For over a decade, Obexer’s Boat Company has relied on IDEAL’s dealership management software to help streamline their operations, from over-the-counter sales to service orders and parts management. We sat down with Joanne Kilburn, Office Manager at Obexer’s, to talk about how IDEAL helps the marina stay fast, flexible, and reliable, especially in a business where time and precision matter.
From DOS to the Cloud: A Smooth Digital Evolution
Before IDEAL, Obexer’s was running on an old DOS-based system, something many long-time dealerships can relate to. The move to IDEAL wasn’t driven by a crisis, but rather a desire to step into a more modern, reliable system.
“We just needed a more updated software program. IDEAL fit that need, and we haven’t really looked back since.”
Overcoming Challenges with the Switch to IDEAL Cloud
To keep operations running at full speed during busy counter sales, Obexer’s Boat Company made the decision to move to IDEAL Cloud. The transition was smoother than expected, and the results were immediate.
“We rely on IDEAL so much, we couldn’t afford downtime. But the transition to the cloud version was incredibly fast and smooth.”
Now, system speeds are back up—and her team couldn’t be happier.
“It’s just speedy, speedy. Everybody’s super happy with it.”
Curated Customer Support
One of the biggest areas of improvement Joanne has noticed recently is IDEAL’s customer support.
“I just email support, CC Sara [our account rep], and I get a response right away.”
Joanne credits IDEAL’s growing support team and her ongoing relationship with team members like Sara LaRose and Dave Baumgarten, who’ve provided solutions and workarounds tailored to Obexer’s unique marina needs, including vessel tracking and hull ID formatting.
“Now it feels like we have someone in our corner.”
Parts Locator: Fast Searches for Busy Teams
Before using IDEAL’s Parts Locator, finding parts often meant wasted time and manual searching. Staff had to dig through inventory without a fast or reliable way to narrow things down. With Parts Locator, they can now pull up exactly what they need in seconds, keeping service moving and customers happy.
“It lets you search in a flexible way, starts with, contains, whatever. You can narrow it down quickly without wasting time. That’s huge when you’re busy.”
A System That Dealers Can Trust
We asked Joanne, what would she say to someone considering IDEAL?
“If you’re in IDEAL’s core customer group—outdoor power equipment, marine, powersports—it’s a no-brainer. There’s nothing else like it out there that works this well.”
