July 14, 2011 - WARRENDALE, PA - Guardian Protection Services, the nation's largest privately-held security systems company, is pleased to announce DART or Dealer Automated Real Time. DART is a new Web-based service that allows Guardian's authorized dealers to quickly upload documents and be paid electronically.
The creation of DART was based on feedback from Guardian's authorized dealers and built to match what they requested. The end result is a money-saving and time-saving service for both Guardian and its dealers.
"DART streamlines the process," said Eric Aulbach, senior vice president information technology at Guardian. "Instead of physically mailing all of the paper documents to the company, dealers upload them electronically. We can begin processing them more quickly and ultimately pay the dealers more quickly."
DART also creates a level of transparency to the paperwork process, according to Aulbach. "If any problems are found while Guardian's dealer department is auditing the contracts, they can notify the dealer of the problem," Aulbach continued. "The dealer can easily see the contract on his or her PC, review it and automatically make corrections on the spot."
Aulbach said dealers don't have to buy anything, download anything or install any software; they just access the services remotely. "It's a totally Web-based application," he said. "All that's required is a user name and password to access all of the services."
Hank Groff, director of dealer recruitment and development, added, "Guardian dealers can work from anywhere with web access. They can scan the paperwork and submit it to us electronically." The result is improved efficiency for both the dealer and Guardian.
"As contracts are coming in, the dealer department can start processing them immediately," Aulbach explained. "The net effect is positive, since both the approval process and funding to the dealer are expedited."
Guardian's authorized dealers also have access to marketing and training materials through DART. Many of the materials can be customized with the dealer's logo, and contact information. Dealers can look through Guardian's library of materials, choose what they want, place their order, and receive proofs and final artwork all through DART.
"Our dealers can immediately see what creative collateral is available to them to support their marketing activities," said Mary Lynn Moriarity, Guardian vice president of marketing. "We also supplement the choices with articles on best practices and marketing policies."
Guardian implemented DART in May 2011 and so far, it has received good feedback. "We recently received an e-mail from one of our dealers who said it's really saving him time and money with his business," said Groff.
Guardian Protection Services is currently ranked among the nation's top 10 security systems companies as ranked by industry journal Security Distributing & Marketing magazine (SDM). Guardian's authorized dealer program includes approximately 45 dealers throughout the United States. Guardian also designs, installs and monitors security systems for residences, small businesses, commercial facilities and industrial locations via a network of company-owned branch locations. Approximately 240,000 customers trust Guardian for their protection. Guardian Protection Services is one of the Armstrong Group of Companies. Headquartered 20 miles north of Pittsburgh in Warrendale, Pa., Guardian provides 24-hour monitoring throughout the United States.
