While it’s impossible to know for sure, the famous saying that a car is ‘a computer on wheels’ must now be nearly a decade old. The amount of technology within modern vehicles has probably doubled since then, and the evolution is still just getting started with automation, connectivity and electrification all still in infancy.
As such, the products and equipment required to repair the modern vehicle is having to move on too, taking skills and processes on the journey with it.
Handling such rapid and significant shifts is no easy thing, especially for a sector still rebuilding from the impacts of Covid-19 and, on top of everything else, fighting with competitors from within the industry and without for their most prized possessions – staff.
This demand for skills has seen wages rise by as much as 20% in some areas but still, according to the latest NBRA Repairer Market Summary: “Bodyshops are having daily conversations with technicians leaving for other repairers or industries requiring similar skills.”
The challenges are not confined to vehicle repair either. While transformation here has been extensive, no less significant a transformation has been taking place in customer service, with consumer expectations elevated by the almost instant response and delivery times offered by leaders in other industries.
Service
With technology now enabling similar outcomes in our sector, service levels have become a point of difference like never before – and the gap between those who ‘delight’ the customer and those who don’t is only going to get wider.
“We repair cars,” said Ranjit Gill, Director at Fix Auto Slough & Uxbridge, during an exclusive ARC360 podcast, “but how can we make the experience for the customer better? We’ve got a culture now where customers don’t want to wait three days when they can have it tomorrow. They want instant reactivity. So businesses have to evolve to fulfil that requirement. Because as much as we think we’re in control, we’re not; the consumer will dictate how the market evolves.”
Automation is playing a growing role, but Ranjit believes there is low hanging fruit for bodyshops seeking cheap and immediate benefits in terms of customer relationships. For example, he explained how his site now communicates with customers via WhatsApp, a seemingly small innovation that is delivering big benefits.
Ranjit said, “Who wants to have a phone call? Even emails are getting old. So we’re just catering for what our customers want, which is instant reactivity. Also, it speeds up the process our end because it enables us to identify total losses, vehicles that are non-driveable, and what recovery we need to arrange. All that is done at the outset.”
Pandemic
But while that is an easy win, quick and convenient communication won’t make up for a slow and inconvenient repair. Unfortunately though, that is the reality as customer expectations have rebounded much quicker than the sector’s ability to meet them.
“Customer expectation is very high, but our general supply of staff and clientele of suppliers is still recovering from the pandemic,” explained Peter Randhawa, Group General Manager at Steer Automotive Group, during the most recent ARC360 webinARC. “There is very much an imbalance between what we as a sector can deliver and what is being asked.”
A lack of repair capacity is one factor, as is a lack of skills. Across all industries, 33% of employers say their workforce now lacks key skills and a further 41% expect to face the same problem within 12 months, while the Institute of the Motor Industry reported in March a 51% increase in vacancies across the sector.
“We need more staff,” Peter continued. “We’re actively recruiting but everyone knows recruiting is difficult right now.”
Sharing a platform with Peter on the ARC360 webinar was Dave Sargeant, Managing Director at Gemini Accident Repair Centres. He explained that a commitment to apprenticeships has protected his group from the most severe affects of the current skills crisis, with 17 new apprentices recently qualifying and now mentoring the next intake.
He said, “We’re not a company that struggles for people. We do look after our staff and have very little churn.”
Parts
But possibly an even greater stumbling block to delivering the service customers expect now is the disruption to parts supply. The NBRA has suggested that current delays could well become the ‘new normal’, and even get worse before they get better.
“It would seem our parts supply chain issues are set to continue if not worsen for a long time,” it warned, adding that lead times have now ballooned from five to 15 days to 15 to 45.
Peter backed this up, revealing that what used to be a 48-hour window for parts supply has now stretched to over a week, with those delays unavoidably passed on to the customer. Furthermore, any subsequent changes to the repair which mean additional parts ordering knocks the whole process back to square one.
The growing popularity of recycled parts among certain insurers shows they’re alive to this problem and seeking solutions, but the use of green parts is not yet accepted universally so can’t provide a quick fix.
Peter said, “We need a bit of tolerance from suppliers in terms of SLAs and repair times. The only way we’ll get through this is if we understand and support each other. It’s a joint challenge and the quicker we join forces the better.”
Equipment
One knock-on affect of longer repair times has been a greater market requirement for courtesy cars.
