Since its beginning in 1985, Carter’s Tyre Service has built its reputation and its business around the close relationships it forms with its customers.
Now, 35 years later the company's latest technology is taking that relationship and loyalty to the next level.
Just as company founder Garry Carter would have done from day one, the company prides itself on the management of the tyres being used on fleet vehicles around the country.
But, instead of using a calendar and a pen, Carter’s Tyre Service now uses state of the art technology that maps out and forecasts when tyre changes will need to be made, and can do so months in advance.
Matt Carter, the son of the company's founder, says while the technology has changed, it's still built on trust and transparency.
"Our point of difference is our cloud based tracking system. We know the day our customers tyres are going to wear out, it projects and analyses data to work out when the tread is becoming too low," Carter said.
"With this forecast information, fleet managers can arrange to have their vehicles maintenance stops scheduled into their usual rounds. So, the vehicle doesn't have to go out of service at short notice. It could just be a matter of popping into one of our stores for a short time, rather than being parked up for days."
Competitors have to rely on physical tyre checks, which is time the trucks spend parked up at a depot, rather than being out on the road making money.
Carter's Technology allows a company's fleet manager to check on a vehicle's tyre condition no matter where it's located.
Not only is this technology good for a company's bottom line, it also helps reduce the amount of rubber being dumped.
Optimising the distance travelled by each tyre and knowing when it's time to make a change can result in 15 percent more tread use per tyre, extending its lifespan, overtime reducing the total number of tyres used.
A new truck tire requires 86 litres of crude oil and 69kg of raw material.
The technology also ensures all of the tyres being used in a vehicle fleet are legal and roadworthy. Through the real-time dashboards, managers can see how many tyres are on the road at any time that don't meet the legal requirements. They can then identify which vehicle these tyres are on, and arrange to have the tyres replaced almost immediately at their nearest town or city.
Matt Carter says the same customer service focus that began with his father in 1985 continues today, and has spread across its growing network of stores across the country.
"We've got around 42 stores, some are company owned stores and we have quite a few owner-operated stores in areas like Te Awamutu and Gore. These are places where someone from Auckland probably wouldn't get the type of patronage that the locals get."
So having a local in charge means, just like the company's first ever store, those basic foundations of maintaining relationships with customers remains at the core of the business.
This article was created for Carter's Tyre Service
