If strategy is the brains behind a business, then its operations and processes are the heart and lungs. That has never been more true than it is right now, in a working environment that have been bent completely out of shape by myriad influences.
Of course, Covid-19 is the obvious one, but the pandemic only added more change to an industry that was already changing beyond all recognition. In-car technology has been evolving for years, as has digitalisation; what Covid-19 did was accelerate these evolutions while adding to the mix fluctuating volumes, remote working, and changing consumer habits.
If ever a business needed to be flexible in both approach and process it is now.
Skills challenge
However, operations depend on the operator and more than anything else at the moment, finding and retaining the skills to steer through this perfect storm is the over-arching challenge of the day.
That was certainly the verdict of the recent ARC360 webinar, where panellists Harry Abraham, Operations Director, Halo ARC; Jeff Mack, National Account Manager, NWVA; Jane Pocock, Managing Director, Copart UK; and Robert McWilliams, Approved Repairer Vendor Manager, UKGI Claims, Zurich Insurance all agreed that the war for talent has never been more fierce.
Jeff said, “The challenge is attracting the right sort of people, especially when you can’t compete with what other industries are paying.”
In this feature, we pose six key questions to different sectors of the automotive aftermarket, to gain a valuable and wide-view insight into how the industry is adapting operations to remain viable and profitable in the midst of unheralded uncertainty.
How do you stand out from the competition?
Jane Pocock, Managing Director, Copart UK & Ireland: “Our nationwide operational capabilities remain unrivalled with 18 fully owned and connected operational sites, strategically positioned across the UK and Ireland. Spanning over 400 acres, our size and scale enables us to store over 100k vehicles at any one time and manage any peaks in demand through centrally controlled decisions. With robust emergency contingency plans in place, we have complete flexibility to divert vehicles, people, and operations quickly and easily to another Copart Operation Centre if needed.
“Our operational coverage enables us to process around 500k vehicles per annum, which means we can provide latent capacity and unrivalled Surge Management capabilities.
“We have a well-established emergency response strategy in place to rapidly recover and handle large volumes of vehicles following flooding or other extreme weather incidents. Our specialist Surge Management Team is always on standby to be deployed at short notice, using a wide range of mobile technology solutions to assess, image, and process vehicles on-site.
“Meanwhile, our continued investment into our transport fleet means we now have 400-plus owned and branded vehicles and 250-plus directly employed drivers to collect vehicles from policy holders’ homes. This means we are not reliant on a sub haul network.”
Kelvyn Waugh, Managing Director, Prasco: “We view ourselves as very much the David in the David vs Goliath story in the supply of replacement vehicle parts. We’re not the biggest provider of replacement parts in the UK but, through our modest team, we do offer what I believe to be an unrivalled personal service.
“We stock arguably the largest array of independently certified replacement parts in Britain today and because we are integral to Prasco’s Pan-European operation, based in northern Italy, our web of suppliers spans the planet.
“We have invested significantly and improved our procurement processes over the last year or so, a move which has increased our offering in terms of product line-up and efficiencies in getting the right products and high levels of stock 10-fold. Putting that into perspective, at any one time we have up to five shipping containers full of products heading our way and as every month passes, we are increasing our product numbers to levels we’ve not experienced before.”
How do you meet ever-changing customer demand?
Copart: “We will continue to make significant investment into land acquisition, and the extension and improvement of our existing Operation Centres to meet growing demand from our customers.
“For example, there are major expansion plans currently underway at Copart’s Bristol Operation Centre, with this location set to become a 63-acre ‘Super Centre’ for the South West by the end of the year. Works underway include areas for vehicles that require specialist handling, like EV’s, and contingency land in the event of catastrophes.
“There will also be brand-new vehicle preparation areas that will enable vehicle inspections, valeting, and 360-degree imaging – providing complete transparency to buyers at our patented online auctions.
