Started as a DMS. Still a DMS.

Auto/Mate, one of the industry’s first Dealership Management Systems (DMS), was developed by Wang Laboratories in the 1970’s.

Wang was a well-known calculator and word-processing company. When calculators became unprofitable, Wang began manufacturing mini and mid-frame computers with the intention of overtaking market-leader IBM.

Wang computers became extremely popular amongst auto dealers. At one point, more than two-thirds of the nation’s dealerships ran their business using a Wang computer system. Steve Fullum, a college professor who was contacted by Wang and asked to create a software program to help dealers calculate payments and do their accounting. The program Fullum developed was called Auto/Mate, the first F&I system for dealers. Wang dominated the DMS market for several years with this product.

By the mid-1990’s, the company had grown to over 10 employees, with Fullum selling one Auto/Mate Dealer Management System every couple of months.

Today, Auto/Mate has approximately 135 employees and a customer base of over 1,150 dealerships nationwide. Many Auto/Mate clients have been using the system since it was first marketed and sold by Wang.