News Archive
March 28, 2006 ACS
Adds Additional Manufacturer Support
Today, ACS announced that it has
recently been certified by Audi, Hyundai and Volkswagen for
factory communications to/from their dealers. These manufacturers
join a fast growing list which already included Acura, Chrysler,
Ford, GM, Honda, Kia, Mazda and Mitsubishi. ACS will continue its
long standing policy of developing support for any manufacturer
which allows it. Please contact your salesman or ACS sales support
for additional information.
February 20, 2006 ACS Receives GM
RIM Approval
General Motors advised ACS today that ACS "has passed
the RIM validation testing requirements and has been granted the
designation of a GM-Approved Dealer Systems Provider (DSP) for the
RIM Integration Point." As a matter of fact, ACS is the first and
only GM DMS or IDMS provider to be approved on all required
integration points. These integration points include the Warranty
Information System (WINS), the Financial Accounting System (FACTS),
the Remote Automatic Parts Input System (RAPID) and the Auto Vehicle
Information System (Auto-VIS). Please contact ACS to schedule RIM
connectivity for your ACCESS® system (also available
on the Dealer page on the ACS web site) or visit
www.acsaccess.com for more information.
October 18, 2005
ACS Occupies New Building
Over the weekend, ACS
moved into their new, state of the art facility on 1.75 acres. The
10,500 square foot, one-story building will accommodate over 90
personnel. The building is designed for an addition to be added on
the west side. ACS owns the adjacent 2 acres for necessary
expansion. The new physical address is 4325 Downtowner Loop South,
Mobile AL 36609-5412. There is a new phone system with new and
different prompts, but the primary phone numbers have not changed.
September 14, 2004 ACS
Purchases New Building Site
Today ACS closed on the 1.75 acre site for its new offices.
Ground breaking for the million dollar 10,500 square foot facility
will be later this year or very early next year. The building
will accommodate over 90 personnel, mostly in customer support.
A wing can be added at a later date to house an additional 100
employees.
July 26, 2004
Extended Customer Support Hours
ACS announced today that beginning August 2, 2004, customer support
call center hours will be from 7:00am to 6:00pm CST. The increased
coverage will better serve customers on the east and west coasts.
The answering system prompts have not changed (1 for Accounting and
Payroll, 2 for Parts and Service, 3 for Sales and Leasing, 4 for
Hardware support, 5 for Sales) and customers will still be greeted
by a customer support representative as soon as the prompt selection
has been made.
June 1, 2004 ACS has
Selected Site for New Building
ACS has selected a site for its new offices.
The purchase agreement is for 72,000 square feet with an option to
purchase the adjoining 36,000 square feet. The deal will be
closed after obtaining an acceptable site survey and engineering
study. The land is in a well developed commercial area in
Mobile approximately one mile west of the Interstate 65 exchange on
Airport Boulevard. Ground breaking for the 10,000+ square foot
facility could be as early as third quarter, 2004.
December 12, 2003 ACS Leases
Additional Office Areas
ACS is expanding rapidly and, to accommodate this growth, has
leased two additional offices and warehouses in the same area as
its current facilities. The new offices are within a line of
sight of the other two facilities, so all employees will be on the
same local area network. Unfortunately, the existing telephone
system will not be connected to the new buildings. This new
space is temporary, and will not prevent the use of "hot desks" in
the support area. Consequently, ACS expects to be in a
different, single facility in early 2005. The search for an
appropriate building or land for a new facility has already begun.
October 21, 2003 Reynolds &
Reynolds Gives Away Dealer Management System
ACS made a proposal to sell a large Pensacola, FL based dealer
an ACCESS system for his new dealership in Mobile,
AL. Rather than compete on price and product, Reynolds &
Reynolds has offered to give the dealer the necessary system
software, communications software and port licenses, as well as
free monthly support. That is, this dealer will pay absolutely
nothing now, or in the coming months, for his new system from R&R!
The dealer will, however, continue to pay support and
maintenance to Reynolds & Reynolds for the system in his Pensacola
dealerships. ACS is still hoping to replace the entire R&R
system when the current long term contract expires. For
additional information on how you may take advantage of this
special offer from R&R, please contact
Sales at ACS.