“Of course, operational excellence is about more than physical land. It is also about maintaining outstanding customer service and we pride ourselves on having what we call an ‘always-on’ approach to this. A major contributor to this was the opening of our Customer Excellence Centre in Bedford in 2021, centralising our Claims Settlement, Customer Support Centre, Vehicle Engineering, and Operational Audit teams to support our ongoing growth and the changing needs of our customers.
“This has enabled us to provide our insurance partners with world-class end-to-end outsourced services and drive more returns for their vehicles.”
Prasco: “Put simply, investment. There’s not a single area of the business we have not invested significantly in over the past two or three years. We listen to what our customers want, react, and make sure we deliver on their expectations. A prime example is our deliveries. Not only have we increased our fleet and the number of drivers, but we have also bought in a live tracking system so we can precisely monitor every delivery.
“Then there’s our product range – this is an area where we have particularly grown. Since 1 January that area has seen a further 10% increase in part numbers and will continue to grow too. As we speak close on £80,000 in new racking is being installed to ensure we can safely and securely hold those ever-increasing items in store.
How do partnerships benefit your business and improve operations?
Copart: “Continuous collaboration with our partners and insurance customers is key. We’re continuously expanding the range of value-added services we offer and work closely with insurers to develop bespoke service solutions as and when required.
“We provide an extensive range of self-service online tools and portals, accessible 24/7, and a dedicated account management team, with availability to take calls outside of operating hours for any critical or emergency requirements.
“All of this is supported by our ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management Standard, which is just one of our ‘Super Six’ of ISO accreditations. This gives our customers, partners, and stakeholders an additional layer of reassurance that Copart is a robust and resilient company. There is no better example of this than the fact Copart continued to remain fully operational from the very beginning of the Covid pandemic, whereas many other companies closed their doors.
Prasco: “From a supply perspective we have a great web of close working partnerships right across Europe and in the Far East? It is solely down to these relationships that, even during the darkest days of Covid, we maintained and even increased our stock levels.
“I stay loyal to those we work closely with. While some will chase lower prices and chop and change their suppliers accordingly, I never have. For me, my driver to work with a supplier is the quality of the products they produce. That loyalty, which goes both ways, is a fundamental foundation behind our constant success and growth.
“From a work provision point of view, we work with all the key insurer and bodyshop groups in the UK and we are fully integrated with management systems.”
What is impacting on your operations at the moment and how you are tackling this?
Copart: “With an ever-growing UK Car Parc of electric and hybrid vehicles, we have focused on evolving our Operation Centres to support the requirements of these vehicle types by creating dedicated storage and handling areas.
“The specialist skills required to handle, recycle, and remarket EV’s means we must ensure that all our teammates who deal with them have the necessary expertise to work safely and competently. Therefore, we have made significant investment into EV training across our business, and since 2019 we have rolled out the IMI Level 2 qualification in Electric/Hybrid Vehicle Routine Maintenance.
“In 2021, we partnered with the IVR for a national roll out of the IVR VR27 Electric (EV) and Hybrid Vehicles training module to Copart UK drivers, and we are also implementing our unique and bespoke driver CPC (Certificate of Professional Competence) module specifically around EVs with an external training provider.
“In addition, teammates based at our vehicle recycling and parts centre in York have also completed the IMI Level 3 Award in Electric/Hybrid Vehicle System Repair and Replacement.”
Prasco: “The main issue surrounding the industry at the moment is with the supply of parts and, while I admit it is challenging, our close working relationships with our suppliers, especially those in the Far East, ensure we’re able to manage ourselves though it.
“Our recent changes to our procurement processes now ensures we have steady flow of containers constantly arriving on site. Putting that into perspective, we have multiple containers arriving daily and then there’s our colleagues in northern Italy who dwarf our number of arrivals so, if we need supply and we haven’t got certain items, we pull parts from Turin. Crucially, our range increases and constantly evolves to meet the demands of repairers.
Ian Summers, Director, Summers Motors: “I’ve said numerous times over the last few years the biggest threat is not keeping up to date with training and equipment and not investing in the team. As the advancement in technology rapidly increases you have to be looking ahead or before you know it you are so behind it’s hard to repair accident damage correctly and safely.
