Goldwagen March 2020

Journeying towards digital transformation

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GOLDWAGEN: journeying towards digital transformation WRITTEN BY

WILLIAM SMITH

MARCH 2020

PRODUCED BY

JAMES BERRY

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G O L DWAG E N

Shayne Turley, CIO of South Africa’s Goldwagen, details the digital transformation setting the company up to take advantage of ecommerce opportunities

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oldwagen is a South African-based, globally-recognised automotive parts distributor and franchise group.

Supported by a state-of-the-art distribution warehouse located in Centurion, Goldwagen operates across Southern Africa through over 100 fran04

chised outlets, supplying cost-effective, high-quality automotive parts to the aftermarket spares industry.

Chief Information Officer (CIO) Shayne Turley has been with Goldwagen for more than half its history. During his 14 years with the company, he has witnessed its astonishing growth first-hand. “The IT department has completely transformed since the company was founded in 1992. From a very small team, there are now seven technicians manning the IT help desk and five developers designing and maintaining our internal systems,� says Turley.

Scaling the IT department has been critical as Goldwagen has grown from originally supplying quality aftermarket parts for only Volkswagen and Audi to offering parts for 17 different vehicle brands.

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G O L DWAG E N

“ Because of our phenomenal growth, at the moment we are under extreme pressure to get the products out the door fast enough” — Shayne Turley, CIO, Goldwagen

“Another milestone is that most of the systems we currently have in place have been developed in-house, from the operating system all the way through to the point-of-sale (POS) system to stock management at stores.”

The deployment of these systems has been key in addressing several busi-

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ness-critical issues. “Previously, different stores were using different versions of the mandated software. By centralising our systems and processes, we can now see what version of the software our franchisees are working on and automatically update it where necessary. By controlling which version of

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07 the software is being used, we are also

The company has likewise started

able to quickly and easily identify and

looking into suitable cloud-based solu-

resolve any problems. We are further

tions, albeit cautiously given costly and

able to send out a fix to all our fran-

occasionally unstable internet access

chisees if necessary,” Turley explains.

in South Africa. It is, however, already

The ordering of parts by franchisees

reaping the benefits of the software

was one of the first components of the business to be digitised. “We’ve since

being trialed.

It is also in the early stages of

substantially expanded the digital foot-

a partnership to expand its data

print across our franchise network,

storage capabilities, since most

with stores now able to order and track

franchisee data is currently being

orders online. We’re also moving away

centralised, meaning that the amount

from paper-based invoicing, with store

of data being captured and handled

owners able to invoice online, as well as

has increased substantially. “We

track and download them if necessary.”

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a solution that can scale vertically

The project gained more momentum

as we grow. However, we will main-

given the recent entry of nontraditional

tain responsibility for the data,

competitors such as the likes of Amazon

which we know is secure because

into the automotive parts market.

it’s onsite.”

Goldwagen has reaped the rewards

The changes he has overseen has led Turley to reflect on the function of a CIO.

of this IT transformation at an opera-

“I definitely see the role of the CIO, or at

tional level, but it is looking at further

least my role, as evolving to be much

improving customer experience

more strategic. The CIO is responsible

through e-commerce. “We started

for understanding the organisational

about two years ago with the goal

vision and objective goals, deciding how

of being one of the leading compa-

to help achieve these at an IT level, and

nies operating in this space to have

then filtering this down to his or her

an e-commerce platform in South

teams and letting the teams deal with

Africa,” says Turley.

implementation, as opposed to trying

“ We’ve substantially expanded the digital footprint across our franchise network, with stores now able to order and track orders online” — Shayne Turley, CIO, Goldwagen

of trust is gained through ongoing edu-

to micromanage everything oneself.

cation and teams having the necessary

Of course, it does mean making busi-

expertise. “Standard business prac-

ness-critical decisions and meeting

tice theory is becoming less relevant,

with potential suppliers and such.”

and that’s where short courses are

Turley believes the increased level

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E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Shayne Turley Shayne Turley started his career in the ICT industry over 25 years ago as a technician installing POS systems and doing networking. He worked his way up the chain by continually upskilling, staying ahead of current trends and technologies and applying his aptitude for all things technical. Shayne has been at Goldwagen for over 14 years where he has helped the company implement innovative technological and business applications that catered for the company’s rapid growth.

Shayne’s success in the company cannot solely be attributed to himself but rather to the collective input and effort of his colleagues and peers in the CIO community and at Goldwagen. Shayne’s humble trustworthy nature and has allowed him to be approachable and build relationships of trust and dependability. w w w.go l dwa g en . com

G O L DWAG E N

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1992

Year founded

36,000+ high-quality parts available

1500+ Number of employees

becoming more important, particularly online learning. We encourage our people to continually learn about new technology, stay abreast of the latest trends and understand what we can apply within Goldwagen.”

As for the future, the next major project is to upgrade Goldwagen’s warehouse systems. “Our goal is to implement a more suitable warehouse management system so that we become even more efficient, thus ensuring continued excellent customer service. Because of our phenomenal growth, at the moment we are under extreme pressure to get the products out the door fast enough. That’s a great place to be in, but it means our systems have to be world-class to ensure we maintain our competitive edge and that our brand is synonymous with affordability, quality and world-class service.”

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Louwlardia Logistics Park Pudding Stone Road Centurion, 0121 Gauteng South Africa T +27 (0) 12 748 3800 www.goldwagen.com