The repair shops of the future

Suncorp is developing more initiatives to assist its partners in the repair industry, including sponsoring the Suncorp/AP&P Autobody Repairer of the Year awards, the inaugural Repairer Study tour and a training program with I-Car, as Suncorp’s Jason McCracken writes.

There's no doubt we've faced a difficult start to the year in Australia and New Zealand, but this has been put into perspective by the tragic events that have taken so many lives in Japan recently.

As a New Zealander who's recently settled in Brisbane, I have personally seen the devastation caused by the recent floods, cyclone and earthquake. This is why Suncorp established the hardship fund for Queensland smash repairers, which has now awarded grants to 11 smash repairers affected by flooding across the state.

While it will be a long process, in Australia and New Zealand we are starting to rebuild and life, for many, is returning to normal. For those in the affected areas of Japan though, there is no such thing as normal anymore. The sheer enormity of the disaster in Japan is difficult to comprehend, despite the confronting images and the ever-growing number of lost lives.

On the industry side, Japan is the world's second largest car manufacturer and many of its plants – some of which produce parts for a range of brands – have been closed or partially shut down in the wake of the crisis.

While I have no doubt the world's largest car manufacturer, China, is working work hard to fill any gaps, these shutdowns are still likely to cause some issues with sourcing parts in the short to medium term. We'll be working closely with our aligned repairers and other stakeholders to help manage customers' expectations should any serious delays arise.

 

competitive advantage

In brighter news, it's time again to call for entries in the Suncorp/Paint and Panel Autobody Repairer of the Year Awards. I encourage everyone to showcase their pride in their business by entering. Forms are available in this edition of the magazine.

We also recently completed one of our other business building initiatives in Suncorp – our first Repairer Study Tour. Taking place in Melbourne, 40 repairers who work with us, as well as a mix of Suncorp staff, attended the four-day tour. Participants heard from industry and business experts, visited the Holden HQ and the Automotive Centre of Excellence, and spent a day watching the F1 Grand Prix.

Unfortunately I was not able to make the tour due to illness, but I am told one guest speaker, business guru John Lees, left an impression on both our Suncorp people and repairers. He said that if, as a business, you are relying on having the best customer service, you are really relying on your competitors having worse customer service.

His key point was that we all need to seek competitive advantages on all fronts and never stop looking for ways to do things better. And this is exactly what the Paint & Panel judges look for during the awards – a well rounded business that's not content to rest on its laurels.

Suncorp has taken this advice to heart when it comes to our assessment process as well. We recently signed a deal with I-Car to put together a new, more consistent training program for all of our assessors across the country.

This new scheme will support and reinforce our motor vehicle assessors' knowledge and skills, ensuring we have some of the best assessors in the industry who are up to date on the latest repair techniques and manufacturing trends.