October 1, 2003 ACS Sales
Force Continues to Expand
Michael K. Concannon of Noblesville, Indiana has joined the ACS
sales force. Working out of Indianapolis, Michael's primary
territory will include the states of Indiana and Ohio. After
almost 15 years experience selling dealer management systems for
Reynolds & Reynolds, Michael is very much looking forward to being
able to offer a Windows and PC based solution to dealers.
Welcome aboard! Please visit
Employment for employment information.
July 1, 2003 ACS joins
Carfax Service Link Program
Carfax is the industry leader in vehicle information services
with information on more than two billion vehicles in North
America. More than 22 million consumers and 20,000 automobile
dealerships use Carfax each year to perform a background check on
a vehicle. ACS is proud to participate in the Carfax Service
Link Program and invites all of its dealer customers to join for
free. This unique opportunity will provide participating
dealers with free advertising and exposure to Carfax users, even
creating a direct Internet link to the dealer website for the
Carfax customer to use. For additional information, please
refer to the July issue of our newsletter or contact sales at ACS
(Contact ACS).
June 10, 2003 ACS introduces
a monthly Newsletter
In order to keep customers up-to-date with the latest product
enhancements and new features, ACS will start publishing a monthly
newsletter today. The Newsletter will be distributed to all
customers via email around the 10th of each month. The
newsletter will keep ACS from having to verbally communicate
product enhancements on a timely basis to its growing customer
base. This will insure that all customers will have access to
and knowledge of all product enhancements and changes. To be
added to the distribution list, just forward your email address to
Laura Keas (laura@emailacs.com).
November 10, 2002 ACS
Acquires More Office Space
After just two years in our new facility, ACS has been forced
to lease additional office space across the street. The new
expansion will give ACS approximately 7,000 square feet of
space. Both buildings will be on the same phone system and local
area network, so customers should not notice any changes. The
physical address will change, however, as the new building has
better loading facilities. The new address will be posted in the
coming weeks when the expansion has been completed.
July 5, 2002 ACS Announces
iACCESS™
ACS has completed several installations using the all Internet
version of its popular dealer management system, ACCESS®.
iACCESS runs totally over the Internet and may be
hosted at the dealers main location or remotely by ACS.
iACCESS allows dealerships with multiple locations to use
one, centrally located file server, giving all users access to as
much information as necessary. It also allows dealers to choose
not to invest in and maintain file servers and backup equipment,
as ACS relieves the dealer of this responsibility when it hosts
iACCESS for the dealer. For more information, refer
to Why ACS or
Products, or simply Contact Us.
April 22, 2002 Internet
Credit Reports
ACS has completed development and testing of its Internet based
credit reporting capability. Credit reports from all three major
bureaus (Equifax, Experían and Trans Union) are now available over
the Internet. The dial capability can be retained as a backup.
Internet credit reports take less than 10 seconds to receive and
are the same price as those available over dial-in connections,
without any surcharge. This enhancement will be provided to all
ACS customers at no charge, as is customary for all
enhancements. The next logical step is credit application
submission over the Internet. This capability is currently in
development.
April 18, 2002 GM Vehicle
Data available within RO entry
ACS announced today that it has given all of its General Motors
customers the ability to access VISS, Vehicle Information Search
System, directly from the service Repair Order screen. The
result of this automatic VISS capability will be to greatly reduce
the time required to check delivery date and warranty data, and
branded titles on all GM vehicles in automotive dealerships across
North America. The software utility that makes the integration
with General Motors VISS possible will be provided to all ACS
customers at no charge, as is customary for all enhancements.
The VISS data is retrieved over the Internet and is accessed by a
keystroke from any Repair Order screen. A similar capability
will be provided to Ford and Chrysler customers as soon as the
manufacturers makes the information available to ACS.
