Autologica Software Saves African Motor Dealers Thousands

PRETORIA, South Africa – Pretoria-based Brainbug Interconnect is to bring a reprieve to both franchise and used motor dealerships by announcing that it will significantly cut the current prices of motor dealer management software since landing the distribution rights for Autologica’s motor Dealer Management System (DMS), a software solution said to have a substantially lower total cost of ownership (TCO) than its nearest rivals.

Brainbug is to officially launch Autologica in the South African marketplace at FutureX 2005 taking place at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg between the 17th and 20th of May 2005. Brainbug will be holding demonstrations of Autologica at the exhibition every 2 hours as well as many other promotions for the duration of the show. Brainbug can be found at the show in Hall 1 at Stand F7,F9.

“Brainbug intends to use FutureX as a springboard marketing campaign to launch Autologica as well as to develop a sales, marketing and support channel in South Africa,” says CEO Aadil Aboobaker.

According to Brainbug MD Shiraz Latif, smaller motor dealerships “just cannot afford the high cost of installing motor dealer software. Our initial focus will be on the middle to lower end of the motor dealer market as we are able to offer a cutting edge, Windows based solution, that far outweighs the features and performance of competing products in the market along with Intel-based hardware, for a quarter of the price of our nearest rival.”

There are about 1,200 motor dealers in the country and, according to Brainbug, up to 65% of them do not have fully-fledged Dealer Management Systems - which manage the point of sale, parts, and vehicle stock, vehicle and workshop sales, floor plans, vehicle financing, workshop management, accounting, executive reporting and cash flow.

Autologica is based in South America and is currently being used by dealerships around the world, from the automotive, truck, construction equipment and agricultural machinery industries, including as part of large projects with major OEMs such as Nissan, Renault and John Deere.

“It was actually due to our existing relationship with General Motors that we started investigating Autologica and its motor dealer software. We have recently been in talks with a number of motor dealerships and are already rolling out at two sites. Due to the price performance of this product we believe we can capture a significant share of the market. We currently estimate that we will sign up more than 400 motor dealerships via a reseller channel within the next three years.”

Autologica also provides business-to-business functionality over the Internet by means of interconnecting dealers with manufacturers - enabling order exchange, warranty claims and price updates. Although it is flexible and is also suitable for smaller dealerships, the software can manage multiple branches and franchisees.

“This is our strength. Although our software is significantly cheaper than other market offerings currently, the software is scalable enough to handle motor dealers from small to large, including franchise groups and manufacturer-wide installations. Although our initial focus is on the smaller to medium dealer, we are not ruling out larger dealers and franchise groups”.

More information can be found at the product’s website:
http://www.autologica.net

About Brainbug
Since its inception in 2001, Brainbug Interconnect, a South African wholly owned black empowerment ICT company has been providing professional services and cutting edge software to the motor industry. All technical services, development and marketing support are provided from Brainbug’s head office in Pretoria, Gauteng and regional offices in Middelburg, Mpumalanga

About Autologica
Founded in 1994, Autologica is a leader in software solutions for automotive, agricultural and construction equipment dealers. Its Dealer Management System (DMS) is also at the forefront of advanced e-business solutions as the system can seamlessly integrate with the dealer’s web presence.

Contacts
Brainbug Interconnect
Aadil Aboobaker
+27 (0)12 666 9635
aadil@brainbug.co.za
www.autologica.net

Autologica
Ana Paula Drovandi
+54-341 411 0904
anapauladrovandi@autologica.net
www.autologica.net