Earlier this year, Dave Luehr, founder of Elite Body Shop Solutions, and Ryan Taylor, founder of BodyShop Booster, teamed up to host the sixth annual virtual Positivity Summit. In the second of a four-part series, industry leaders share insight about international trends, building a successful culture and the advantages of adopting new technology.
A Global Perspective
Robert Snook, CEO of Business Success Global and an integral part of the International Bodyshop Industry Symposium (IBIS), shared with the Positivity Summit international trends impacting the collision industry.
When Snook began listing global trends to discuss during the Positivity Summit, he realized he had written down more than 20. "It's amazing what's going on in the world when you pause and stop and think," he said.
The first trend he mentioned was consolidation.
"I know it has been around for a while, but we're seeing cross-border, cross-continent and cross-region consolidation, lateral as well as vertical," he noted.
He also talked about the next wave of electrification. This includes challenges with power supply into the buildings when everyone is using it, the space where vehicles will be charged and how they will be charged.
Regarding technology, Snook commented on the evolving on-demand digitization connectivity "online, anytime, anywhere" and the transparency that accompanies that.
He also remarked on the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation. "Half the world still thinks AI is the most amazing invention ever," he said. "The other half thinks it's scary."
Another growing trend addressed was consumer personalization.
"Customers more and more say, 'What about me? I don't want what he wants or she wants. I don't want to feel like an invoice,'" said Snook.
Directly related to fixing vehicles, Snook said many shops have uncertainty about supply chain issues.