June 21, 2001 ACS Continues
to Expand
ACS is pleased to announce that Thomas R. Edwards of
Springfield, Nebraska has joined the ACS sales team. Tom, a
former R&R Information Systems Solutions Consultant, has many
years experience in the automotive industry, including retail and
Internet sales. Tom will primarily cover Nebraska and Iowa, but
is available to assist dealers throughout the Midwest. He is
very excited that he can now offer less expensive and
Windows-based solutions to dealers. He can be reached toll free
at 866-382-3024 beginning July 2. ACS is deeply committed to
deploying sales consultants in all areas of the country and will
continue to hire as the right individuals are identified.
June 11, 2001 ACS Payroll
goes Electronic
ACS has been approved to use the Automated Clearing House (ACH)
for electronic funds transfer in its Payroll program. Direct
deposit of payroll checks is a convenience to both dealers and
their employees and ACS is happy to assist in making these
electronic transfers occur over the Federal Reserve network. The
dealer only needs to indicate which employees want to participate
in the program. Payroll prints the pay stub for those employees
and creates the file to be sent to ACH.
March 29, 2001 Use ACCESS®
over the Internet
ACS has successfully demonstrated the use of ACCESS
at remote customer sites over the Internet. All system modules
performed flawlessly, including printing. The remote site only
needs Internet access, either via a dial line or any other higher
speed connection. The host site should have a permanent Internet
connection, such as a DSL line, frame relay or T1 line. System
performance varies with line speed, but is excellent with just
128K connections. Immediate applications include remote sales
sites, including temporary sites, such as tent sales.
March 9, 2001 Southeast
Toyota Approval
ACS is pleased to announce that we have been approved to become
a certified DSP for Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET).
SET is the distributor of Toyota vehicles, parts and accessories
in the southeastern United States with over 150 Toyota
dealerships. Currently, only Reynolds & Reynolds and ADP are
approved DSPs. SET and ACS will jointly announce when ACS
ACCESS is available for use in the dealerships.
September 25, 2000 New
Outside Salesman
ACS sells a portion of its software through a dealer, but has
always sold ACCESS only out of the Mobile office.
Beginning October 2, ACS will have its first outside salesman,
working out of Pensacola, Florida. Michael Mitchell has
excellent, long term, first hand knowledge of the car business and
all facets of dealership management systems. Mike can be reached
as shown on the Contact page. For information on how to make ACCESS
not only save you money, but make you money, contact Mike
Mitchell.
August 25, 2000 Ford
Welcomes ACS
Today, ACS received word that we have been "approved to begin
the process of becoming a certified CDS Dealer Service Provider"
for Ford Motor Company. As ACS recently completed work on
Chrysler communications, ACS will soon be able to service all
major franchises. No time frame for completion has been given,
but ACS will complete the certification as quickly as possible.
August 24, 2000 EDS
Electronic Parts Catalog Integration
Today, ACS completed integration testing with the EDS
electronic parts catalog. ACS customers can now move parts
between the EDS catalog and ACS invoices quickly and accurately,
ultimately saving both time and money. As ACS made a similar
announcement over a year ago concerning integration with Bell and
Howell's ePAR™ Electronic Parts Catalog system, ACS is now
integrated with all of the major electronic parts catalogs.
August 17, 2000 ACS is
Moving
ACS has signed a new lease and will be moving into brand new
offices around September 22. The expansion should provide enough
space for the next several years, as it will support almost three
times as many employees. The toll free number will not change,
but all local numbers, including fax, will change. Customers
will be notified of the new numbers and address in the coming
weeks. The web pages will be updated with the new address and
phone numbers shortly before the move.
August 8, 2000 Ward's
Dealer Business Article.
Senior Editor Tim Keenan visited the ACS booth at the NADA
Convention and Exposition in Orlando in February, 2000 and
indicated that he may feature ACS in an article. It has
happened: ACS will be featured in an article in the August, 2000
issue of Ward's Dealer Business. The thrust of the
article will be our lower cost, when compared to Reynolds and
Reynolds, ADP and EDS.
August 1, 2000 ACS in NADA
2001
ACS will be exhibiting at the NADA Convention and Exposition in
Las Vegas, NV on February 3-6, 2001. The booth assignment has
not been received, so check for the location in the show
program. The booth number will also be posted on the web site
before the convention. We look forward to seeing our existing
customers and meeting new ones.
