Sonnys’ The CarWash Factory Franchise Benefits from Genetec AutoVu ALPR Cameras

By CIOReview | Saturday, December 24, 2022

The use of advanced camera technology enhances the car wash experience and increases revenue for operators.

FREMONT, CA: “The Carwash Factory said Partnering with a company like Genetec helps our team make the ALPR car wash solution a success. The AutoVu Sharp V cameras perform exceptionally well, and the Genetec team is always responsive and willing to help. But ultimately, it's the car wash operators who are benefiting the most. The ALPR solution helps our customers increase their sales, save on labor, and streamline the car wash experience, so it's seamless to the end customer," says Regi Flanagan, Chief Technology Officer at Sonnys. "Genetec, a leading provider of unified security, public safety, operations, and business intelligence solutions, has revealed that Sonnys The CarWash Factory has merged Genetec AutoVu Sharp V ALPR (automatic license plate recognition) cameras into its point-of-sale solutions used by car washes to develop a frictionless retail experience for customers, new marketing opportunities, and more efficient operations.

Sonnys is the largest manufacturer of conveyorized carwash equipment globally, with a network of over 6,000 operators who utilize its innovative approach, which includes all the equipment, services, and resources required to run a successful car wash business. To enable the creative solution, the Sonnys CarWash Controls team enhanced its point of sale and cloud-based back office management software to utilize automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) and collaborated with Genetec to integrate ALPR into the AutoVu Sharp V cameras, which feed data back to the Sonnys CarWash Controls system. Over a thousand Sonnys locations are now equipped with the Sonnys' CarWash Controls ALPR solution; some have reported an increase in membership and average ticket sales, as well as a decrease in labor, after implementing it.

A superior consumer experience and operational procedure compared to RFID tagging

At car washes equipped with Sonnys License Plate Recognition (LPR) technology, consumers may sign up for membership wash plans using their plate numbers, use special express lanes that read their plates upon arrival, and have their vehicles washed based on their subscriptions. This technique eliminates the need for RFID tags, scanners, and online payment. It enables a smart queue that knows which cars are next in line to ensure that each customer receives the requested wash, saving time, labor, and money.

Genetec is collaborating with the Sonnys CarWash Controls team to develop new firmware for the camera to enable the Sonnys software that recognizes trailer hitches on vehicles, allowing equipment to retract and preventing costly issues such as equipment or customer vehicle damage if the staff does not manually intervene.

New data insights generate fresh marketing possibilities.

Sonnys can boost the value of its POS system for car wash operations by gathering and comparing data from AutoVu LPR cameras. LPR technology enables businesses to record and exploit consumer behavior data in meaningful ways to improvecustomer flow and potentially enhance spending, unlike RFID technology, which just detected automobiles with memberships. For instance, businesses can provide discounts to customers who have yet to renew, memberships to frequent visitors, or sophisticated services such as high-level detailing based on previous purchases. Even first-time clients can be identified and greeted with personalized communications.