Order or View multiple parts from multiple suppliers all on ONE screen!
Read Official Release!

Smart Ecat is an amazing feature for those shops electronically ordering online and with the newest R.O. Writer version 1.20. Before, with Activant, when you looked up a part, you could only look up from one supplier at a time. Now with Smart Ecat you have the ability to view ALL of your Eorder suppliers ALL on ONE SCREEN! You can easily see which supplier has the best prices! Or, if you're looking up multiple parts, you can order from multiple suppliers all on the same page. This will easily save the guys on the counter a few precious minutes with each transaction.

Is Smart Ecat right for YOUR shop? Call us and we'll be happy to answer that for you.

AMS Office 1-800-566-9325

From Reuters::

Progressive Automotive Systems, Inc. Announces R.O. Writer(TM) Smart eCat Internet Parts Acquisition Tool

ITASCA, Ill.--(Business Wire)--Progressive Automotive Systems, Inc. ("PAS"),
a wholly owned subsidiary of Midas International Corporation, today announced its
release of R.O. Writer Smart eCat, the industry's first Internet parts
acquisition tool that with a single click, reaches out to IAP, AConneX
and independent online parts vendors for real-time parts availability
and pricing.

"R.O. Writer Smart eCat was demonstrated in November to industry
participants at the SEMA, CARS and AAPEX tradeshows in Las Vegas,
Nev., where it received high praise from show attendees," said Paul
Van Camp, PAS' director of sales.

Van Camp said that shop owners and managers are always asking,
"How can I see the parts store's price in my Activant parts catalog?
R.O. Writer Smart eCat provides that information by showing both price
AND availability of the part in a matter of seconds. Shop staff can
create an estimate for virtually any job knowing that the parts are
available and can confidently price those parts as well. With R.O.
Writer Smart eCat, estimating will be faster and more accurate, which
should improve shop profitability."

"While the R.O. Writer Shop Management Suite contained
functionality for electronic parts ordering for several years, that
technology was generic and independent repair centers could only
connect to one supplier at a time," Van Camp said. "With the new R.O.
Writer Smart eCat application, independent service centers now have
the ability to search multiple suppliers' inventory levels
simultaneously and to display real-time parts availability and cost
when preparing repair estimates or ordering parts. We believe this is
one of the most important developments in the automotive shop repair
industry this decade."

Gary Armstrong, R.O. Writer distributor said, "I've been working
with service writers for 20 years, and R.O. Writer's Smart eCat is one
of the best tools I have ever seen. The repair shops I work with want
tools to help honor the price and delivery promise they make to their
customers everyday - R.O. Writer Smart eCat will let them price out
jobs with the confidence that the parts are available. It's just an
awesome tool that can greatly enhance shop efficiency and
profitability."

James Nagy, PAS' director of development, said "We are always
looking to provide innovative and efficient tools that help improve
our customers' efficiency with the R.O. Writer Shop Management System.
R.O. Writer Smart eCat allows service writers to see actual parts
availability and cost and enables them to accurately and confidently
communicate the price of a repair and vehicle delivery time to their
customers. Finding the lowest cost supplier does not help the shop if
that supplier does not have the parts or the parts cannot be delivered
in a timely manner. R.O. Writer Smart eCat solves that issue for the
shop."

Nagy also said, "Importantly, Smart eCat supports the independent
service center's method for conducting business with their parts
suppliers. The products from their preferred supplier or 'first call'
all show up together, and then as you scroll through the R.O. Writer
Smart eCat screens, other parts suppliers also appear in the 'next
call' order. The R.O. Writer Smart eCat user interface is clean,
efficient and modern. We think that it is the best electronic parts
ordering tool on the market today!"

Progressive Automotive Systems, Inc. - developers of the R.O.
Writer Shop Management System - has been providing software solutions
to the automotive aftermarket since 1989. As early as 1977, PAS
provided consulting services for franchise automobile dealers. In the
decades that followed, PAS has helped thousands of shop owners reach
their true potential. R.O Writer is currently used by almost 5,000
repair facilities in the US.

Progressive Automotive Systems

Copyright Business Wire 2008