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Effective workshop tools: optimise work and increase turnover

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Your business is running at full speed and things are going well. The daily life of a workshop manager, however, is constantly challenged and it is important to be able to stand out from the crowd. So, in practical terms, what can be done to optimise work in the workshop? What can you do to make customers return to your workshop, or better still, even recommend your business to others? To help you highlight your expertise, improve customer relations and, above all, build customer loyalty, we have selected 7 effective workshop tools from our catalogue that can help you optimise your workshop management.

Let’s discover together the effective workshop tools that will help you in

1. Providing a clear and complete quotation

For car repairs, an estimate is not mandatory. However, we strongly recommend that you provide one to your customers. This has several advantages, including demonstrating the transparency of your rates, emphasising that you comply with manufacturers’ recommendations and avoiding unpleasant surprises at the end of the job for services that your customers did not expect.

Furthermore, with the help of an online spare parts catalogue such as Atelio Aftermarket International, you will be able to assure your customers that you have searched and found the best spare parts, at the best price available, in order to provide them with the most competitive quotation possible for servicing their vehicle.

2. Preparing a repair order

The repair order provides proof of what has been agreed between you and the customer, avoiding disputes over billing for additional repairs that had not been mutually agreed upon. In addition to the planned repairs, it is in your interest that the condition of the vehicle is recorded when it arrives at the workshop so that you can discuss with the customer any damage that you will not have to work on. Solutions such as Atelio Pro enable you to create a repair order that will help you achieve just that.

3. Specify repair times

In addition to preparing an estimate showing the cost of your services, you should also specify the duration of the work to be carried out on the customer’s vehicle.

Being able to promptly diagnose a breakdown will ensure that you can justify the time required for each repair and optimise work in the workshop. Effective tools for the workshop include Atelio Data, for example. This is an online solution that allows mechanics to have complete control of all repair operations in the workshop and, following the manufacturer’s technical specifications and repair methods, it can help you detail the time required for each operation. In this way, costs will be optimised and at the same time, you will avoid unpleasant delays for your customers.

Being able to promptly diagnose a breakdown will ensure that you can justify the time required for each repair and optimise work in the workshop. Effective tools for the workshop include Atelio Data, for example. This is an online solution that allows mechanics to have complete control of all repair operations in the workshop and, following the manufacturer’s technical specifications and repair methods, it can help you detail the time required for each operation. In this way, costs will be optimised and at the same time, you will avoid unpleasant delays for your customers.

4. Making sure you are flexible and well-organised

Many customers need to find a mechanic who can be flexible. They want to bring their vehicle in at a time that is convenient for them, without significantly affecting their routine. Management software such as Atelio Pro gives you the ability to view your entire workshop schedule at a glance. You can then quickly reorganise your work if necessary so that you can suggest the right time slots to your customers.

Moreover, clever organisation of your team’s activities will improve your workshop turnover: your employees will have a precise, well-planned list of tasks and will complete them more quickly, optimising the number of vehicles they can work on in a day.

Good organisation will also mean that you can plan your parts orders for each future operation and thus optimise your work in the workshop. To this end, an online catalogue such as Atelio Aftermarket International can help you save valuable time. It enables you to know when your supplier can deliver parts to you, to order them quickly online and thus plan your work in the best possible way. Your customer will be happy that their vehicle is ready as quickly as possible, and you will also avoid costly vehicle downtime in your workshop.

Finally, displaying the stocks of all your suppliers in one place, with your preferred OEMs and up-to-date information on prices and availability of the parts you want to order, will ensure that you can quickly select the most competitive spare part, once again improving your profit margin.

5. Taking advantage of seasonal work

At certain times of the year, your workload increases considerably due to seasonal operations such as tyre changes, for example. These periods are particularly profitable for workshops but can become extremely complex and stressful if not properly planned and managed. In these situations, using the right software can really make a difference in optimising workshop tasks.

INO’Pneus, for example, is also counted among the effective tools for the workshop. An online tyre catalogue such as this identifies the tyres associated with a vehicle, obtains their availability and selling price, and then orders them directly from one of the suppliers. This allows you to handle all the orders you need quickly and efficiently.

6. Creating opportunities to increase your turnover

Providing services is becoming more digital every day. So why not take advantage of this trend in your workshop? Tools are now being developed specifically to meet the needs of workshops. This enables you to generate additional revenue and work faster and more accurately.

A good example is the INO’CHECK digital control tablet. This tool is designed to help you, when a vehicle is on the bridge, to quickly identify any interventions in addition to those specified in the repair order. It then allows you to send the additional estimate via SMS to your customer. This way they can confirm the work in a single click and will not have any unpleasant surprises at the end of the job. This new digital approach to the car repair business will improve your professional image in the eyes of your customers.

7. Keeping in touch with your customers

To ensure the success of your workshop, doing the job correctly is no longer enough. Communication with your customers is essential. A well-informed customer will feel pampered and, above all, will be more willing to make an appointment to carry out certain work or checks on their vehicle. Atelio Fid, a predictive marketing solution dedicated to the automotive aftermarket, helps you contact the right customers at the right time, thereby optimising your workshop’s return rate. Complemented by the integrated communication module within the Atelio Pro management software, you can easily send SMS messages to your prospects and customers to inform them of your specific business operations. In this way, you will communicate with your customers through personalised and eye-catching messages.

Effective workshop tools: how do you choose the right ones for your business?

As you will have realised, having the right workshop aids can really make a difference in offering a truly unique service to your customers. We have presented you with a few of them, but there are more than 7 effective workshop aids that can do the job for you and all of them are adapted to the specific needs of each individual business. If this article has intrigued you, we invite you to browse our complete catalogue and contact our sales experts closest to you. They will help you get to know all our solutions in detail and choose the tools that are right for you.

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