ARC360 made a welcome return to physical events at the British Motor Museum on Thursday, 25 November. ‘Back to the Future,’ held under the ARC360 banner of Gaining Ground Together, saw industry leaders from all sectors meet to discuss the challenges of 2021 and the potential solutions that might help to ensure a successful 2022.
Underlining the difficulties still faced by the automotive incident repair aftermarket, a live poll of delegates found that nearly four in 10 businesses (38%) are still operating with less than 40% of work colleagues back at work full time.
Meanwhile, subsequent polls identified the rising cost implications of the ongoing skills shortage and the impact it is having on capacity, as well as the substantial changes to working practices brought about by new claims technology; 58% said the influx of new tech had already changed the way they work while 94% said it would in the ‘near future’.
Back to the Future also addressed key issues such electric vehicles and the changing face of repair and claims, while also examining what the data says about consumer trends, vehicle sales and economic outlooks.
Hosted by NED/advisor/mentor/coach, Dave Shepherd the event saw key insights provided throughout the day by a host of key persons of influence from across the sector.
Getting things underway panellists Dawn Marsden, Head of GI Supplier Management, LV=; Darren Willis, Executive Director, Motofix; and James Gatti, Director, Innovation Group, discussed the learnings of 2021 and what they might mean for the near future, while Richard Steer, Chief Executive of Steer Automotive Group, next gave a highly insightful interview during the session – ‘New Age of Repair’.
Claire Hart, National Sales Manager, Entegral; Dean Lander, Head of Repair Sector Services, Thatcham Research; and Neil Joslin, CEO, e2e, provided an overview of the evolving world of motor claims. Paul Sell then presented the latest data from Trend Tracker, before the day concluded with a broad-ranging interview with Byron McGill, Change, Innovation and Technology Lead, Supply Chain, UKGI Claims, Aviva.
ARC360, in association with I Love Claims, would like to thank corporate partners BASF, BMS, CAPS, Copart, EMACS, Entegral, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Innovation Group, Mirka, Nationwide Vehicle Recovery Assistance, S&G Response, and Sherwin Williams, as well as partners asTech, The Green Parts Specialists, Indasa and Prasco UK.
