Page 23 - Australasian Paint & Panel magazine

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industry. They’re all doing it because ul- timately it makes a much more saleable proposition to people with deep pockets.
“Where does that leave the legacy fo- cused, independents? Family businesses passed down from generation to genera- tion – they’re the ones that are at the most risk. How do they stay relevant?
These micro
consolidators represent more
of a risk to the single site independent repairers”
“The benefits of what we do are borne out almost every day now as we’ve tipped that magic 20 network members mark. We’re making a real impact with insurers in terms of our shops delivering great quality outcomes, great cost out- comes, delighting customers, and of course with Fix Auto corporate being able to provide that back of house gov- ernance, control and reporting.
BENEFITS TO THE INSURERS
“I was recently in a meeting with the leadership team of one of the larger in- surers and very quickly and succinctly you’re able to discuss performance across the whole network and any spe- cific challenges that exist.
“So all those benefits that the MSOs are taking to the insurers, about stream- lining communication, managing opera- tional performance, driving better out- comes, taking a lot of the admin and workload away - that’s what we do. We’ve really stepped into our own there with improved reporting and data. It’s nice to hear from the insurers, “Oh, this is great. We were happy dealing with all of these shops individually, they’re all good shops, but this is much easier.”
Looking forward to the rest of the year Faid says: “I would like to see con- tinued growth. We’ve had year on year growth, even through the pandemic. For our existing network we remain fo- cused on their profitability and long term sustainability. There’s plenty of work around so we are concentrating on optimising the returns on that work.
“We work very hard between both parties there to make sure that we’re looking to reduce the exposure to cost for insurers at all times, but we don’t compromise the profitability of the work for the repairer. We do a lot of work on repair methods and how to drive those efficiencies and scale to get a better net return.
“For the people joining the network, we focus on a smooth and efficient tran- sition that allows us to start adding val- ue to their business as soon as possible.”
WILL SHOPS GET LOST?
Returning to the current market situation Faid says: “Doing nothing isn’t going to work; you will get lost. So do what’s right foryou.Itmayormaynotbeus,buttodo nothing will be the greatest mistake. What I wholeheartedly stand by is that we offer the ability for independently owned businesses to stay exactly that, but unite with a network with global scale and who has got their back in a true partnership. If you think something else will best serve your business, that’s okay, but find out what you need and do it.
“I think in the next five years those that continue to think that they can just
row a boat on their own and they’ll be fine, will find out that isn’t the case.
So that isn’t a pitch for Fix, that is a pitch for the independent operators of this industry to figure out how it pro- tects itself and to take action.”
CAR CRAFT SIZE: 135
BUSINESS TYPE: Unlisted public company. EMPLOYEES 1750
CAR CRAFT HAS EXPERIENCED SIGNIFI-
cant national growth in its network over the last year adding 12 businesses around the country.
CEO Peter McMahon says: “I think what’s happened is after a long period of time building the brand and explain- ing what we do and what we’re about, people are starting to sit up and take notice as to the size of the organisation and what it offers.
So, instead of us trying to explain to people what or who we are, they know now. Our online presence has grown tre- mendously since engaging DigiTLC to look after it, so you’d be pretty hard- pressed not to know that we’re around.
“It’s okay for a handful of guys around the country to be standalone repairers, and they might have the volume and the arrangements, but predominantly you need to be part of something.
“The industry understands that we want people in our group that are good repairers, good business people, who want to learn more and want to be able to talk to their peers.
“It’s not all about discounts and whether we do a great deal with the supplier, it is about the whole picture. On top of that, we now have insurers calling us because there is a trust val- ue that the guy who owns the store and runs the store, has a reputation to maintain. Car Craft has a reputation for getting things done. If there’s an is- sue, there’s one person to contact and we sort it out. That’s for both the re- pairer and the insurer.
FROM TOP:
Fix has a very strong brand which is incorporated by all its new partners. The majority of the network got together in Queensland last year for the Fix Auto conference.
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