Enjoy a sneak peak into our next issue of Collision Repair magazine.
By Erin McLaughlin
Disruptive innovation was described by Jeremy Corbyn in The Economist as one of the most influential business ideas of the 21st century. When an innovation takes form that dramatically changes one or more elements of an industry, paradigm or system, it can be considered disruptive. For example, the invention of the internet has hugely influenced how we consume information and products, consequently disrupting music, publishing and television industries. In the collision repair industry, areas prone to the potential affects of disruptive innovation include technology, customer preference, safety standards and consumer/business relations.
1. Connected Vehicles
A new breed of car is entering the market: the connected vehicle. This evolved car will make use of many different technologies, including internet access, the ability to communicate with other vehicles, and safety features. In the eyes of the collision repair industry, one of the more disruptive features the connected vehicle may have is the ability to automatically notify police, the dealership where the car was purchased and a local collision repair facility in the event of a collision. The vehicle may even be able send information to the repair facility or dealership regarding what of the vehicle is damaged and what parts will need to be replaced.
Undoubtedly convenient for the consumer, but this connected technology has the potential to dramatically alter the relationship between car owner and collision repair centre. According to Andrew Shepherd, AIA, Senior Director of Industry Programs, “If the car is in a collision, the dealer may be contacted directly instead of the repairer.” This would create an additional “middleman” communicating to the repair facility on the customer’s behalf. Dealers may also begin to recommend or choose shops for the car owner, instead of the customer undertaking their own research. For shop owners, this means more communication with dealerships, and less with consumers. For technicians, it will likely mean repairing even more complex computerized vehicles.
3. Vehicle Ownership
Changing vehicle ownership has, like connected vehicles, the potential to change the relationship between shop and consumer. Currently, individuals tend to own one or two private vehicles, but this form of ownership is expected to change. Over the next few years, consumers may rent vehicles from rental establishments, as opposed to owning their own cars. The difference between these new rental facilities and traditional car rental businesses? Convenience, largely. Fleets may have AVs that will be able to drive themselves to a requested location, meaning a renter would simply have to request for a particular vehicle electronically and wait for it to show up.
When accidents occur, owners of these rental facilities will deal with collision repair shops, instead of individual customers. It’s difficult to speculate exactly how deeply a shift in ownership with affect collision repair shops, but it certainly means, at the very least, the face of our customer is changing.
3. Autonomous Vehicles (AVs)
“Massive amounts of electronics and safety equipment are being introduced to the average vehicle, and this is just the start,” commented Shepherd. Safety features will eventually evolve to full on autonomous vehicles, and the impact of this will be a significant reduction in collisions by about 89 percent, according to the Conference Board of Canada.
Less collisions means less customers for repair facilities, and it also means the technology we deal with is changing substantially.
4. Electric Vehicles
Electric vehicles will pose a challenging learning curve for technicians, with technology that is very much unlike that of a traditional vehicle. Electric vehicles will need no engine, transition, software or diagnostics. Even breaks will have less wear on them. Work on suspension and tires in the event of a collision, however, will still be needed.
Keeping on Track with the Disruptors
To Shepherd, the answer to maintaining a thriving business in the face of the onslaught of disruptive innovations, is all in the training. “We’ve been singing the hymn of training for at least ten years. As the entire system starts to change, it’s imperative that the shop has a training culture,” he said. Training will not only be necessary to deal with new technologies, but it also may be needed as collision repair facilities begin to offer a larger variety of services as the need for collision repair shrinks.
According to Shepherd, collision repair facilities that invest in training their staff can still find success and make a profit. “This can look like a doom and gloom situation, but it doesn’t have to be,” said Shepherd. In order to survive, shops will have to adapt, and ongoing training is one of the most sure-fire ways to do so. “A learning culture turns training into knowledge, and knowledge into profit,” Shepherd said, adding, “this is not the end of the industry. It’s just a change in the industry as we know it.”
Importantly, in order to survive disruptors, we need to start acting and prepare now—because the future is nearly here. Shepherd pointed out, “We have a tendency, when technology shifts, to think it’s going to happen more slowly than it does. General Motors just announced they plan to have driverless taxis developed by 2019. That’s just twelve months from now. Look at the internet, it changed the entire world in just twenty years.”
The world is changing indeed, and none of us can afford to get left behind. In implementing training programs, and staying aware of new technology as it enters the market, we may just be able to take on the future with confidence.
