how Koble understood their business and, most importantly, how functional Koble’s ERP—called EBMS—was for the kind of shop they run.
“Where EBMS really shined, in our opinion, at least at first, was just the simplicity of putting a part on a sales order and creating the PO [purchase order],” said Mike. “With accessories, there are a hundred different vehicles with hundreds of different options but at the end of the day, virtually everything is special order.”
Since their business has to special order everything and they have customers who expect to receive orders quickly, Allout needed a purchase order that was easy to use and could be created quickly from the sales order. EBMS fit the bill.
Another part of EBMS that the team relies on for fast ordering is EBMS’s integration with Keystone Automotive, one of their major suppliers.
“With the Keystone integration, we input the item and then it automatically fills in the rest of the information. Say I put in the part number ABC123. If that's a part that I've never sold before, the system reaches out to Keystone. It’s in their database and then boom! I can order without having to get on their website. I can order straight from EBMS without having to call them directly. That was pretty huge for us.”
After years of using general accounting software, Allout Offroad used EBMS to clean up their financials and get a better look at what’s actually going on in their business.
“On the accounting side we used QuickBooks, and although we ran profit and loss reports and all those things, they weren't accurate because of the way that we did it. EBMS helped clean those things up. And here it is 11 years later.”
With 7 locations across multiple states, each with their own inventory and staff, having all the data in one system makes it much easier for Mike to see everything that’s happening without having to leave his desk.
“We use the reporting function a lot. I look at sales, look at inventory, and look at what our technicians are running. I can do my job from my house. I can do everything I need to do from behind a computer. It’s helped significantly.”
EBMS has helped Allout Offroad grow over the past 11 years, but Mike says there are no shortcuts to success when it comes to starting a business. As you navigate business challenges, it is crucial for any system you put in place to support and reinforce the business improvements you make as you continue to evolve as a business.
With Koble, Allout was able to simplify their systems to support the work they did in refining the business, giving them the clarity they need to continue serving their customers well through their growth.
“That's what Koble brings, not just the point of sale, but the accounting software and the way that they integrate. And the way that it works in our business—it works very, very well.”
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Are you ready to increase efficiencies and find better ways to keep track of what’s happening in your business? With years of experience working with automotive and truck upfitters, Koble has the tools to help your business grow and scale. Contact us for a no-pressure demo and see how our ERP could work for you!