The IBIS conference at Montreaux in Switzerland on 20-22 May allowed delegates some fascinating global insights into where the industry is heading.
Here are a few of the conference highlights, there will be a full report in the July/August issue of Paint and Panel.
Delegates from 36 countries attended the conference including 30-strong contingent of Australian repairers taking part in a European study tour with Suncorp.
The stand out speaker of the first day for many was a teleconference interview with Tony Aquila the founder of Solera, owners of Audatex. As well as discussing opportunities and developments in the BRIC countries, Aquila talked about the challenges facing the industry, including the changing attitudes of young people to motoring, citing studies which say the ‘car is not who we are’. With the decline in the repair market he said that business would be more under pressure with more brands to deal with from emerging markets and he recommended specialisation, as the cost and complexity of repairing all models continues to rise. “It’s tough to compete when you have more overheads,” he said.
Paul Gange, president of independent franchise repair chain Fix Auto, USA, which is strong in both the Canadian, USA and UK markets, gave an inspiring presentation on 'The illusion of enthusiastic employees'. He talked about strategies to create a genuinely enthusiastic workforce and how to inspire lasting change in an organisation.
Suncorp, who was one of the event's sponsors, also took to the lecturn with Terese Wood, executive general manager, personal insurance claims and Craig Summers, acting head of motor claims explaining Suncorp’s strategy with Capital SMART and Q-Plus as well as its ‘Road Map to a Shared Future’ with its repairer network and its stewardship of creating a national repair standard in Australia.
The ‘factory production line’ approach to repairs was heralded by conference director David Lingham as ground breaking and surely an indication to how repairs may be carried out globally in the future.
Other presentations included how the smart phone can be used in the accident repair process by Chris Denison, founder of Ingenin. He believes that an increasing reliance on smart phones could lead to insurers losing their strong grip on their customer base.
Xiaolong Peng from Longco gave a fascinating presentation on the enormous Chinese repair market. The numbers were deemed mind boggling from many delegates – 421,000 repair shops employing around 2.65 million people.
The second day kicked off with a look at the supply chain – distrubutors, suppliers and insurance companies. Richard Steer from leading GB distributor JCA Coatings gave an insight into the difficulties of keeping a workforce trained and highlighted the necessity of allowing the whole supply chain to keep their margins in order to supply not only the product but the training to use the product.
Next up was an entertaining presentation from Marco Senger from Germany explaining the very different repair market in his country. Bvdp is a German affinity group which negotiates with insurance companies on its members' behalf for the best repairer outcome. It describes itself as a co-operative accident management solution. “We are not interested in sensless battles because there will only be losers.”
Brock Bulbuck from the world's largest repair group in the US talked about the challenges for multi site operator and of making the right acquitions to ensure that every site buys into the company ethos of 'Wow every customer, be the best.'
There was a great deal of time to network throughout the event and for many this aspect of the conference was as important as the presentations.
Comments from Australian repairers attending the conference included:
Darren Holmes of Darren Holmes Smash Repair, QLD
“It confirmed everything we’ve heard about what’s happening to the industry. It was good to hear about how they do it in other countries – and there’s no doubt that Australia will follow. You just have to stay ahead of the game. It has also been great to network with all the Australian repairers.”
Tom Campaniello MP Crash Repairs, SA
“IBIS gives you unique first hand experience of the present and future of the global bodyshop industry. A must for any forward-thinking bodyshop owner. Well organised and presented.”