Q&A With Meineke Car Care Center Franchise Owner
Bill Perakis, Owner, Meineke Car Care Center #884 of Bourbonnais, IL has been in business for 17 years. No surprise given his nearly perfect 4.9/5 5starbusiness.com and Carfax ratings. Bill’s customers rave about his service and knowledge. They endorse his transparency, honesty, and customer focus.
With all his success and reputation among Meineke Dealers Purchasing Cooperative Inc. members, we sat down with Bill to learn more from him about what motivated him to consider the Imperial Supplies’ Customer Managed Inventory process for his shop supplies.
Q: What lead you to consider Imperial?
A: “We had supplies all over the shop. People were always asking where something is. There was product that should be used together in different locations. Our team was constantly thumbing through different types of boxes. It looked very appealing to try to organize everything in 1 place and free up some space. Also, our cabinetry was looking shabby.”
Q: What was your ordering process prior to your Imperial Field Service shop conversion?
A: “A route sales representative from a national MRO distributor was supplying most hardware. Someone from my team was running to the hardware store for things that we wanted in smaller quantities. Sometimes came down to whoever had kit on sale, which created quite a mess. Could be sitting on 5 assortments, none that are complete or consolidated.”
Q: How would you describe the shop conversion process?
A: “Painless. A team of 2 came out. One from Monday – Thursday & another from Tuesday – Friday. Just the two of them, they were able to organize & assemble all the cabinetry, relabel & cross-reference 80% of all the loose pieces so that we can reorder ourselves with the mobile app. Just a quick scan. Although, we had so much laying around, I haven’t had to order anything yet (2 months after conversion).”
Q: What does your team think?
A: “Everyone thinks the program is great. Most importantly, everyone is getting to know where everything is. Now, it’s the newer technicians showing our more tenured folks where things are, and we don’t waste time looking around! Our trainees have become the trainers in a way, and that makes everyone better. The best part is not having to do it myself. Imperial’s mobile app is on our manager’s phone. She’s able to order and monitor inventory with all the information at her fingertips.”
Q: What advice do you have for other business owners?
A: “Using the MDPCI recommended steel set-up, I invested around $3K to get this project started. I didn’t buy anything more than the cabinetry. That could intimidate some people in making the change. You have to look at it as an investment in the business & organization. I bet I was losing more than $3K in shop supplies because of lack of organization. I bet I’ll make it up by the end of the year.”
The Meineke Dealers Purchasing Cooperative Inc. mission is to reduce Dealers’ costs and increase profitability. The Imperial Supplies program is a unique opportunity to advance processes and do just that.
Bill Perakis discovered how Imperial Supplies’ Customer Managed Inventory process helped his business by improving his purchasing process. They now have less route service interruptions, less trips to the hardware stores for correct quantities, and less inconsistent assortments purchased from various suppliers. They now have an organized shop, an easy-to-use mobile app for ordering and a Dedicated Account Advisor to help them when needed. All from Imperial Supplies. Contact Imperial Supplies today to learn how we can help your business at 1-800-558-2808 or visit our website at ImperialSupplies.com.