NBRA director Chris Weeks used the third session of the ARC360 Digital Event Series – Looking Ahead – to summarise the journey the association has been on since the Covid-19 crisis struck in the spring, and what is coming next.
He recalled how Covid-19 first came to his attention when he received a call from someone who mentioned supply issues in China as a result of new virus. He immediately began to speculate on the potential for similar issues in the UK, but admits the NBRA – like much of the world – vastly underestimated its impact.
He said, ‘In early March the UK had 320 confirmed cases [it is now more than 1.5 million]. At the time we predicted a 20% reduction in claims volumes, but on 23 March it all went boom. Work disappeared very quickly and 74% of bodyshops were either closed or operating on a skeleton staff.’
Support
To support its members and the wider sector, the NBRA immediately lobbied government to include bodyshops among the list of essential service providers, meaning those who wanted to stay open could. It also called for the introduction of a more flexible furlough scheme, which allowed employers to adjust staffing levels according to peaks and troughs in work levels.
Chris said, ‘We’ve now done 42 member updates and also given 55 members a complete subs break. But although this is by far the biggest challenge we’ve ever had, it’s not over. We’ve just come through one crisis and now been hit by Lockdown 2:0. Repairers are a little bit desperate.’
Future
He pointed to analysis carried out by the NBRA of 10 repairers that found, between them, they had lost £120,000 from their bottom lines between 2019 and 2020. Chris suggested further strain could be coming, particularly around parts and ADAS, which he believes has left some bodyshop technicians behind in the skills race.
He revealed that in December the NBRA will be hosting a ’12 days of Christmas’ ADAS programme intended to bridge the knowledge gap by helping repairers understand the technology better, explain the associated costs more clearly and, hopefully, make it profitable.
Further, the NBRA Is producing a VDA margin checker and contract comparator to provide members with a clear overview of each, which should help them understand their own position in the market and inform future negotiations.
Growth
Looking beyond Covid-19 – and Brexit – Chris said that NBRA membership had still grown to 721 this year and the target now is to reach 850 members by the end of 2021 and 1,000 members a year after that.
He praised his board [listed below] for helping to drive the association forward, as well as the recently appointed Tom Hudd, whose sole job is to build new services and functions into the association to make it even more supportive of its members.
Chris concluded by thanking NBRA supply members, and calling for other companies to step forward, particularly in the environmental and software development areas.
ARC360, in association with I Love Claims, is supported by corporate partners BASF, BMS, Copart, EMACS, Entegral, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Mirka, Nationwide Vehicle Recovery Assistance, S&G Response, Sherwin Williams and CAPS; partners asTech, The Green Parts Specialists, Indasa, Innovation Group and Prasco; and strategic partners AutoRaise; NBRA; RepairTalks; and TrendTracker.
NBRA board:
- Steven Field, strategic steer and chairman
- Michael Reed, independent steer
- Dave Sargeant, group steer
- Roger Collings, profitability steer
- James Gore, work provider steer
- Richard Thorogood, sales steer
- Sam Smith, database steer
- Joe Godfrey, retention steer
- Steve Shore, procurement steer
- Dev Cavanagh, political steer
