Barcelona, Spain — May 24, 2016 — Collision repair leaders from across the globe have converged on Barcelona, Spain, for the 2016 IBIS Global Summit. Every year the conference brings together the collision world’s elite for knowledge sharing, thought leadership and unrivaled networking opportunities. Collision Repair magazine is the exclusive Canadian Media Partner for IBIS 2016.
The event got underway at Hilton Diagonal Mar Barcelona on May 23 with a welcome reception. The conference really got into high gear on Tuesday with the first presentations. Leading off the slate was an introduction and update on IBIS.
Richard Offermann of Google was next to take the stage. The theme of IBIS this year is “changing future landscapes” and there are few organisations as well placed to cover this as Google. The company first entered the automotive world with the introduction and testing of its self-driving cars.
IBIS is hosted in a different nation each year, with part of the conference given over to an in-depth examination of the challenges faced by the host nation. This year Gregorio Rodríguez Santos of MAPFRE Internacional presented on being a Spanish insurers in the global market, and Ignacio Juárez Pérez of research organization CESVIMAP discussed claims handling in the Spanish market and the latest repair techniques.
After a break for lunch, delegates returned to the hall for “Beyond Consolidation” delivered by Bradley Mewes of Supplement!, a consulting firm specializing in the collision repair industry. Mewes discussed the future of collision repair and where the industry is headed after consolidation has reached its peak.
More discussion of consolidation trends followed, with David Smith Vice President Supply Chain/Procurement for Caliber Collision Centres, one of the largest multi-store operators in the US. Smith spoke on “MSO procurement strategies: changing the vendor relationship.”
John Fearns of Broadspire by Crawford & Company was next to the stage. Fearn presented on connected claims, examining how third party administrators add value and new business models for the insurer/repairer relationship.
The second day of IBIS 2016 concluded with an International Dinner. The conference continues on May 25. Watch for a complete report on IBIS 2016 in the next issue of Collision Repair magazine!
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