Here are some of the best practices to use Autorox GMS effectively and about workshop management in general. Let's transform your workshop with these practices.
1. Order parts digitally to gain full control of repair experience.
Ordering parts via phone calls or manually using paper bills can lead to leakages
in data and also delay in the procurement cycle. Also, mapping the offline data into
the system can be cumbersome. Ordering parts digitally gives you control over the
procurement process in terms of placing the order, getting the right price, visibility
of order status, and migration of stock data into the system automatically. So why
order manually when you can digitally!
2. Set accurate reorder levels
Reorder level refers to setting the level of stock at which you need to place the
order, taking into consideration the transit time for an order to reach your workshop.
This is typically relevant for fast-moving items since any delay in procurement
of these items can lead to shortages and result in delayed delivery of vehicles. If
you have set the reorder level for parts, the system automatically reminds you whenever the parts reach the reorder level and so you can place an order right away to avoid surprise shortages of spare parts.
3. Set the margin for selling parts to avoid revenue leakages.
You would be purchasing spare parts at say A amount on day X. You would also
purchase more quantities of the same kind of spare parts at amount B on day Y. Now,
while using the part while serving the vehicle or while selling the part, you would
not be aware of the difference in pricing at which you procured the part if you
do not have a track of parts purchased separately. In that case, you might end up
selling parts at a loss. You can avoid this by setting the margin rate for selling
or using parts during repair. Thus, selling prices based on margin rather than fixed-rate helps in ensuring we do not sell spare parts at loss.
4. Why is it important to capture policy-related data?
Capturing policy-related data, especially the policy expiry date, can help
you with two things- 1. This data enables you to identify whether the customer’s
car is eligible for claiming the insurance. 2. Policy expiration data can be used
to remind customers in the future about policy renewal.
5. Mention service suggestions in the invoice without fail.
Service suggestions are notes written on the invoice which indicate car service-related advice for customers in order to educate them about things that need to be taken care of for better maintenance of the vehicle. Such suggestions can comprise points related to periodic maintenance, service best practices, etc. These voluntary suggestions help in improving customer relationships and might as well prompt customers to visit again based on service suggestions.
6. Capture insurance surveyor information to stay in constant touch with the insurance agency during the repair.
It is important that the insurance surveyor’s contact details are captured during Job
Card creation, especially when the customer is claiming the repair through insurance.
With the insurance surveyor’s contact details mentioned in Job Card, the technician
can coordinate with a surveyor for an insurance claim estimate right away, instead of wasting time finding the insurance surveyor's contact details from someone else?
7. Use the mobile app for insurance repairs as it enables you to capture pictures &
upload documents related to insurance.
For any insurance claim on repairs, a key aspect is the transparency of data.
This data could be related to the vehicle’s actual condition before repair and any
documentation related to insurance. Autorox GMS mobile app has the feature to capture pictures of the car to be repaired and also attach the related insurance documents to the associated Job Card. This way, capturing vehicle images and copies of necessary documents becomes easy. Thus, it is recommended that technicians use the mobile app for insurance repairs.
8. Stock management feature helps you track historic prices and negotiate accordingly.
Digitized stock management can be a powerful asset for your workshop. Here’s
how- When you have all the procured stock maintained in the system, you are basically capturing every detail related to parts purchase viz. part quantity, vendor details, bill number, pricing, etc. Such data can be referred to for your future purchases and negotiate with your vendors accordingly. Also, in case you are procuring the same spare part from different vendors, you can compare prices and negotiate prices accordingly.
9. Digitally tracking stock and entering every piece of data in the system enables
you to avoid stock mismatch and pilferage.
Pilferage of spare parts from the workshop is one of the pressing problems
any workshop faces. The only way to avoid this is to keep track of all the stock
carefully. Keeping a track of stock manually or using a hard copy of registers can
be cumbersome and ineffective. However, if you track all the stock-related information
in the system, there is minimal chance of missing out on data. Also, it enables you
to identify stock mismatches effectively.
10. Set pricing for consumables and plug the revenue leakages.
Consumables comprise those spare parts which are frequently used up and consumed by the workshop for repair activities. A typical example would be lubricants. For every repair, we do use such consumables, but we are not accounting for these in the final invoice. Thus, such leakages in revenue compound and lead to substantial loss of revenue. In order to avoid this, we recommend adding the standard pricing for consumables in Autorox GMS, so that for every repair, the cost related to consumables can be recovered from customers. By doing this, you can prevent the loss of revenue.
11. Why is it important to capture as much information during the job card
creation, especially the VIN?
