How TargetWeb Helped Dunlap Lawn & Garden Put Real-Time Inventory in Customers’ Hands

Dunlap Lawn & Garden has been family-owned and operated since 1970, serving their community with an extensive inventory, hands-on service, and a commitment to keeping equipment up and running. As the third generation stepped into leadership, they knew it was time to move away from pen and paper and bring their dealership into the digital age.

That journey began with IDEAL, a dealer management system built specifically for the outdoor power industry. The results were immediate—more organized inventory, streamlined service, and the ability to expand to a second location with confidence. Most recently, they added TargetWeb, a mobile-friendly dealership website platform.

We sat down with Megan Irwin, co-owner of Dunlap Lawn & Garden, to learn how IDEAL and TargetWeb have helped the dealership save time, boost efficiency, and deliver an even better experience to its customers—online and in-store.

1. What was it like switching from pen and paper to IDEAL?

Megan: “When we started using IDEAL, we were just using pen and paper. We did everything the old-fashioned way. When my father bought the company from my grandparents, and then when I came to work for him, we decided we were ready to leap into the new world, and IDEAL has absolutely made that easier.

After that, we were able to open a second location. All of our parts are where they belong; they’re all inventoried, they’ve all been located. IDEAL pays for itself by me not paying an employee just to update price lists every year. It’s an amazing product.”

2. How are you using IDEAL’s tools and integrations across your dealership?

Megan: “We use a lot of IDEAL’s add-ons. We just recently took on TargetWeb, which is completely integrated between Target and the website, so now my customers can see our live inventory at all times between our two stores.”

3. What has your experience been like with TargetWeb?

Megan: “We just recently started using TargetWeb. I love the integration between IDEAL and TargetWeb and that I don’t have to update every piece of equipment on a constant basis-that it all just flows through the system.

They are feverishly working in the backside and changing things constantly, trying to make sure that every single product is correct. It is a newer product to IDEAL but it has went leaps and bounds in the first few months that we’ve got it.”

4. What kind of impact has TargetWeb had on your day-to-day operations?

Megan: “People call every day asking, ‘do I have this, do I have that?’ Now they can go to our website and look. They’ll be able to look at the website to determine which store has which piece of equipment. Now they’re at the website first and then they’re calling us and they know that I have them, they know how many I have, so that helps a lot.”

5. How do you think IDEAL has changed your life?

Megan: “My family has owned the dealership that I currently own for 55 years. I have seen so many things change from the time I was a small child until now. I don’t know if our business would be where it is today without IDEAL.

It was a very hard decision when we took IDEAL 14 years ago and what system we were going to take. I have looked at other systems since then. I have talked to other dealerships. IDEAL is, in my opinion, the top-of-the-line integrated system when it comes to outdoor power. Our life would be very different without it.

Every part in my store has a home. I know where they are, I know I can find them. The values are always right. My customers are tracked. My work orders are all done. My employees take pictures on their tablets of equipment when it comes in.

I don’t know that any other system out there does all of the steps that IDEAL does.”