Fixed Ops 2022: Tech Trends to Watch

The new year is a natural time to think about improvement and productivity. How do you plan to dial up more efficiency in your service department and drive more profit? For many dealers, it may mean adding new tools and technologies that promote time savings, smoother processes, dealership customer retention, and help grow market share.

While dealer service department market share is up one percent since 2018 and dealerships continue to be the most used service provider, according to the 2021 Cox Automotive Service Industry Study, there is a lot of room for growth and improvement — and $214 billion in revenue available to capture. 

Let’s explore some technology trends that can help you to increase your team’s productivity and make your service department more profitable in the upcoming year.

Streamlining and Automation

Parts delays and staffing troubles are the two biggest operational hurdles in the service department. Take a look at your quoting processes to determine where you can give your team a hand and boost their efficiency. Do they know when parts are available? Where are your opportunities to add speed and accuracy?

Chances are, your team (and your profits) would appreciate technology that helps eliminate duplicate data entry, saves time and the hassle of third-party lookups, supports quoting the right price to customers every time, gives your team the power to manage your service catalog, and keeps them up to date on part stocking status. Look for a single solution source that helps you streamline and automate in 2022.

Enhanced Digital Service Capabilities

The long time it takes to have repairs or maintenance completed is the number one frustration among service customers. The fact that those who don’t wait at the dealership spend more on repair orders shows that eliminating waiting room time may increase your profitability.

To capitalize on this opportunity, look for solutions in 2022 that continue to transform the service experience from in-person to fully virtual interactions. Some features to consider include customer online capabilities for check in, checkout, payment, securing financing, and choosing transportation. Consider tablet enabled technology that can aid your service advisors’ ability to deliver a digital service lane experience.

Pickup and Delivery Services

Convenience is the customer side of the service department efficiency coin. And service pickup and delivery are the ultimate in customer convenience, which makes it highly desirable — 89 percent of consumers are more likely to choose one dealership over another based on its availability.

Service pickup and delivery allows your customers to service their vehicles without ever leaving the home or office. It also provides dealers with an opportunity for additional revenue as they elevate the fixed ops experience to retain customers and increase profitability, with 51 percent of consumers completing more services when utilizing service pickup and delivery.   

Consider solutions that make it easy for the vehicle owner to request and schedule pickup or delivery. It is as much about your efficiency as it is customer convenience because the right solution will also help you manage the complex logistics of an increasingly digital service experience.

Multimedia Driven Communications

Thriving dealerships provide customers the opportunity to review and approve estimates online. But how do you build the trust necessary for them to say yes, digitally? You do it with pictures and video.

Emerging multimedia technologies allow you to develop that trust through transparency, improve the customer experience, and make it easy for the customer to approve recommendations. Xtime’s Enhanced Multi-Media users saw an 82 percent dollar per RO uplift when using video.

Connected Technologies

With all the complex systems and processes that make up your dealership, there’s no better way to increase efficiency than to build connections between various tools and technologies in 2022.

Because when your marketing, sales, service, and operations are all in sync, you win.

Evaluate technology by its ability to help you drive real growth. Implement a solution that will help you create next-level consumer experiences and elevate your profits with unrivaled insights — generating efficiencies across all departments.

Conclusion

As we enter the new year, take time to assess your dealership’s technology and decide how the latest tech trends might help your team service more vehicles in less time while maximizing every repair order opportunity and capturing more market share. To learn more about how new technology can dial up your service team in 2022, visit us at NADA.