It’s challenging knowing exactly when you should update your workflow process. But if you’re finding that vehicle repair cycles are taking longer than they should, or are simply overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork and approvals you need to sift through, it may be time for some change.
Who’s Accountable?
First and foremost, one of the biggest challenges in the PDR business involves accountability. When a job takes too long or a problem arises, who exactly is responsible? In most cases, it would simply be in the hands of the operational manager, regardless of whether it’s actually on them. It’s important to know where the constraints are, who made the mistakes or isn’t pulling their weight, and to incentivize your team to work as efficiently as possible. To do that, you need reliable and timely information.
How Fast Are Vehicles Worked On?
At the end of the day, the shorter your cycle time, the faster the throughput. If vehicles with small dents are taking 8 hours when it should be a 2-hour job, then it’s time to reconsider your PDR process. Each vehicle holding up space in the shop and demanding technician time is preventing your business from working on the next one, and thereby making more money along the way.
Other Shops Are Making The Updates, And So Should You
Right now, the most successful shops are the ones leading the charge in constantly adapting to the PDR world. You don’t want to fall behind or simply follow the trends, but rather predict where the trends will go. Running a PDR business should involve constant improvements so you can stay profitable and competitive. If the most successful businesses are doing it (and some are your local competition), chances are it might not be a bad idea to upgrade and adapt in your own way.
For many PDR shops across the US, implementing a workflow management system has been a complete game changer. Workflow management systems let you access vehicle information, repair costs, perform PDR and hail damage estimates, create invoices, monitor vehicles statuses, and much more in real-time on your desktop or mobile device. To stay ahead of the curve, you want to constantly adapt, and to adapt effectively, you’ll want to use the best tools available. Having complete visibility of your back-office operations as well as your repair work is the best way to constantly improve your PDR process.
AutoMobile Technologies ReconPro
ReconPro is the industry’s most versatile and powerful software solution built for auto recon professionals. With essential tools for performing PDR estimates, hail and insurance matrixes, parts management, paint code lookups, integrations with body shop crash systems and accounting systems, too. ReconPro manages the details of running your business so you can focus on growing your business.
