Western Expansion

10th July, 2008

South West-based dealership
Rowes Honda continues to expand,
recently opening a fifth site in
Hayle, Cornwall. Following this key
acquisition, the company has also
expanded its use of MMI
Automotive’s Automate dealer
management system (DMS) to
enhance the group’s efficiency and
profitability.

Rowes Garage was conceived in
1932, opening in Liskeard and operating
from there solely until 1984, when a
second premises in Truro was purchased.
Rowes acquired twice in the Plymouth area,
in 1995 and again in 2006, before expanding
to Hayle in 2008.



Rowes first began using Automate’s predecessor HIMACS in 1991. The relationship with MMI flourished during this time and in 1999, after Automate was officially launched, Rowes adopted the new system also.

Today Automate continues to provide process consistency across the group’s sites, enabling greater access to important data for all system users.

“The need for measurement and control is essential, and Automate provides the necessary tools to obtain and record all aspects of our dealership operations,” explains Peter Harris, Rowes Honda’s MD. “Automate’s CRM integration really helps us optimise our marketing efforts. Co-ordinating our operations from one central point is both time and cost effective.”

Rowes’ Hayle site went live with
Automate earlier this year, and
Automate continues to run smoothly
across all five Rowes Honda sites.
Rowes currently has some 50
employees regularly
using Automate.

“Installation has always been very
straightforward; there have never
been any disruptions to our
operations when our system has
been expanded or updated,” says
Harris. “We also regularly participate
in DMS training to keep staff
knowledge up-to-date.“

As a long standing MMI customer, Rowes
has also been involved in a number of
DMS initiatives, such as MMI’s regularly held
dealer user groups.

“MMI is very receptive to ideas from regular feedback, and quick to incorporate new functionality by listening to the needs of its different OEM partners,” Harris explains. “In this way we feel that by sharing our thoughts, we’ve made a valuable contribution to growing Automate’s functionality.”

“Everything we do is driven by customer need,” confirms MMI MD, Dave Hayward. “There are a number of ways we support end users, and part of implementing best practice means promoting customer interaction. Ultimately they’re the ones who use the system everyday, so we give them every opportunity to tell us what they’d like to see more of.”

Rowes Honda is a valued customer whose loyalty has developed into a close working relationship with MMI.

“MMI appreciates the diverse needs of the modern dealership and tailors Automate to meet industry challenges,” says Harris, “We’ve always had excellent support from MMI over the years and continue to work closely with their team.”