Epicor Supports God’s Garage, Helping Single Mothers with Transportation

Epicor Software is donating access to its mechanical service estimating solution to God’s Garage. The charity, primarily made up of volunteer technicians, will use the donation in its mission to provide reliable, repaired vehicles to single mothers, widows, and wives of deployed military members.

Epicor Software Corporation is giving a free subscription of the Epicor Integrated Service Estimator^™(ISE) mechanical service estimating solution to God’s Garage, a non-profit automotive repair shop headquartered in Conroe, Texas. The charity, primarily made up of volunteer technicians, will use the donation from Epicor in support of its mission to provide reliable, repaired vehicles to single mothers, widows, and wives of deployed military members.

“Working to enrich the lives of single mothers, widows, and military wives by ensuring they have reliable transportation is a noble cause,” said Stephen Gannon, senior director, automotive, product management and product development, Epicor. “This organization will have an opportunity to help even more people by increasing operational efficiency and productivity at the service counter by using Epicor ISE software.”

God’s Garage owner Chris Williams founded the company after spotting a mother and her child walking along the side of Highway 105 in the rain. He offered her a ride and discovered that her own vehicle had been in the shop for months. Today, God’s Garage supports women in need of reliable transportation, charging nothing for labor on automotive repairs and giving away free vehicles to qualifying recipients. The charity has repaired and given away hundreds of vehicles, according to Williams.

“The Epicor ISE solution is going to help us repair more vehicles by allowing me to more promptly identify, price, and source parts, and it’s going to free me up to do the things that I need in order to repair more cars and let other people do things that they can do,” said Williams. “As we rollout this system to our volunteers, it’s going to help the bottom line and, ultimately, help more people.”

Used by thousands of tire dealerships, oil-and-lube facilities, transmission service business, tune-up specialists, and general repair shops, the Epicor ISE solution enables users to write comprehensive, accurate repair estimates and identify, price, and source replacement parts in a fraction of the time normally required through manual processes.

“Epicor ISE software is the ideal fit for automotive service businesses. It’s easy to use, and can streamline your business process, transform your overall customer experience, and drive your business growth,” added Gannon.

Parts, labor, and pricing information can automatically be imported into estimates, work orders, and invoices, simplifying the workload for shop service writers. In addition, an optional, mobile “Smart Inspection Sheet” feature helps to boost service bay productivity by allowing technicians to record the condition of key vehicle systems and components during comprehensive, guided inspections.

The solution is powered by the Epicor industry-leading replacement parts database, as well as popular repair and maintenance packages, an aftermarket flat-rate labor guide, OEM-recommended vehicle service intervals information, a VIN decoder, cross-reference parts database, and more.

To learn more, visit the Automotive Aftermarket solution hub.

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has named Ryan Waldron as president of the company's Americas business unit, reporting to Chief Executive Officer and President Mark Stewart. He succeeds Steven R. McClellan, who retired on April 1.

"At Goodyear, our customers are at the center of everything we do, and in Ryan Waldron, we have a customer-centric, execution-focused business leader with a deep understanding of both the marketplace and all aspects of our business, as well as a proven track record of delivering results," Stewart said. "I am thrilled to announce him as president of Goodyear's Americas business and have enormous confidence that under his leadership, both the company and our customers will reach even greater levels of success."