Far from the dated image of cluttered garages and prolonged repairs, modern technology is revolutionising the motor body repair industry, optimising processes and ushering in a new era of precision and customer satisfaction.
Dev Moodley, Chairman of the South African Motor Body Repairer’s Association (SAMBRA), a proud association of the Retail Motor Industry Organisation, responsible for nearly 80% of all insured claims nationally, says the modern evolution has been a natural progression. “We are basically driving mobile computers these days and the sophistication of modern vehicles has naturally required that the industry to evolve. Today, walking into an accredited member business, you will see cutting edge colour matching software, 3-D visualisation and many more advanced tools which embrace modern technology and make repairs just that much better and reliable,” he says.
For consumers that is really good news, with more precision repairs and less waiting time for a vehicle. Moodley says as part of that constant evolution, the organisation is excited to be launching yet another learning and support tool for its members, in the form of a digital toolbox - a toolbox designed for better trading and adding value to its members’ customers.
“Access to business process resources and information is key to the future sustainability and success of our member businesses,” notes Moodley. The toolbox is a culmination of industry best practices, expert insights, and practical tools aimed at helping members streamline operations, enhance service quality, improved customer care and the achievement of business excellence.
Rather than being prescriptive, it has been designed as a reference guide for developing a member’s own specific standard operation procedures or operations manual.
The toolbox has three pillars for customer facing, workshop and administration operations, all designed to optimise operations and allow members to keep abreast of the latest standards and techniques related to customer care, workshop efficiency, quality management and supplementary parts.
“We are excited to be rolling out this new tool nationally and believe the response from members will be highly favourable and have a direct positive impact on workshop outcomes,” concludes Moodley.
