News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 27, 2007
Belron US Completes Conversion of 90 Point of Sale Systems
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Belron US reached an integration milestone last week with the conversion of 90 former Belron Inc. point-of-sale systems to the Safelite point-of-sale system in just three months.
“Early in the integration planning, we decided that moving all the Belron stores to the Safelite POS was the most compelling way to realize our integration objectives,” said Rich Harrison, senior vice president, strategy and business development.
Having all stores on the same POS system paves the way for clearer communication channels and streamlined business processes. With the conversion, the corporate network has been expanded to all locations. All associates are now under the same business practices and on the same payroll.
“Now that the stores are on the same platform, we will be able to take full advantage of the back office infrastructure,” Harrison said. “In addition, insurance claims administration will become more streamlined and purchasing and supply chain cost efficiencies will be realized.”
While the associates in the overlapping markets faced a few challenges, the conversion went extremely well overall, according to nearly everyone involved in the process. Every POS system was replaced, which involved building, testing and shipping about 300 desktop computer systems and 70 laptops. One team of just five individuals installed each system.
“Our associates in the integration markets did a fantastic job in making this change," added Harrison. "We would not have been able to achieve this conversion in such a timely and efficient manner without their full support. It was quite impressive how our teams in the field pulled together to work out the rough spots.”
The conversion spanned eleven states. California stores were converted first, and Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa followed suit. On average, six to eight stores were converted each week.
Belron US, a subsidiary of Belron S.A., is a multi-faceted automotive glass and claims management service organization based in Columbus, Ohio. The company is comprised of three major business operations that include automotive glass fulfillment services, operating under the trade names Safelite® AutoGlass, Auto Glass SpecialistsTM, GlasProTM, Elite Auto GlassTM and Windshield ProsTM; windshield manufacturing; and fleet and insurance claims management services. The privately held company employs more than 7,000 people throughout the United States.
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