Technology Solutions for a Multifaceted Business
Single site into a diverse business
Nolan’s Garage Ltd has been part of Kerry life for over 80 years, growing from a single site into a diverse business encompassing a main CLAAS dealership, farm shop and deli, and working forecourt.
Through the Enterprise Ireland Innovation Voucher programme, the IMaR Technology Gateway supported Nolan’s Garage in assessing where technology could improve the day-to-day running of the business and identify practical opportunities for greater efficiency.
IMaR conducted a broad review of the business, considering areas including fuel monitoring, stock management and digital tools. Two areas were identified for closer investigation: the forecourt’s fuel monitoring system and the management of agri-parts stock.
Broad review of the business
The existing fuel monitoring system had been operating reliably for more than 20 years, but its capabilities were limited to printing readings locally. There was no remote access or mobile functionality, meaning managers could not monitor the system remotely.
The parts operation presented a different challenge. Agri-parts stock was managed using a manual card index system, a system that had proved reliable but offered limited opportunities to analyse stock trends or gain deeper insights into inventory.
IMaR investigated both areas in detail. For fuel monitoring, this involved comparing an upgrade to the existing console with remote-viewing capabilities already available through the shop’s point-of-sale system.
For parts management, several dealer management and stock management solutions were assessed against the practical requirements of operating a busy CLAAS dealership, ensuring that recommendations were based on the needs of the business rather than simply the features presented by technology providers.
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Technology report
“As a busy family run establishment, day to day pressures give us little time to explore alternative options to improve on our existing operations and systems management. IMaR’s Research Exploration initiative provided the mechanism to investigate solutions to help our business. One benefit was getting a fresh unbiased perspective on our business systems. In addition, IMaR highlighted system limitations and potential solutions for overcoming them.
Research and development (R&D) has never been a focus of our business, and this project has highlighted the benefits of R&D and its ability to help us future proof your business. We were surprised with how easy IMaR made the process of applying for and executing the project with minimal disruption to our team and would highly recommend IMaR’s Research Exploration initiative to other businesses.”
Anthony Guerin, Operations Manager, Nolan’s Garage
Nolan’s Garage & IMaR Technology Gateway partnership
Through the Innovation Voucher project, IMaR helped Nolan’s Garage identify practical, fit-for-purpose technology solutions that could improve visibility, support better stock management and enhance the day-to-day operation of the business.
IMaR investigated the existing fuel monitoring setup and concluded that a straightforward console upgrade, reusing all the underground hardware, would deliver full remote and mobile visibility without any excavation or downtime. On the parts side, IMaR recommended a dedicated stock management system built for the agri sector, giving proper batch visibility and trend reporting in place of the card index.