The following day, 1Collision strategic partners presented on topical industry issues. Enterprise representatives Tristina Egloff, business solutions manager in the Enterprise Replacement & Leisure Division, and Andi Dachel, director of sales and business development at Entegral, were also available to answer questions about Entegral services.
Dan Risley, vice president of quality repair and market development for CCC Intelligent Solutions, talked about the future of CCC and technology. This included scanning and calibrations.
“As Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) continue to evolve and become more commonplace, industry trends are materializing surrounding scanning and calibrations,” said Risley.
Risley talked about the root causes of these emerging behaviors, how they can affect business, and solutions to help shops owners and manager better manage their collision repair facilities.
As the national account executive at PartsTrader, Mark Adler has been working at the company for 10 years, focused on helping shops/MSOs increase gross profit on parts and improve the parts procurement process. Adler shared tips with conference attendees on how to increase gross profit with the parts procurement process. He also discussed the results from 1Collision’s pilot program and how locations have improved their bottom line.
Bob Stansfield, senior manager of field operations, Collision Repair Network (CRN) for OEConnection (OEC), discussed the importance of ensuring quality and safety and the significance of OEM certification in the collision repair industry.
“It indicates that a repair facility meets certain standards and has the necessary equipment, tools and training to repair vehicles properly,” he noted. “It also ensures that repairs will be performed to the specifications set by the vehicle manufacturer and genuine OEM parts will be used in the repair process.”
He said the safety of drivers and passengers is paramount, and non-certified repair facilities or non-OEM parts can compromise safety and increase the risk of accidents or injury.
OEC Director of Collision Sales Nicky Woerner provided an overview of current and future trends, including the inefficiencies and confusion they create for repairers. In her current role at OEC, Woerner is responsible for developing the sales strategy for the RepairLogic Repair Planning Platform in North America with the goal of eliminating complexity around vehicle repair. Woerner educated shops on what it takes to get to a predictable outcome and how OEC is committed to helping solve the complexity of repairs.
Keynote speaker Mike Jones, founder and president of Discover Leadership Training, finished the event with messages centered around leadership.
“We all have a comfort zone, certain patterns of doing things, certain ways of thinking,” said Jones. “It becomes so comfortable for us to remain in that comfort zone, in that fixed mindset, even when we know of a better way, we stay stuck.”
Jones encouraged attendees to get out of their comfort zone yet realize that failure must be an option. “The person who truly perseveres is the one who got up, dusted himself off and got into the game and went for it again,” he said.
“Meeting everyone at the summit, along with all the information, speakers and I-CAR tour, was very worthwhile,” said Greg Anderson from Crossroads Collision in Salina, KS.
“My team and I walked away with a new, invigorating drive to be the best we can be at what we do,” added Ernie De Loera from Collision Service Center in Schaumburg, IL.
Moser, who received the Growth Award, said going to the I-CAR facility was “awesome.”
“We were able to see what they are up to and learn about some of the new products they are working on,” he shared. “It was great to see that they were doing testing on aftermarket scanners to see if they could pass OEM standards, which would help the body shops a ton.”
Moser said he was able to learn from all the presenters who spoke. “Best of all, it was about the people meeting one another and learning from each other,” he said.
Abby Andrews