The VIN number of the vehicle is its unique identification. Capturing VIN data can help
you track the customer’s vehicle in your workshop when the vehicle is being repaired
in multiple stages. In case the customer visits your workshop in the future, Autorox
GMS enables you to map all the historic data to the associated VIN, thus saving your
time for Job Card creation.
12. Why is it important to populate all vehicle models and variants in the system?
Pre-populating the vehicle data into the system enables you to select the make, model, and variants from the in-built catalog. In Autorox GMS, you can just enter the keyword in the vehicle model field and the system automatically suggests the closest vehicle make and model, thus making it easy to create a job card and help you save time.
13. Set service reminder dates compulsorily to increase your chances of retaining a customer.
Acquiring a new customer is 5 times costlier than retaining an existing
customer. And thus, it is necessary to keep engaging with your existing customers
in order to make them visit your workshop more frequently. One of the effective ways
to do that is to notify customers about their car’s service due dates. In Autorox
GMS, you can set the service reminder date right during the job card creation stage.
Autorox GMS then sends service due date reminders so that customers are brought back to your workshop for service.
14. Why is it important to set fitment details when you inward part in the system?
There are millions of parts being fit on thousands of vehicle models in your
multi-brand workshop. It would be a nightmare if you did not have a clue about which
part goes into which car makes and models. Moreover, the higher the complexity, the more are chances of parts mismatch and errors committed while ordering and fitting the part. So, in order to avoid these errors, it is necessary to link every part to the vehicle make/models those parts would go into. Autorox GMS enables you to do so while you inward parts either through purchase through the system or when you inward parts manually.
15. Track vehicle inventory before servicing to avoid disputes and build trust.
One of the trivial yet common causes for disputes with your customers would be with
respect to the misplacing of the vehicle inventory inside the car after the customer
is about to get the serviced vehicle. To avoid such disputes and maintain transparency
in the entire car repair experience, Autorox GMS offers a solution for tracking vehicle
inventory before accepting cars for service. You can take pictures and note the vehicle inventory details by taking pictures of car accessories. This will ensure there is
no conflict with your customers related to vehicle inventory.
16. Why should you populate the labor charts information?
Labour charts in Autorox GMS serve as a database of the labor prices for all types
of services and for all make/models within the system. Populating this data helps
you standardize labor prices across different customers, technicians, and points in
time. This in turn helps avoid any discrepancy arising out of differential pricing
and thus reinforcing trust within customers through consistency in service rates.
17. Why is it necessary to capture odometer reading while creating a job card?
On average, a typical car has a need for service/repair once every quarter of the
year. So, every car that you service today is bound to be serviced sometime in the
near future. In Autorox GMS, capturing odometer reading and the average km/day the
car runs, helps in sending service reminders to customers in the future. Timely service
reminders are one of the effective ways to ensure that the car which leaves your
workshop, comes back to your workshop the next time it needs servicing. Autorox GMS enables you to set these service reminders right before you are about to deliver
the car, and thus secure your future repair opportunity. The system will take the next
service date based on the entered avg. km/day and with the assumption that the next
service will be due after the vehicle has run for 6000 km (or whichever is the standard) from the date of service.
18. Why should you mention rack number while you inward part?
Misplacing a part can cost you time and money, as the inability to find a spare
part from your stock can delay the repair process, dissatisfy your customer and thus
hurt your future business. Autorox GMS has the facility to mention the rack number
for every part you inward into the system. Once you enter the appropriate rack number, you can then retrieve the part from the same rack number whenever you wish to within seconds. This saves you time and helps you operate in a systematic manner.
19. Why should you mention the estimated delivery date?
Customers in the present times crave information. They are expecting updates
of the service you provide and are hoping for more than just getting the service
done. And thus, it is good practice to mention the estimated delivery date for the
service is performed as this helps on two fronts- 1. Your technician has the mandate
to complete the service before the estimated delivery time and 2. Customer is less
anxious and comfortable with the visibility of when he/she can expect the vehicle’s
delivery. Eventually, this adds to customer’s delight and you would not want to miss
out on the opportunity to delight your customer, would you?
20. How should you tackle a surprise power outage or network disconnect?
Autorox GMS is cloud-based software, enabling you to manage your workshop
anytime, from anywhere! In order to facilitate you, we have configured the software
in a way that you would not require high-speed internet to run the Autorox GMS, both
the web version or the app version. And so, in case there is an internet connection
outage at your workshop, we recommend you to use the internet connection of your
personal mobile network (by enabling Mobile WiFi Hotspot), since even a decent internet speed of a typical mobile internet service provider is sufficient to run Autorox
GMS.