February 2021

BY Leo Freebairn, National Sales Manager at TechMan W ith so many businesses falling victim to the COVID-19 outbreak, workshops have had their fair share of challenges during 2020. The common theme heard from garages is this; They now realise shortcomings in their business processes that they used to live with are now a priority needing to be urgently addressed. This may be the only way to work towards recouping the lost takings from 2020. Time is always at the top of the agenda for all concerned. This could be the time it takes to perform an admin task, or to book a new customer in the diary, or to look up parts prices, or to produce an invoice, or to tell a customer their car is ready to collect. Then there is the time a technician spends on a job versus the time given to them on job card. In short, small time gains at any level can produce massive improvements to bottom line figures by end of the year. How do garages tackle the dilemma? Also, how far can a new GMS go to relieving some of these pains? These are TechMan’s five top tips for consideration: 1. Analyse processes Every garage that comes to TechMan will be aware of areas they can improve on. Key places to begin include understanding where the majority of costs to the business come from, what steps in their process cause bottlenecks or where delays are coming from and what steps of the process take the most time to get done. 2. Develop a culture of adaptability Common sayings like “we have always done it this way” or “I’m not sure if my guys are ready for this” can cripple change within a business. Lead from the top and use examples your team will understand, like streaming music online or using a smartphone. In 2021 workshops must embrace new ideas and working practices to stand any chance of competing in tomorrow’s world. 3. Choose technology that can drive growth Workshop owners are the first to tell us about their new purchase whether that be a diagnostic machine, ADAS equipment or even hand-held or drive-over tread depth readers. Most come at considerable cost to the business. Meanwhile, these same businesses often still run a paper diary, paper jobs cards or use an outdated invoicing system to run their entire business. Choosing technology that can streamline nearly all of these processes and monitor performance can make significant changes to profit at the end of the year. 4. Work it into your budget While paper diaries and an old copy of some software from 2003 can seem like an inexpensive option, are we really robbing Peter to pay Paul? Factoring in the cost of a business management tools like a GMS can seem like a luxury, but finding a small monthly budget to cover such costs can a sound investment 12 months down the line. 20 AFTERMARKET FEBRUARY 2021 BUSINESS www.aftermarketonline.net 2021 TECHMAN: TIPS FOR A FAST START GMS providers and Top Technician and Top Garage sponsors TechMan examine ways to begin 2021 with a blast