Dealerships are typically slow to embrace technology. In some cases, it’s for budgetary reasons and for others it’s out of a lack of a sense of need. A recent article in WardsAuto.com reinforced the need for dealerships to streamline their processes. The article explains how as car manufacturing improves and service intervals grow, the only way for a dealership to increase or maintain its current service revenue is through the ability to service more vehicles.

This is increasingly being done through the digitization of repair orders; more streamlined processes during the write-up involving iPads or mobile devices that contain all the customer’s service history at a glance. This is similar to systems that many hospitals have adopted.

WardsAuto.com advises that dealerships should “expect a different breed of car buyer who want a more hands-off, yet transparent, way to engage the dealership.” At the same time that manufacturers are creating onboard computers that will wirelessly relay vehicle data to the dealership, customers are adopting mobile device apps and expect businesses they patronize to as well.

Improving workflow between departments is key to increasing efficiency. At the same time, dealers don’t want to miss opportunities that they could have upselling a repair order. Just as dealerships have adopted CRMs to control sales processes, technology can be used in the same way. It can help to control service processes and ensure that shortcuts aren’t taken while writing repair orders. It can also ensure that the dealership successfully captures all revenue opportunities by correctly presenting them to the customer.

WardsAuto.com explains that many dealerships are embracing paper-free systems that allow them to decrease paper and storage fees as well as employee error, while also reducing warranty chargeback costs.

Service advisors of the future will need less expertise because all of the technical information will be at their fingertips. Qualities that make a good service advisor will change from auto technical knowledge to customer service and sales skills. Dealerships will always need human interaction, however. Most consumers don’t want to deal with push-button robots in the nature of gas-station car washes (press 1 for 85,000 mile service, etc.)  What they want is more transparency and efficiency in the processes involved in getting their cars serviced.

Dealerships that adopt technology, streamline their processes and make a more pleasant customer-centric service experience will position themselves well to compete with the independent auto shops for the extra service business that they’ll need to acquire to maintain and grow fixed ops revenue for their stores.