However, it is not the only thing placing strain on mobility options available to customers because while customer demand has gone up, supply has gone down – dramatically.
To understand exactly how severe the supply constraints are, figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders spell it out clearly. It reported that car production in the UK was down by 32.4% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021 – and 2021 was hardly a bumper year itself, down 6.7% on 2020 and a whopping 34% below pre-pandemic 2019.
To put that into context, it means nearly 100,000 fewer cars entered the UK market in the first three months of this year alone; and this comes after just 859,575 units were produced in 2021 compared to 1,303,135 units in 2019.
Peter said, “Getting courtesy cars is one of our biggest headaches at the moment. Our business is growing and while you do inherit courtesy cars from the acquired business – I’d hazard a guess we’ve got somewhere in the region of 1,000 courtesy cars now – we are still running a hybrid system where we own some of our cars, lease some of our cars and then use Enterprise as a back-up service.
“What we’re finding now is the cars are due back and there’s nowhere to get replacements. We’re trying to do deals with our current suppliers to extend usage, but it’s not easy.”
Dave agreed, describing mobility as a huge problem simply because of the unavailability of new cars.
He said, “It’s being exacerbated by the fact that about 40% of cars we’re getting at the moment are immobile because of the technology on them. I think now that the whole mobility solution needs to be looked at. Insurers need to see if there’s a better way of doing things other than bringing cars on site and putting customers in courtesy car unnecessarily. That’s not the way forward.”
Innovation
Of course, facing down obstacles is nothing new for the automotive repair industry. It again proved its resilience during Covid-19, and adaptability and innovation in both product and process could well be the way through the post-pandemic challenges.
While no one can magic new vehicles and additional staff out of thin air, there are other areas of the business where creative thinking and a willingness to implement new things can improve processes.
For example, Dave explained how Gemini has for the past decade been roll priming instead of putting the vehicle in the spraybooth to primer and bake it, reducing costs from £8 to 67p. They have since gone back over all their processes to see if there are other marginal gains that can be made.
He said, “I think a lot of bodyshop managers could walk around their own shops and ask if the way they’re doing things is still fit for today’s world.”
In terms of production innovation, they have actively approached suppliers to ask for new solutions that could improve the business. Taking a similarly proactive approach is Ranjit, who revealed that one improvement came from the most unlikely of sources.
He explained, “I recently saw a glue-pulling system on Instagram. It was made by an America company, but I got in touch with them and we’re now incorporating that technology into our company. If you stand still, you fall by the wayside. You have to continue to evolve and we’re constantly looking for ways to improve our business.”
Support
Fortunately, not all innovation needs to be unearthed. When it comes to world-leading manufacturers, they will bring it to you.
BASF is strengthening its claim to be the world’s most innovative company in the chemical industry with a new digital solution that it believes will raise bodyshop standards, improve efficiency and drive profits.
Rob Ghey, Head of Strategic Account Management (BASF Automotive Refinish UK & Ireland), said, “Refinity is our all-new global value proposition for automotive refinish customers. It is a cloud-based platform designed to provide our bodyshop customers worldwide with a cohesive digital experience, driving efficiency in the entire bodyshop process.
“From providing painters with technical support and assessed training modules to giving transparency to bodyshops through management metrics and insights, this will truly enable independent bodyshops and multi-site operations to make the sound business decisions needed to improve performance, profit, and growth over time.”
The single platform solution requires just one set-up and one password to provide full access. Its Business Applications will provide complete transparency into consumption and profitability metrics for each repair, while also enabling bodyshops to set their preferred portfolio of products, manage pricing and stock levels, and automatically generate recommended orders.
Refinity will also include links to offers from selected partners.
Rob continued, “Today’s bodyshops use a number of different software solutions across various systems in their daily operations, which often leads to an inefficient use of time and resources. With the launch of Refinity, BASF will become the first refinish paint company in the world to offer a single digital platform that incorporates all customer solutions in a secure, one-stop shop offering with a simple user interface and designed for the bodyshop environment. This leap forward in technology means Refinity is always up to date, with no onsite maintenance required.”
While it’s true the sector is changing rapidly, and change in one area is creating a need for change in another, the evolution that has already taken place should inspire confidence that the sector can remodel itself to continue to serve the customer safely, efficiently, and profitably.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking
Albert Einstein
we used when creating them.”
