ASA Automotive

Ability to scale to project needs

ASA found Coherent Solutions’ ability to expand and contract with ASA’s needs a particular benefit. Dima Gorbatenko, a senior Java developer at Coherent, has been on the ASA team from the beginning. He noted that project managers, business analysts and other developers have come and gone as the project required. According to Dima, “With a wide variety of people in various roles, we can make changes at the resource corner of the project management triangle without negatively affecting the project outcome. And as we learned more about ASA’s business, we were able to add value as advisors, not just order-takers.”

For instance, as Dima and his team learned more about how the tire business works, they better understood work flow and were able to advise ASA on features and functions. Thinking through the business logic, Dima’s team reduced steps, eliminated clicks and streamlined the system. With Coherent as a technical partner, ASA completed its new, web-based back office accounting system within three years. “This was good timing for a company our size,” said Scott. “And we made the big leap over our competition that we wanted. Our new Tire Master Enterprise G4 will set the standard for ERP software in the tire industry.”

Next up: point-of-sale

Coherent continues to evolve the make-up of its ASA team as the client moves into the next phase of its ERP system: point-of-sale. ASA wants this to be fully integrated with the back office piece that is already working in a SaaS model. The look and feel will be the same so that users will move seamlessly and intuitively between functions. A new CRM-like household database is planned. This will replace a more narrowly-focused vehicle database, making customers feel better recognized. A business-rules engine is also in the works. This will help connect customers and their timelines to loyalty programs, marketing campaigns, pricing promotions and more. These upgrades are on schedule to be introduced in the second quarter of 2015.

“We’ve walked over some hot coals together,” summed up Scott Hopkins. “That’s just part of software development. But I can tell you that we didn’t make a mistake choosing Coherent Solutions as a partner. We’re in it together for the long run.”