Workshop Performance Improvement
- Dealer Groups with multiple / widely spread locations, which limits management’s ability to monitor day-to-day operations at each location.
- Dealers struggling with low revenue per throughput (in comparison to peers / other locations) and/or high incidence of zero billing.
- Dealers not confident of the workshops’ adherence to norms related to service TAT, PM schedule and / or those who have not implemented a process for independent reconciliation of VOC, estimate, repair order, pre-invoice and invoice.
- Dealers who have not defined / documented process for monitoring gate controls, and / or norms for exit on manual gate pass, over the counter sale of parts.
- Dealers with low Mechanical to Body paint conversion or low customer retention.
- Dealers who have had reported incidents of fraud and revenue leakage.
Our understanding of a typical workshop journey
*In some brands, Estimate precedes opening of Service Request; and Pre-Order does not exist.
Our understanding of a typical bodyshop journey
- Manual recording of gate movement resulting in omissions in Gate-IN / Gate-OUT recorded by Security
- Estimate not aligned with VOC; Estimate not agreed with customer.
- All jobs requested by customer and agreed in Estimate, not entered in the repair order.
- Delay in creation of repair order resulting in high service TAT;
- Repair order not created for vehicle appearing in Gate records despite vehicle remaining in premises for reasonably long duration;
- Vehicle not repaired as per its PM schedule (Eg. 30,000 km service done instead of 40,000 km which was due; Schedule selected basis mileage with disregard to time)
- Parts / Labour / additional jobs omitted from repair order resulting in repair order not aligned to VOC (generally happens if Advisor misses sharing an estimate for a particular job which is then refused later)
- Denial of critical jobs by customer not documented
- Bodypaint contractor paid in full for part panel jobs (relevant where paint shop is outsourced and vendor raises invoice on per panel basis); Paint consumption not monitored resulting in excess consumption / wastage / pilferage going unidentified
- Vehicle released on short payment (depreciation amount not collected) or credit granted to non-credit customer
- Repair orders found open despite vehicles having exited the location (relevant where vehicles come for body bodywork and service and system does not restrict issuance of gate pass till all repair orders are closed and invoiced)
- Customer complaints due to no communication from dealer regarding status (relevant for vehicles brought for bodywork)
STAGE 1 – Process Design & Dissemination
- Co-develop activity flow (in the form of “Rules of Play”) together with controls and person responsible for executing those controls.
- Co-develop & agree exception matrix for any business exceptions that may be needed.
- Conduct an orientation session with workshop staff and brief them on the “Rules of Play” to be followed at all times.
STAGE 2 – Ongoing Monitoring (Option 1)
- Perform a 5-day soft launch and discuss on the non adherences to the agreed “Rules of Play”; Conduct re-briefing if necessary.
- Monitor all transactions on daily basis and report non adherences on an as & when basis by the way of flash report.
- Compile all findings and prepare month-end report and conduct meeting with relevant stakeholders.
- Agree KPIs that require daily monitoring and develop and publish a daily dashboard
STAGE 2 – Post-facto Monitoring (Option 2)
(Relevant for multi-location dealers with varied vehicle loads)
- Perform a 5-day soft launch at each location and discuss on the non adherences to the agreed “Rules of Play”; Conduct re-briefing if necessary.
- Monitor sample past transactions during visit as per agreed visit schedule and report non adherences on an as & when basis by the way of flash report.
- Compile all findings and prepare month-end report and conduct meeting with relevant stakeholders.
Gate Controls
- Review Gate Register at start of day and reconcile with physical vehicles inside the workshop premises. Report instances of physical vehicle found without Gate-IN, or physical vehicle found without SR, or SR not created within agreed TAT.
- Review all Gate-OUT at end of day and reconcile with Gate Pass documents, whether generated manually or via Software. For all manual gate passes, review approvals as per defined Authority Matrix.
Shop Floor Operations
- Review pre-invoice and reconcile with corresponding VOC, estimate, and repair order for completeness with respect to customer concerns and agreed recommendations of Advisor making way into estimate and repair order.
- Review vehicle age and kilometer reading and ascertain correctness of schedule applied.
- Review customer refusal for critical jobs not done (Eg brake pad, spark plug, air and oil filter, etc.)
Shop Floor Operations
- Review issued parts against material issuance in the system and with MI slip.
- Reconcile parts issued on Warranty repair orders with claims raised for Warranty.
CRM
- Review process of identifying and calling no show customers.
- Review coordination between Service and CRM for identified pending jobs and follow up done with such customers
Invoicing
- Review final invoice together with gate pass for cashier approval before the vehicle is signed off for exit.
- Review discount passed on invoice with appropriate approvals for such discount.
- Review receivables against credit list to ascertain whether credit has been given only to approved customers