Destiny and Chrysler increasing vehicle service revenues in a recession.
At a time when the automotive industry is facing very tough economic conditions, servicing is one area where dealers should be able to keep and increase their business. Even if drivers are not replacing their vehicles, most will want to maintain the ones they have.
Mike Eldrett, regional aftersales manager at Chrysler UK Ltd, had been looking for a robust electronic alternative to replace a paper based health check process at all dealerships to allow them to speed-up the servicing process and for it to become more customer friendly by allowing dealers to report back immediately to clients on service requirements and obtaining immediate sign-off for work.
“Chrysler piloted various electronic programmes over the last two years, but found Destiny’s digital pen, which is based on Anoto technology, integrated with an automated vehicle health check process developed by FGA Computer Systems, was the best solution with limited staff training and ease of use”, said Mike.
The service receptionist now fills in a digital vehicle health check form. The paper is normal paper with a series of hidden dots printed into the paper to digitise it. The form stays with the vehicle as the technician carries out a systematic health check, writing the results on the form with a digital pen, using tick boxes for speed and simplicity. The form is returned to the service desk where it’s signed by the customer with the digital pen.
As soon as the technician has completed the check, the data on the form is sent to Destiny’s secure servers - either by a simple docking process or via a Bluetooth mobile device. The pen strokes are instantly converted by Vision Objects MyScript software into a graphical image of the original handwritten form, and a data file.
These files are then transmitted back to the FGA web application in the service department, where service staff can immediately see the details on their screens, and cost the parts and labour of any work that’s required. With real-time visibility of any issues affecting the vehicle’s performance or roadworthiness, they’re now able to make immediate contact with the customer to get authorisation to proceed.
Average retail hours sold per invoice increased by 37.5%. Average revenue per job rose by £48. Workshop parts sales also increased by 14%, and with a projected 800 additional annual service hours per dealer, the positive impact on the entire Chrysler network could be as much as £3,645,328.
“Daily sales have improved, and future revenue opportunities identified to maximise profitability in aftersales operations. Reporting measures to improve internal efficiency are also in place.
“The return-on-investment is impressive, once the digital pen is in use within the workshop can make a positive financial contribution to the business within days”, explains Mike Eldrett.
With good follow-up processes for deferred work file, and the results from pilot dealers equally impressive with average deferred work file of 37,000 per month and a sales conversion of 7%, gave each dealer further incremental monthly sales average of £2,590.00, which could have a further positive impact to the Chrysler network of £190,070.
Chrysler is now rolling out the system to their dealership network. “The digital pen health check programme has provided a consistent measurable programme to our service department, which is easy to administer without any major training required for technicians. We have seen an average increase for on the day sales from our previous paper based system of an average per job of £131.46.
“Along with deferred work follow-up, daily sales based on 10% conversion over the last two months we have seen sales in excess of £5,500. The major benefit has been the consistent delivery of an electronic health check programme measured against vehicle throughput, measured against each technician, STM and parts personnel”, said Tim Collier, Aftersales Manager at Whitehouse Group.
Edward Belgeonne, CEO and founder of Destiny, said: “Because there’s no cumbersome technology involved, and little or no training, people find digital pens really easy to use. And because nothing gets missed between the workshop and the service counter, dealers now have much higher up-selling and revenue opportunities.
“In today’s climate this could literally make the difference between going out of business and staying profitable. The investment required is also far lower than other IT solutions, so return on investment is normally very fast. Digital pen technology can be in use within the workshop and making a financial contribution to the business within days.”
Tim McGing, managing director at FGA Computer Systems, said: “Dealers who want to maximise profitability in their aftersales operations can gain genuine and measurable benefits. In the last twelve months, dealers in the UK have identified more than £10 million of up-selling opportunities using this technology.”
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