Strategies to Help Auto Body Shops Navigate the Semiconductor Microchip Shortage by Chasidy Rae Sisk
The global semiconductor microchip shortage has been impacting vehicle manufacturing for the past year, but as the shortage persists, some experts anticipate its effects could be felt by the collision and automotive repair industries in the second half of 2021, potentially causing delays in cycle time as replacement parts become less available. Although collision repairers cannot control disruptions in supply, Jade Terreberry, director of dealer sales analytics at Cox Automotive, offered “7 Strategies for Navigating the Chip Shortage” during a recent educational webinar, presented by Autotrader and Automotive News’ PowerTraining. Moderator Terry Kosdrosky, audience engagement and social media editor for Automotive News, welcomed attendees and introduced Terreberry, who promised to identify “opportunities in areas where you can focus in the coming months to drive strategy, precision and accuracy to meet your goals. We’re going to cover seven very specific strategies, but the message is bigger than that.” Identifying the cause of the microchip shortage as “continued aftershocks of the pandemic,” Terreberry said, “A year ago, we couldn’t say how big this supply and demand imbalance situation would become, but we also know this industry is tough, and it’s gritty, and it’s smart, and we always use technology to change, adjust and really catapult us into the future. “If you think about the disruptions [in the past] that created global supply chain issues, we always make it through,” Terreberry said. “Not only do we make it through--in this industry, disruption is truly the catalyst that helps us change and find better ways to be more efficient and smarter to meet our consumers’ needs in better ways to ensure that we have a multi-pronged revenue stream approach to our businesses[…] We’re going to talk about driving our business into the future.” Before exploring the strategies, Terreberry emphasized the importance of auto body shop owners un-
derstanding the market, where their those and then gives you the ability ent things. If you’re not using that business is today and where they to work quality leads and spend your data to decision make, promote, optime doing quality things is more timize and determine where to spend want to be in the future. Shops only want three things: important than ever.” your time, you’re not using the data to make more money, to sell more Shops that want to make more the right way. But your competition orders and to create loyal, lifetime sales, increase profitability and es- is using it correctly, and that’s how customers, and every action taken tablish a loyal customer base should they’re finding that edge on you, day by the business should be designed “measure everything to be efficient by day.” with your time and your money,” Collision repair facilities, serto drive those direct outcomes. Terreberry said. This means vice shops and dealerships should It’s easy to “get caught “keeping your funnels full, also “be nimble and be aware. Conup in a lot of the minutiae of feeling like we are but using technology to sumers don’t stop wanting or needdoing things to move the your advantage and being ing their cars when there’s a chip needle within our business, laser-focused. For those shortage,” Terreberry said. “Use the but if we can’t measure of you that have used re- full picture of everything at your how it drives those direct porting, whether that’s in fingertips to make decisions. Be laoutcomes, we cannot be your CRM or whether that ser-focused with your time, and plan Jade Terreberry focused on it today,” Terreis in Envision, or within a your work.” berry said. “We have to stay focused third-party data aggregator’s tools to Terreberry offered additional adunderstand what’s working or what vice to dealerships related to streamon our goals.” Acknowledging the disruption not, I want to challenge you to take lining inventory acquisition to disvaries by industry segment, Terre- that one step further, because of the posal strategy, reimagining certified berry insisted each impacted seg- current market conditions. pre-owned segments and extending “And that one step further slow-moving inventory beyond the ment requires a specific strategy. “We have to be efficient with means using the data that exists there immediate market. the dollars we spend, we have to be to look in the rearview mirror, to tell She also discussed the imporextraordinarily careful and we have a performance story or to measure tance of focusing on fixed ops, notto understand what’s working and an ROI equation,” she said. “Today, ing, “Fixed operations [is] the most what’s not,” she said. “Ultimately, you have to look at so many differ- stable segment of revenue that you the market is different by the day, and consumer demand is also different. We know that these supply chain constraints are out of our control, but we have to focus on some of the things that are in our control for us to be able to close the gap and just focus on our market share. Supply chain constraints are out of our control, but how we handle them isn’t.” Terreberry offered several strategies for dealing with the microchip shortage that body shops may find useful. “Not all personalization is creChoose Original MINI Parts. ated equal. You cannot be everywhere all the time. This is quality Michigan Ohio over quantity messaging,” she said. “We believe our clients understand MINI of Grand Rapids Classic MINI data, want to use data and want to be Grand Rapids Willoughby Hills as efficient as they possibly can. So, 888-708-1359 440-585-9990 Parts we really started focusing on grow(616)-452-1101 Fax (440) 347-9723 Fax ing this audience. miniofgrandrapids.com M-F 7-6; Sat 7-3 “Our biggest competitive difclassicmini.com ferentiator is the amount of data we have and our ability to […] be able to translate that into a consumer exThe Dealers Above Are Original perience, and into consumer adverMINI Parts Distributors tising that captures those folks at the right place in the funnel, drives ©2021 MINI USA, a division of BMW of North America, LLC. The MINI name, model names and logo are them back to our experiences, gives registered trademarks. them the ability to navigate through
42 AUGUST 2021 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com
