Multi-brand workshops: managing many EPC catalogs without losing your mind
The cost of a catalog per brand
Run a true multi-make shop and the brand-by-brand approach quietly drags on you: separate logins to remember, separate quirks to learn, separate places to get stuck. New staff master a couple of systems and guess on the rest. Every unfamiliar make is slower and riskier than it should be.
One login, one workflow
Consolidating every make behind one VIN-based workflow removes the tax. Your team learns a single process and applies it to any car — a Golf, a Hilux, a 308. The skill transfers across brands instead of resetting at each one.
Consistency is the real win
When every advisor finds every part the same way, quality stops depending on who happens to be on the desk. The “only Marco can look up the French cars” problem disappears. Consistency across the team is what makes a busy multi-make shop predictable.
Coverage that matches your bay
Two things to check when you consolidate:
- Does the coverage actually include the makes you see — European, Asian, American, Chinese?
- Is the pricing flat, so adding a brand doesn’t add a bill?
Less switching, more fixing
Every minute spent switching tools and logins is a minute not spent fixing cars. One workflow across all makes keeps your team in the job instead of in the software. For a shop that touches a dozen brands, that adds up fast.
Frequently asked questions
How do multi-brand workshops manage so many catalogs?
By consolidating every make behind one VIN-based workflow and login, so the team uses a single process for any car instead of a separate tool and login per brand.
Why is one workflow better than a catalog per brand?
It removes the time lost switching tools, lets skills transfer across brands, and keeps quality consistent regardless of which advisor is on the desk.
What should I check before consolidating catalogs?
That the coverage includes all the makes you actually service — European, Asian, American and Chinese — and that pricing is flat so adding a brand doesn’t add cost.