Wolf announced its latest innovation to help independent garages service their customers with the right oil at the right time, ensuring garages always have sufficient supply of the products they need.
Bernard Panier, Digital Marketing Project Manager at Wolf Oil Corporation says, “we have answered the calls of our end-customers with this latest development. Independent garage owners work to very tight schedules, with fast turnaround and often with a queue of cars lined up for service. The last thing they need is worry about losing customers because they haven’t got the right oils and lubes in stock for the work. With the Smart Oil Cabin, that worry is gone.”
How it works: real-time stock control
With 8 bays for 20L bottles and 2 spaces for 60L barrels, the Smart Oil Cabin connects to Wolf’s network, with a link to the customer’s distributor or retail supplier. Internal and/or external sensors constantly measure the fluid levels in the bottles and barrels, sending accurate stock levels to the system. ‘Order level’ alerts are triggered when fluids drop below a certain amount, and an order ticket is created. Once approved by the customer, this ticket is automatically sent to the supplier via the integrated messaging system, and a confirmation is received when the order is shipped.
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It just makes things simple,” says Bernard, “
garages can focus on their work without worrying about supply planning, now the whole thing is reduced to a single click. And distributors/retailers can now get a clearer overview of demand over time, also at a seasonal and regional level, so it helps them plan their own orders in finer detail.”
A patented innovation with global potential
With the first Smart Oil Cabins planned for early 2019, we project that demand will grow from this first launch. “Since this is a first in fluid supply automation, we expect the demand to be high, from both the garage and distributor side. So, we are preparing for interest from throughout our global network.”
What about those customers who already have an Oil Cabin from Wolf? “We can retrofit existing Oil Cabins with our new technology,” explains Bernard, “placing the sensors and connecting the cabin itself. This will provide the same real-time stock control, though we encourage customers to ask for the fully integrated system in the complete Smart Oil Cabin unit.”