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.”
are working with suppliers to find w w w.go l dwa g en . com
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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