Gibbs Truck & Trailer Parts Branches Out with MomentumPro

For forty five years, Gibbs Truck & Trailer Parts has been supplying genuine and replacement truck parts to vehicle owners, operators and retailers throughout the Australian and South Pacific region. In addition, Gibbs Truck & Trailer Parts also does Driveline, Differential and Gearbox repairs and servicing in their workshop.

Gibbs Truck & Trailer Parts is an independent company that has achieved healthy growth over the last 20 years in both distribution and servicing. This growth has compounded in recent years with Gibbs Truck & Trailer Parts undergoing rapid expansion, opening new branches throughout South East Queensland.

According to Chris Gibbs, Managing Director, Gibbs Truck and Trailer Parts, “We have grown our sales fairly well each year and in the last four years have grown from one location to a total of four in 2002 with over 25 staff.”

“Our main strengths are our staff and their knowledge, our product range and our computer system. All of our locations run the same computer system, MomentumPro,” says Gibbs. MomentumPro is an Enterprise Distribution Software solution developed and supported by Brisbane-based Markinson Business Solutions.

“Our branches are linked in real-time through MomentumPro using a Virtual Private Network (VPN),” says Gibbs. MomentumPro is perfect for multi-location businesses like Gibbs Truck & Trailer Parts as it has the ability to link a large network of branches on-line in real-time.

Effective Stock Control a Major Benefit

“MomentumPro is very good for stock control. We stock between 8,000 and 10,000 products from over 60 different suppliers across our four locations. We are even online to one of our Suppliers in Sydney, PartsPeek,” says Gibbs. MomentumPro contains a comprehensive online multi-branch inventory system with advanced processing and reporting facilities.

“There is an abundance of reports in MomentumPro. We can check the profitability of each branch if we need to. We can also print a Profit & Loss at any time and know that it is an accurate snap-shot of the business,” says Gibbs. MomentumPro’s suite of financials allows flexible and intelligent business reporting.

Automatic Re-ordering Facility Simplifies Purchasing

“The re-order processing facility in MomentumPro is excellent. We use the facility to calculate the suggested order quantities. Our staff are learning not to alter the order report and to trust the systems accuracy,” says Gibbs. MomentumPro generates suggested order quantities based on intelligent re-order strategies like sales forecasts, demand and sales history and supplier lead times.

MomentumPro Importing Module Saves Time

“The Importing Module in MomentumPro is great. Previously we were doing our importing manually. Now, once the stock is checked off, it takes about 30 seconds to receipt it,” says Gibbs. The Importing Module in MomentumPro allows shipment receipting and costing into local currency to be done effectively saving hours of manual work.

“We do all our payments to overseas suppliers through the Importing Module. It links into all the other financial modules so well. The exchange rates go straight into the Accounts Payable from the Importing Module,” says Gibbs. The Importing Module in MomentumPro fully integrates into Accounts Payable. All shipment charges can be entered as invoices against the shipment. Pre-paid invoices can also be allocated to the shipment for accurate costing. This allows easy determination of accurate landed costs.

“We use the full integration of the Importing Module into the rest of MomentumPro.” Receipting of stock into inventory is totally automated once a shipment is costed. “The Importing Module certainly makes importing easier and we can see from a report point of view what is coming in and when it will arrive,” says Gibbs.

MomentumPro Answers Pricing Requirements

“We get a lot of advantage from the Pricing Module in MomentumPro. It is an integral part of the purchasing side of our business. We load the electronic price lists from our suppliers into MomentumPro. The lists can be loaded in from different formats, converted and manipulated. This saves us keying in all the prices manually. We find the Pricing Module very good in helping us choose the best supplier for the products we carry. The Pricing Module also allows us to update selling prices at any point in time.”

Markinson Provides Ongoing Support

“The staff at Markinson are very good. If there is ever an urgent issue or we need an answer on something, Markinson staff look after it straight away,” says Gibbs.

“When I compare MomentumPro to other software products, MomentumPro runs rings around them. The integration and auto-posting in MomentumPro makes a huge difference. It is a very comprehensive system that doesn’t hold us back and gives us a competitive advantage in the marketplace,” says Gibbs.