Zimmerman Auto Body Case Study

Small businesses can often be the heart of a community. That is the case with Zimmerman Auto Body Supplies. Started in 1979, Zimmerman’s began as a small collision and restoration center in Ephrata, PA, but later started selling products when their supplier decided to exit the business. Today, Zimmerman Auto Body Supplies sells products including paint, supplies, and equipment that are sold primarily to collision centers, but also fleet repair centers and light industrial manufacturing.

Located: Multiple stores in PA

Using EBMS Since: 2004

“EBMS was a big part of allowing us to expand into multiple stores...”

Inventory Visibility

With an inventory of over 60,000 items, the Ephrata location acts as the main hub and warehouse, distributing products to the other locations. EBMS provides crucial data in understanding which products to order and when. Each store’s inventory is viewed and used to meet customer’s needs without placing a phone call.

Multi-Store Alignment

Over the years three more locations were opened in Mechanicsburg, York and State College. EBMS was implemented in the summer of 2004 just after adding their third location and experiencing challenges with aligning all stores. EBMS was a big part of being able to expand into multiple locations while providing inventory, budget, expense, and service data across stores.

Sales Measurement

The business is salesperson driven, and each customer is assigned a salesperson who calls to check in with them regularly. EBMS provides data on what each salesperson is achieving in the field in driving sales, budgeting, and more. Profit and loss statements are run for each location to measure the stores against themselves and as a group. This is used to set goals for stores and salespersons for the year.

Customer Service

Zimmerman Auto Body Supplies is not only a supplier to small businesses, but also acts as a partner, providing inventory management and facility and safety analysis for their customers, as well as business coaching through seminars and classes. “We want to partner with our customers and make their businesses run healthier and smoother, in turn that grows our business.”

Technical representatives are available to visit a customer’s facility and help them with applying products or knowing which products to use. It is one of the joys of the business to help a customer achieve their growth levels and assist in keeping inventory stocked with what they need to help their own customers. EBMS gives the big picture data needed to align resources, budget, and add to the fleet in order to continue the high service level they deliver to their customers.

The Advantage

One of the challenges that Zimmerman Auto Body Supplies faces is the same challenge their customers face, which is consolidation with large national companies buying up smaller companies. Zimmerman’s has an advantage in the marketplace by being of size to compete and yet nimble and able to adapt quickly to the changing climate.

Fulﬁll Orders Eﬃciently

Is slow order fulﬁllment and cumbersome paperwork creating a lag that cripples your company? Accelerate order delivery by automatically generating pick sheets and packing lists, scheduling work orders, processing payments, and starting the shipping process all from one point-of-sale location. Do you sell a large volume of special-order items? Now automatically generate purchase orders, record down payments, track serialized items, and record vendor information immediately at the time of sale.

Zimmerman Auto Body Supplies

Manages Multiple Stores

“EBMS was a big part of allowing us to expand into multiple stores...”

A Few Favorite EBMS Features

Profit Center Management

Multiple Location Management

Salesman Tools

Reporting & Data Analysis

Related Resources

Customer References

Industry Tools

Stories from Customers

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EBMS also serves the Hydraulic, Pneumatic, & Fluid Power Industry.

Fulﬁll Orders Eﬃciently

Streamline Flow of Goods

Sell More Ways

Streamline Flow of Goods

What Do We Do?

Business Analysis

Project Management

Installation & Setup

Training

Continued Consulting & Support

JOHN DOE

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