Analysis: How business intelligence tools are transforming automotive service
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Canadian automotive professionals must leverage data-driven solutions to promote innovation and customer satisfaction.
Business intelligence (BI) solutions can help operations improve operations and enhance performance by providing valuable insights. These tools vary based on application and desired benefit.
Here is how BI tools are impacting the industry and what automotive service professionals should consider.
The tools sparking progress
Strategic BI tools identify patterns in customer behaviours, service trends, market volatility and inventory management to enhance visibility across the business. Many automotive workers use complementary technologies like the cloud to make data analytics more accessible. Shop owners can use technology to automate parts ordering, draft job quotes and alert customers of progress.
Inventory forecasting and pricing management
Inventory management optimization is a vital application. A data analytics platform and pricing tool can gauge market data. Various tools can execute stock forecasting, noticing when parts fluctuate in price based on historical patterns. This knowledge makes businesses more competitive and pricing more accurate, giving consumers the best deal.
Autoworkers constantly face changing demand, from expected seasonal shifts — like installing snow tires in winter — to less predictable changes like performing frequent brake repairs. Analytics tells companies when they need to order what parts to meet demand spikes. Teams can also use a pricing analyzer to establish competitive prices that consider niche factors, including make, model, location and service type.
Customer relationship management (CRM)
A CRM is a service dashboard that collects all data into a single location. Shops can use them to make metric-based visualizations and charts that align with key performance indicators, such as feedback trends or average duration for specific tasks. This application uses prescriptive analytics to inform shops how to achieve desired outcomes and use numbers to guide decision-making.
The software can inform marketing campaigns, such as sending emails with oil-change discounts every six months or offering referral codes to high-value shoppers. It allows auto shops to segment customers and personalize their experience, making them more loyal to the brand and addressing their particular needs.
For example, shops with a high rate of antique repairs will need to stock hard-to-find parts. BI-generated foresight can cut project times, so customers do not have to make repeated calls about shipment updates. Managers can also determine how their customers’ regional climates impact their preventive maintenance needs.
Service efficiency in shop management
BI is the best way to identify excessive spending by process mining, which often points to operational bottlenecks or inefficiencies. For example, a tool could analyze a backlog of quotes and time estimates against actual results. The program can then use this information to generate suggestions for efficiency improvements to get closer to the goal every time. This application functions especially well when integrated with artificial intelligence.
The best ways to implement BI
Canada has several data security and privacy regulations, such as the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). Provincially specific guidelines are available for auto shops in Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec.
Other guidance includes Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). The country had a 90 per cent spam rate in 2015, and the ruling reduced it to 45.1 per cent in 2021. CASL forces companies to be stricter with digital marketing materials.
Auto service businesses must know what is mandatory before choosing their desired tools. This ensures every program and process is compliant from the beginning and makes continued maintenance simpler to manage.
Companies should follow these steps for seamless digital transformation:
- Focus on governance: Determine the purpose of each BI tool and the data it collects. Only store and use essential information based on PIPEDA principles and optional recommendations from other international entities, like the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Governance also outlines when data practices will receive audits to ensure consistent and ethical performance.
- Choose tools carefully: Find reliable third-party tools with built-in security features and certifications, like SOC 2 or ISO 27001. The best assets will automatically report data breaches to entities like the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and help auto shops notify affected customers.
- Anonymize data: Use encryption and other protective measures to prevent data from revealing sensitive information to unauthorized individuals.
The driving forces behind business intelligence
BI tools can help automotive experts achieve business stability and satisfy customers. Data-driven operations established with thorough compliance will prepare organizations for the future. The enhanced profits and market awareness will make companies more resilient against challenges, from supply chain disruptions to price hikes for imported parts. Now is the time to begin drafting an implementation plan.
Devin Partida is the editor-in-chief of ReHack.com and a freelance writer. Devin covers business technology, Fintech and auto tech.
Image credit: Depositphotos.com
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