“ADAS is the perfect example of how reactive our industry is. It has been on vehicles since the mid-2000s and still people are only just investing in the equipment and training.
“Also, with fluctuating volumes, I think it’s never been more important to be able to mix the size of your work and where it comes from. We are fortunate that we have such varied work providers and a lot of our own retail work. It’s so much easier to balance the workflow when you can book drivable vehicles in at a time when the workshop has the capability and the required replacement cars.”
What part does technology play in your operations?
Copart: “We are continually investing into new technology and systems and in the last 12 months alone we’ve launched our Virtual Vehicle Visits service, Vehicle Data and Virtual Queue products, 360 degree imaging, the Copart Transportation App, Owner Connect SMT SMS Service, and numerous upgrades to our patented live auction platform.
“We also have the ability to develop our own bespoke systems tailored to the needs of our insurance customers. This means the speed of implementation is incredibly unique.
“Unique to the motor claims industry is our innovative data-sharing technology, which enables total system integration between our operating system and our insurance customers’ claims systems.
“This allows us to interact digitally with insurers, from the point where a vehicle is deemed a total loss through every stage of the process until final settlement. The real-time data transfer provides our insurance customers with an efficient and seamless total loss claims process, greatly speeding up the journey and delivering significant benefits for their policy holders.
“Our Central Dispatch function also plays a major role in the process. It uses dynamic route schedule software to optimise the availability and location of our transporter fleet alongside real-time road data to plan the most effective routes. Investment in the latest connected telematics and cameras across our fleet also means optimal efficiency and significantly lower fuel consumption and emissions.”
Prasco: “We have invested heavily in tech over the last 18 months to improve our efficiencies. Amazon has long led the way for online shopping and its winning formula is a tracked, next-day, door-to-door delivery service. We have simply emulated that and now offer what we believe to be an industry-leading customer service ensuring that if an item is ordered before 5pm, it’s in a repairers’ hands the next day.
“We also use technology to provide an accurate ETA – if there are traffic problems the driver is automatically re-directed to ensure that promise is kept. We also provide photographic evidence that a product is delivered to ensure the repairer is able to manage each and every repair.
“We have also developed our own smartphone/tablet app, alongside an in-person sales team, that enables users to order direct from the shop floor.”
Summers Motors: “For many bodyshops, the most important technology is their management system. With cashflow a massive concern, monitoring parts and products is a must and ensuring you get them at the right time is critical so the repair can be completed and invoiced as quickly as possible.
“Also, by controlling the booking in process you can ensure you don’t have jobs, particularly driveable cars, on site until you have parts and mobility options available. At Summers, we managed this by requesting images of the job before we make any arrangements around repairs to minimise the disruption to the customer and shorten the repair cycle.
“Another benefit of having control of our workflow is that we can try and arrange booking dates for cars with similar colours and repairs, meaning they can be pushed through the workshop and ovens (painting multiple panels at once for example) in the most-time saving manner.”
How are you investing in your people to ensure continued operational excellence?
Copart: “The unique roles performed by Copart teammates, including claims management, engineering, and electric vehicle specialists, enabled us to remain operational throughout the pandemic, so we know how important it is to keep investing in training and development.
“With the electric revolution gathering pace, we’re pleased to say that across our engineering force over 40 Vehicle Damage Evaluators and industry qualified engineers have been certified with an IMI Level 2 qualification in Electric/Hybrid Vehicle Routine Maintenance.
“We have also supported over 120 Copart apprenticeships, including customer service, business administration, team leading, operations management, LGV driving, and vehicle damage assessment. We expect them to then share and integrate what they have studied to benefit our wider business.
“As mentioned, we have also adopted fully connected telematics and camera systems, which allows us to monitor driver behaviour and provide further training if needed.”
Prasco: “Having a fairly modest team enables us to work closely with everyone. In the past we have introduced various training programmes and initiatives, and recently we turned to our local chamber of commerce to identify areas where we can improve the team which will inevitably result in further training opportunities.”
