Rowse Rakes

Case Study

Overview of Rowse Rakes

Rowse Hydraulic Rakes Company manufactures hay rake equipment, mowers, dirt scrapers, and bale haulers and sells them to equipment dealers across the U.S. In business for over 60 years, the company is privately owned and operated by 4th and 5th generation family members. With a workforce of 40 employees, Rowse Rakes is headquartered in Burwell, Nebraska, with an additional manufacturing facility in O’Neill, Nebraska.

Business

Problem

Before implementing Volano Software's Dealer Portal 3 years ago, Rowse Rakes faced challenges in managing parts orders and customer interactions efficiently. A team of 4 people would handle equipment and parts orders from dealers all over the country by fax, email and phone calls. This manual process was time-consuming and required a significant number of staff to manage. In a small, rural area, the company struggled to find employees to handle the volume of orders and customer inquiries. Additionally, the lack of automation led to inefficiencies and errors in order processing. Rowse Rakes Controller Lisa Hilder heard through her professional network that Volano Software had a solution that might help.

“I come from a very automated background. In fact, Rod and Randy [the owners] joke that they’ve seen more changes in the 5 years I’ve been here than they had in the previous 60 years,” said Hilder. “I knew it was time to automate instead of having all those dealers call in all the time.”

Implemented

Solution

Rowse Rakes implemented Volano Software's Dealer Portal to automate equipment and parts ordering and improve customer engagement. The Dealer Portal allows dealers to log in and order equipment and parts online, reducing the need for manual order processing. The portal also provided dealers with access to equipment pricing and order history, enhancing their ability to serve customers efficiently. Custom features, such as the ability to upload pictures of the equipment, were added to the portal to meet Rowse Rakes' specific needs.

“With the photo feature, when a customer or dealer is looking at a part, they can show them a picture of it,” explained Hilder. “I've had several people tell me that is so nice to be able to look at the part and make sure that it’s exactly what the customer wants to order.”

Hilder highlighted the announcements dashboard, where she’s able to share parts pricing updates or important ordering deadline information, as a particularly helpful feature in the portal. She also relies heavily on Dealer Portal as a database of sorts for all the salespeople in the company’s network. Rowse Rakes also worked with Volano to add sub-options for each piece of equipment listed on Dealer Portal as well as to create a quote review process.