That is a much better looking product than some others that I have seen out there. I recently left a software company that was developing technology for FO. They have great ideas that meet the needs of the drive, dealer management knew they needed to adopt technology to drive process but struggled to ever pull the trigger. More than one GM told me that the cost of technology in FO was a barrier, he wouldn't sneeze at the dollars for process driven software for variable. But I don't think it had anything to do with ROI. " My techs have been here forever and won't do it anyway so I'm throwing my money away."
Electronic MPI, write-up and a host of other products, are more than sales tools, they are accountability tools too. That is where the real barrier to entry seems to be for technology products for Fixed. Sweeping generalization here, but fixed management doesn't want to be under the microscope. Fixed has not been forced into pricing transparency the same way that Variable has, at least not yet.
How far away do you really think we are from transparency in Fixed? New car sales drops over the last few years means less warranty and a need to compete for CP dollars necessary to achieve profitability. The tools to increase hours per RO are out there, but they come with a level of accountability and transparency that FO isn't at all ready to embrace.
Customers hate making uneducated buying decisions and know when they are being squeezed + decades of lack of trust and a perception battle (ever see the term "stealerships" in an enthusiast forum?) + low cost alternatives from independent repair shops = the ushering of the technology era into the successful Fixed Ops department.
Adapt, Adopt or Dodo Bird!
