London, United Kingdom — March 22, 2016 — The IBIS Board has revealed what they think are the biggest challenges and opportunities facing our industry. This year’s IBIS Global Summit takes place May 23 to 25 at the Hilton Diagonal Mar in Barcelona, Spain. Collision Repair magazine is the exclusive Canadian Media Partner for IBIS.
In the words of Board member and former IBIS speaker Sean Carey of SCG Management Consultants, “The future has finally arrived.”
Carey elaborates, noting that in the short term, the biggest hurdle is still attracting and retaining skilled staff.
“The challenge for the industry, as I see it, is timing the transformation from the traditional way of conducting business, which is labour intensive, inefficient and highly subjective to the new claims/repair workflow future where data and seamless connectivity replaces feet on the ground and gut feeling,” says Carey. “I have to add here that the greatest near term challenge will be finding and training the human resources necessary to complete a safe, efficient and economically viable repair on vehicles that are becoming more and more sophisticated and sensitive.”
The need for appropriate skills and resources isn’t new. However, it’s possible to see this both as a challenge and as an opportunity, according to Board member and Editor of Bodyshop Magazine UK, Mark Hadaway.
“Quite simply I see skills and technology as both the greatest challenges and opportunities within the sector at present,” says Hadaway. “Those who adapt quickest and embrace the ‘new’ will be the ones who discover previously unidentified opportunities within the industry.”
Technology was the focus for David Worsfold, the Board’s insurance specialist. Looking at the coming era of autonomous vehicles, he notes that repairers may soon be dealing with insurance models drawn more from product liability systems than traditional automotive insurance.
“Automated driving – and ultimately driverless cars – will have a major impact on the relationship between the insurance industry and the collision repair sector,” says Worsfold. “Repairers will find themselves dealing with product liability insurers instead of traditional motor insurers and that will have an impact on claims processes. The lower volume of repairs but greater complexity, with the overlay of manufacturers’ warranties on automated systems, will also have a major impact and far sooner than many currently anticipate.”
The IBIS Global Summit 2016 will explore the major challenges and opportunities facing the industry, giving delegates an opportunity to learn from the sessions and share their views in order to evolve and continue to thrive in the future. The Global Summit is only possible with the support of the forward-thinking IBIS partners: 3M, AkzoNobel, Audatex, Belron, EMM, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Fix Auto World.
For more information or to book your place at IBIS, please email Nicola Keady at Nicola@ibisworldwide.com.
