Make Every Second Count | Improving Your Service Department’s Efficiency
In the automotive industry, the term ‘time is of the essence’ rings especially true for billable hours in the service department. While training, skill, knowledge, and the right tools and technology are essential, these elements become irrelevant if time is not being utilized properly.
Do skills translate to profit if they aren’t being used while cars sit in the service bay due to inefficient processes? Is there enough of a profit margin on parts if service advisors need to go through unnecessary lines of communication? In this article, we explore these questions to argue what we believe is the most crucial element for any dealership’s service department – time.
What your service department really sells
While the service department ‘sells’ auto repair and maintenance, the real product is time. You can’t take back any second that is wasted and any bottleneck in the process creates a domino effect that can be felt across all departments.
When a service department is lacking in productivity, some of the most common reasons are:
Reporting is time-consuming with a lack of automation to update data.
- Automotive technology has not evolved with changes in the market.
- Data is stored in multiple sources instead of one platform, resulting in inefficiencies and poor data quality.
- A disconnect between systems, teams, and the process.
- A constraint in the workflow that’s causing a bottleneck in the process.
The result? Dissatisfied customers, service advisors waiting for approvals, and lost revenue.
The solution? A DMS service plugin designed to save time.
How Workflow 360°’s Production Efficiency Platform makes every second count
Workflow 360° is about the PX, the people experience, doing whatever it takes to make your jobs less complicated. Workflow 360° frees you from inefficient processes, allowing you to focus on the critical components of your job. Our exciting product is built with the latest technology, allowing you to achieve business flow and success.
Here’s what our dealer management plugin can accomplish for your service department:
Allows you to stay organized – Real-time reporting lets you see where the vehicle is in the service cycle by populating data from your existing DMS and gathering it into one place. Team members can view communication between other members, automotive route sheets, and real-time updates. Additionally, you can put a job on hold which allows you to keep the job stack moving, helping to increase billable hours.
- Monitor where constraints are happening – A dashboard with populated data consequently gives you the ability to see where constraints are happening in the process. You can monitor the schedule and see where a service may be taking too long. This is a valuable aspect of the tool that helps managers find solutions and make the necessary changes.
- Communicate with customers – Workflow’s PEP plugin allows for two-way communication between service advisors and customers. The text and SMS integration allows you to easily send recommendations and photos with all of the data conveniently saved in one place, on the cloud-based platform. With this capability, technicians can get quicker approvals and keep the job stack moving.
A busy service department doesn’t necessarily mean good business if the time being spent is costing the dealership productivity and money. Every moment saved translates to a better bottom line.