February 8, 2000 The Third
Generation of ACCESS is being Developed.
ACS is proud to announce its third generation dealer management
system. It will be browser based and, of course, web-enabled.
Consequently, dealership customers will be able to view service
history and schedule service appointments via the internet.
Furthermore, all visitors will be able to view live vehicle and
parts inventory, obtain quotes, and so forth. ACS will form
strategic alliances, when and where necessary, to insure that all
customers will be able to tap the internet market, while
maintaining complete control of their business. ACS is committed
to providing customers with all the tools necessary to conduct
business in this rapidly changing environment.
December 3, 1999
DaimlerChrysler, Mazda and AMDSG Communications
ACS will soon announce communications support for
DaimlerChrysler, Mazda and several manufacturers that have adopted
the AMDSG communication standards, such as Acura, Honda and
Mitsubishi.
August 9, 1999 Bell and
Howell Integration
Today ACS completed integration testing with Bell and Howell's
ePAR™ electronic parts catalogs. ACS customers can now move
parts between the ePAR catalog and ACS invoices quickly and
accurately, ultimately saving both time and money. Both ePAR
Station (BH1000) and ePAR Network (BH3000) are now integrated.
ePAR Station runs under both Window 3.11 and Windows 95, while
ePAR Network requires Windows 95.
July 9, 1999 GM
Certification Update
ACS was notified by GM today that it had "successfully
completed the GM ACCESS DSP certification process." This means
that ACS can now use file transfer protocol (FTP) to send warranty
(WINS) and financial (FACTS) data to the GM ACCESS server for
ultimate transmission to GM. As this support completes ACS-GM
communications, no other computer vendor will be required at any
ACS site. Conversational mode (PDCS) will still be required
until at least late in 1999, and RAPID 2000 will continue to use
the old DCS communication method. GM is still committed to
shutting down the old DCS system (except for RAPID 2000) by
the end of 1999. ACS will continue to add support for all GM
ACCESS features as they become available. Please
contact ACS for the latest
development news concerning GM ACCESS.
June 2, 1999 ACS and Windows
95
ACS continues to install its Windows 95 only version of
ACCESS. Although ACS will continue to support DOS and
Windows 3.11 based products, all enhancements will be limited to
the Windows 95 version, as will all new installations. All
networks support all types of workstations: DOS, Windows 3.11 and
Windows 95. Customers currently using DOS or Windows 3.11 on any
workstations do not need to upgrade to Windows 95 until the
workstation fails or until other Windows 95 only applications are
desired.
November 1, 1998 ACS
Approved for GMSPO RAPID 2000
Today ACS was notified by GMSPO that it had "satisfactorily
completed certification and testing of your Device Type BA for
RAPID 2000" and that ACS could now begin installing this device.
This means that ACS systems can now place part orders, returns,
and so forth, with GMSPO for all GM customers. Coupled with
existing warranty (WINS) support for GM customers, ACS now only
lacks support for financial data (FACTS).
September 9, 1997 GM ACCESS
Support
ACS has been invited to attend a meeting with General Motors
concerning our role in supplying services to the GM dealer
organization, specifically in the areas of DCS and the new GM
ACCESS. It is the intention of ACS to fully support applications
being deployed with GM ACCESS as soon as they become available.
Please contact ACS for the
latest development news concerning GM ACCESS.
July 3, 1997 ACS Approved as
Compaq VAR
Today ACS was approved as a Compaq Value Added Reseller
(VAR). As a VAR, ACS will now be able to offer the full line of
Compaq PCs and servers to its customers. As ACS was
already authorized as an IBM Business Partner and
Hewlett Packard reseller, our customers will now have several
options when selecting hardware for purchase through ACS.
April 7, 1997 Experían
Credit Reporting
ACS announced today that support for a third credit reporting
service, Experían Inc. (formerly known as TRW), has been
added to ACS ACCESS. Now all three major credit
reporting services are supported: Equifax, Experían
and Trans Union. The new reporting service support is
identical to the previous two. That is, to receive a credit
report, simply select the credit reporting service and the type of
report desired. The credit report(s) will be saved with the
prospect and available to all ACCESS users with
proper security.
