Shopmonkey shop management software “was built to be easy to use for everyone in the shop, including technicians and service writers,” said our source. Typically computer upgrades aren’t required for these cloud-based systems, provided the shop has an Internet connection and an up-to-date browser.

New solutions piggyback on the latest digital advances to provide better efficiency and improve the customer experience.

The digital revolution that completely reimagined phones, computers, and other devices has altered auto shop management as well. Cloud-based systems are available that improve not only shop efficiency but also customer satisfaction. Granted, most of these systems were designed for dealership service departments or general repair shops, but they can be customized to work in a race or high-performance shop environment as well. “From F1 to farm trailer, you can enter it in Tekmetric,” said Prasanth Chilukuri of the Houston, Texas-based management platform.

We recently spoke with Chilukuri and Travis Brown of San Jose, California-based Shopmonkey to learn more about some of the latest developments in shop management systems.

How it Works

Details differ among the companies that offer these systems, but essentially they enable transparent communication about a vehicle and its progress with everyone in the shop, from the person writing the order to the technicians to the bookkeeper who sends the invoice. “It’s an all-in-one solution,” said Brown. “Shops don’t need six or seven different tools to get the job done.”

Describing a typical Tekmetric service experience, Chilukuri explained that the system logs in the vehicle; begins the repair order; records a digital vehicle inspection that can be customized for repair, pre-race, pre-sale or other circumstances; adds jobs to the repair ticket as needed, and sources the parts for the repair (either through the shop’s inventory or outside vendors); then sends the estimate to the customer’s smartphone for approval. Following approval, the system alerts technicians that the car is ready to be worked on and offers them the opportunity to order parts that aren’t in stock. If parts availability presents a bottleneck, the system can “reorganize and reallocate time based on what’s ready to be worked on,” Chilukuri said. “You can push that car down if there’s another car you can get out before it.” Once the work is completed, the customer is alerted via text—“we have two-way texting built into the system”—and the customer can pay from their smartphone and pick up the car at their convenience.

Both companies prioritize intuitive user interfaces for their systems and devices. “Shopmonkey was built to be easy to use for everyone in the shop, including the technicians and service writers,” Brown said. With the popularity of smartphone apps and Zoom meetings, shop staff “are more familiar with technology and come to expect it as standard.”

“Our philosophy has always been simplicity,” Chilukuri said, citing the iPhone as an example of the interface experience they wanted. “You can buy a phone now, and it doesn’t come with instructions. Our system should be as intuitive and easy to use, regardless of your role. You can log in…and use the system with minimal training.” Once [it’s] set up, “you can be up and running within 30–45 minutes at the most.”

Most shops won’t need to upgrade their computing equipment to use these systems. “With SaaS [software as a service] and cloud-based software…you can use your existing systems as long as you have access to the Internet and a modern browser,” said Brown.

A shop doesn’t even need a super-fast Internet connection to run [these systems], Chilukuri said. “A Wi-Fi connection is great, but the system is so performative that it will work fine with low-speed Internet. I’ve done demonstrations tethering off my cell phone in an airport parking lot and it worked just fine, but the stronger the Internet connection, the faster you can be productive.”

If it Ain’t Broke…

Why consider adopting an auto shop management system if a shop is functioning fine without one? First, they can significantly improve shop efficiency, which, according to Brown, translates directly to increased revenue. “We’ve found, within the first year of shops using [it], on average they’re growing their revenue nearly 40%,” he said. “We chalk that up to internal operational efficiencies, process optimization, and clean communication with their technicians, service writers and partners.”

“We measure a few different things,” said Chilukuri. “Probably the largest one is ARO (average repair order). We typically find customers who use [these systems] increase their ARO by 20%, and the driver for that is transparency. They’re able to present pictures and videos of required work so the approval process is much more fluid. And it allows cycle times to go much faster. They’re getting vehicles out faster, which increases ARO and profitability.”

Another reason is customer satisfaction. “We’re at an age where customers don’t want to sit in your waiting room,” observed Chilukuri. “They don’t even want to wait in line at Starbucks. They just want to walk in and pick up their cup of coffee. That’s the experience people demand now, and we want to arm our customers with that, so they can give their customers the best possible experience.”

“I want to take my car to where I trust the shop owner, and I know that I can send them a text message, they can send me a picture back, and I can pay online,” said Brown. “These are all very modern expectations that have been further solidified around the contactless experiences we’ve had in the last couple of years.” 

SOURCES

Shopmonkey
shopmonkey.io

Tekmetric
tekmetric.com