LKQ of Washington invests $2.5 million in recycling ... - Parts & People

Nissan announces new collision repair program for dealers and independents
by Rob Merwin
Orlando, Fla.—Nissan North America
launched its nationwide Nissan Certified
Collision Repair Network at the
International Autobody Congress and
Exposition (NACE), in Orlando, Fla., in
October.
The new certification program is open to
dealer-owned and independent collision
shops, which have the option of becoming
either Nissan-certified, Infiniti-certified, or
both, said Mark Zoba, Nissan’s manager of
collision parts sales growth.
“We really want our dealer-owner base
to begin focusing on using certified shops,”
Zoba said. “We want the customer to know
they can go to the dealer for everything.”
Currently, about 20 percent of Nissan
dealerships are associated with a collision
shop, Zoba said, and the long-term goal of
the program is customer focus and to align
one collision shop with each of its
dealerships.
“Customers know they can purchase a
vehicle at a dealership and get it
maintained there,” he said. “But whenever
there’s a collision, 80 percent of our
dealerships have no direct line to a vetted
collision shop — that’s what we want to
establish.”
Participating collision shops will be
provided incentives for parts discounts, and
dealership owners will be provided with a
shop locater through which they can enter
their ZIP code and be directed to a certified
collision shop in their area, Zoba said.
As part of the program, selected collision
shops will “live up” to the brands and make
sure customers are “taken care of, first and
foremost,” he said. The program began
development more than two years ago by
“We want to make sure we get coverage in the major markets across the country with
one shop, at a minimum, for every one of our dealers depending on demand,” says
Mark Zoba, manager, collision parts sales growth for Nissan.
bench-marking different programs and
using best practices of other OEMs, he
added.
Certified facilities will have the benefit
of training and the ability to fix new
technology, how to
work with metals
such as aluminum,
access to all
technical
information, and
repair procedures,
he said.
“Even some
DRPs might not
know some of the
new technologies as they come out,” Zoba
said. “With the electric Leaf there’s some
“We really want our dealerowner
base to begin focusing
on using certified shops. We
want the customer to know
they can go to the dealer for
everything.”
knowledge and training that needs to take
place to ensure the safety of technicians —
not just anyone can repair them.”
Nissan has teamed up with DuPont
Performance Coatings (DPC) to assist in
the implementation
of the program’s
certification process
and the Inter-
Industry Conference
on Auto Collision
Repair (I-CAR) to
conduct technician
training.
“We’re the first
program to
implement the new I-CAR Gold Class
training development so the shops that get
certified must identify their work groups
within their facility and its specific training
to those individuals,” Zoba said.
“That’s unlike the past when I-CAR
certification was a point system where a
painter might go to frame classes just so
shops could get enough points to earn their
certification,” he said.
“Now that I-CAR certification is focused
on the responsibilities of each individual, it
ensures that training is going to the right
people and that all our shops have strong
foundations — we’re happy to be the first
ones to implement it.”
Collision shops interested in becoming
part of the network are required to obtain a
dealer sponsorship, followed by an online
enrollment process that involves providing
a shop profile, including facility photos, in
order to establish that a shop can maintain
the Nissan/Infiniti brand, Zoba said.
A DPC representative will then visit a
facility for a standards audit, after which a
shop will have 12 months to fill any
existing gaps, he said.
After successfully passing the inspection,
a shop will be certified and a second
review will be conducted in 12 months to
ensure that those gaps have been satisfied,
as well as be informed of any new
requirements for the following year, Zoba
said.
“It’s a great opportunity for the shops
and a way for them to differentiate
themselves from other area facilities,” he
said. “We want to make sure we get
coverage in the major markets across the
country with one shop, at a minimum, for
every one of our dealers depending on
demand.” n
Continuous improvement means implementing problem-solving teamwork
by Steve Birmingham
St. Charles, Mo.—To get to the top of
the collision industry and stay there
requires teamwork and knowing how to
continuously improve a shop’s procedures,
said Mike Anderson, founder of
CollisionAdvice, at the 30th annual
Missouri-AASP EXCEL Trade Show &
Training Conference.
As an AMI-approved seminar presenter
and past collision shop owner, Anderson
knows of what he speaks. After 20 years
owning Wagonwork Collision Centers in
Alexandria, Va., he sold the businesses in
2010 and founded CollisionAdvice, a
consulting firm that offers workshops and
seminars .
In his “Understanding Continuous
Improvement” seminar, Anderson showed
collision shop managers and owners how
they can improve their facilities’ cycle
times and reduce a stressful environment
by turning their organization into a
“problem-solving organization.”
Anderson said the current state of the
collision repair industry is such that shop
owners must “think out of the box.”
“In 2010 there were $48 billion worth of
automotive accidents and $20 billion of
those were declared total losses,” he said.
“There were also $30 billion worth of cars
to fix and of that amount, 25 percent were
customer pay. That's more than it’s ever
been in the U.S.”
Anderson said that 25-percent figure was
expected to grow to 40 percent by 2015,
“and that means that right now, if 10 people
come to your shop, 2.5 of them will not go
through their insurance, either because they
have a high deductible or they only have
liability. That absolutely effects how we do
business.
“Here’s the deal: You can be a business
that just survives, or you can be a business
that thrives,” he said. “I don't know about
you, but I choose to be in a business to
thrive, not just survive. Shops that are
thriving and not just surviving are doing
things to really focus on that 25-percent
customer pay.”
Anderson said many of those shops offer
no-interest financing for up to year while
others offer 90 days same-as-cash.
“People are thinking outside the box,” he
said. “Last, but not least, some of them are
offering good, better, best options. They're
not trying to fix every car perfectly; they
understand that some people who pay out
of pocket might be looking for a little less.”
Continued on page C-4
PHOTO BY ROB MERWIN
Mike Anderson, founder of CollisonAdvice,
advises collision repair shop owners and
managers on how to change their shop
culture in order to increase their profits at
the 30th annual AASP-Missouri EXCEL
Trade Show & Training Conference.
Page C-2 November 2011 Parts & People www.partsandpeople.com