Background
Ciocca Automotive began as a family business, run by Gregg Ciocca out of his mother’s garage. Four decades later, Ciocca owns 56 dealerships that account for over $2 billion in annual sales, employ more than 2,000 associates, and have satisfied countless customers throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Ciocca Automotive, a rapidly expanding dealership group with a diverse portfolio of automotive brands, faced significant challenges in managing maintenance operations across its numerous locations. Before implementing Asset Essentials, the company relied on a shared, rudimentary Google spreadsheet for maintenance requests, leading to disorganization and a lack of transparency.
Dave Sampson, Corporate Facilities Manager, recognized the critical need for a robust asset management solution to centralize operations, improve efficiency, and support the group's continued growth. Having previously implemented Asset Essentials at another dealership group, Sampson championed its adoption at Ciocca and emphasized its potential to transform their maintenance workflows.
Scaling proper maintenance practices far and wide
Sampson’s journey with Brightly’s Asset Essentials began in his previous role, where he implemented the solution before joining Ciocca Automotive in 2021. At that time, the team was using shared Google spreadsheets, which were insufficient to manage 56 stores and 15 body shops. Sampson immediately proposed bringing Asset Essentials to Ciocca, confident in its ability to meet both maintenance and executive objectives for cost-effective structuring.
The immediate win at Ciocca was eliminating Google spreadsheets and establishing a formal work-order system with Asset Essentials. Sampson highlighted the benefit of enabling a clear distinction between internal maintenance and vendor-assigned tasks. This provided managers with a much-needed outlet to request work and gain clear visibility into its progress and completion.
Using a team mentality to gain adoption
Sampson's hands-on approach to implementation was key to Asset Essentials’ successful rollout at Ciocca. He visited every store and spoke with every manager to support implementation, ensuring they understood the software. Sampson and his team now proactively onboard new managers to drive consistent adoption and understanding of Ciocca’s maintenance expectations.
To highlight his team’s commitment to responding to all requests, Sampson emphasizes that "even a low-priority request that comes means that it is important to somebody because they took the time to put the request in." This approach builds confidence among their requesters and managers and fosters a sense of trust in the system.
As an avid advocate for Asset Essentials, Sampson appreciates the building blocks of the software’s core structure, which align perfectly with Ciocca's regional operational model.
Results
With Brightly’s asset management solution, Ciocca Automotive:
- Expanded their asset management program across 71 facilities, creating streamlined communications and uniformed processes.
- Reduced daily friction of maintenance repairs and improved accountability amongst technicians.
- Enhanced communication amongst managers across all dealerships.
- Improved work order management for internal and vendor work orders.
Vitals
Ciocca Automotive car dealership owns:
- 56 dealerships
- 15 body shops
- Numerous ancillary buildings and properties