Major Florida Brokerage and Service Company Joins Regional Group to Promote Online Service Coordination and Boat Management.
Hobe Sound, Fla. – May 7, 2014 – Galati Yacht Sales, a major yacht brokerage, dealership and marine services organization operating in nine locations worldwide, has joined The Boat Village’s regional collaborative in southeast Florida, uniting with other top marine businesses in the region to promote online service coordination and boat management.
Galati Yacht Sales, which has more than 450 boats in brokerage and specializes in Viking, Princess, Tiara, Cruisers, Grand Banks, Maritimo, Rampage and Prestige brands, will use The Boat Village Premium Service, a consumer platform that simplifies communication and collaboration, to make it easier for owners to coordinate service and maintain their vessels. Galati Yacht Sales will provide their customers with a digital profile of their vessel and all of its relevant information, including digitized operating manuals and a custom maintenance plan based on manufacturer recommendations for the equipment onboard.
Galati Yacht Sales, a member of the Boating Industry Top 100 Dealer Hall of Fame, is already using the My-Villages DockMaster suite of marine software, and will install The Boat Village on a new Tiara 5800 Sovran, Team Galati Viking 82 Convertible and a pre-owned Viking 66 Convertible. Galati Yacht Sales is also working with My-Villages to designate a boat, loaded with The Boat Village, to participate in the Gulf Coast regional fishing tournament circuit this summer.
“Galati Yacht Sales is one of the great names in boating and we are thrilled to have them onboard,” said Kevin Hutchinson, founder and CEO of My-Villages, which created The Boat Village. “Having Galati Yacht Sales join the other great names in the marine industry who are already part of The Boat Village is further validation of the need for better boat management tools and online service coordination.”
“Putting the customer first goes beyond just sales—it has to extend to service,” said Darren Plymale, vice president of Galati Yacht Sales. “The Boat Village allows us to use technology to make that process easier for owners, and that’s always our goal.”
The Boat Village Premium Service, an application that works on any smartphone, tablet or computer, keeps an inventory of all onboard equipment, which is personalized with digital manuals and automated maintenance reminders. Owners can send electronic service requests, communicate with service professionals (including the use of photos and videos), get updates on work in process, access service records, follow their favorite experts and even chat with other boaters—all within the application. The result is instant access to information and stronger two-way communication between owners and the village people who help them operate and maintain their vessels. Records are preserved electronically and the boat’s service history, usage trends, trip logs and other useful information are readily available 24/7 using cloud technology.
Galati Yacht Sales joins a growing list of major marine firms who have signed on as part of the My-Villages southeast Florida regional collaborative to promote online service coordination and boat management. They include boat builders like The Hinckley Company and Regal, as well as dealers like FastBoats, marinas like Aqua Marine Partners and Old Port Cove, and service yards like Whiticar Boat Works and Marine Professionals Incorporated (MPI).
“Coordinating business online is an everyday occurrence in the world of retail, banking, healthcare and other industries, and we are working collaboratively to bring that to the marine industry,” Hutchinson said. “Our job is to build and support the technology and companies like Galati Yacht Sales are making it a reality in the industry.”
