The importance of digitising your workshop

Electromobility and digitalisation are becoming increasingly hot topics in the automotive repair world. How many workshops, however, are ready to face what will surely be tomorrow’s challenges? The reality is that by this point ‘tomorrow’ is close at hand, perhaps it is even already ‘today’, and these issues, which are becoming more and more pressing, can hardly be avoided for much longer. 

• Efficiency
• Loyalty
• Visibility
• Increased profitability

These are the main benefits a workshop can gain when it decides to digitise its business. The automotive aftermarket sector mustn’t fall behind because, in a world of perpetual change, the risk of remaining in the past and becoming obsolete is very real.

According to industry surveys, 30 per cent of after-sales services still do not have a website and 10 per cent think it is not useful for their business. Not only that, at the threshold of 2023, 55 per cent of all garages still do not have a digital booking or quotation service in place.

Digitising your workshop: what does it mean?

Digitalisation can be applied to any type of business, large or small. However, this process is not just about implementing new technology, rather it is something more radical that involves a total change, above all, of mindset.

We must closely examine our workflows and consider what needs we really need to address. To succeed in the digitisation process, it is necessary to implement changes agilely, without increasing production costs and drawing on one’s own experiences.

Once the necessary observations and considerations have been made, choosing the right tools and suppliers is necessary to put this important evolution into practice. We at Infopro Digital Automotive have a few tools we can recommend to improve production, reduce costs, and labour time and, above all, anticipate market and customer needs. We know how important it is, in this extremely competitive world, to be able to stand out from the crowd.

Digitising your workshop: the tools you need

If one were to ask oneself why digitisation has become a necessary process, it would suffice to think about the vehicles themselves on which one has to work and how much they have evolved technologically in recent years. It is therefore natural that the tools to repair them are, in turn, becoming more and more sophisticated: diagnosing a fault and finding a solution to the problem now requires equipment that often interacts with each other via Wi-fi or Bluetooth and relies on a database of information that can be hosted in the cloud, to give an example.

If all this may seem daunting, here is some good news: today there are tools that are specifically developed to meet the needs of workshops and are therefore quick and easy to use for those in the industry

Technical databases

A reliable technical database is a must-have tool in any workshop, be it dedicated to car, truck, light commercial vehicle, or motorbike repair. Our Atelio Data, Atelio Data Truck and Atelio Data Moto databases give repairers complete control over all repair operations in the workshop, following the manufacturer’s technical specifications and repair methods, and help detail the time required for each operation. This will optimise costs and at the same time avoid annoying delays for customers. The ability to immediately diagnose a malfunction makes it possible to justify the time required for each repair and to optimise work in the workshop. What makes tools like Atelio Data invaluable is the fact that they have been built in collaboration with mechanics, for mechanics. This means that all functionalities have been designed with a deep understanding of what is really needed when working in a workshop.

The extensive data, the ease with which information can be found, technical drawings, and the possibility of identifying, locating, and resolving malfunctions in electrical/electronic systems thanks to the diagnosis assistance module, not to mention the technical support provided by direct contact with Infopro specialists, means that Atelio Data is now an essential addition to a workshop that wants to keep up with the times. The benefits in terms of performance, usability, amount of information and time saving are unparalleled. Not forgetting the integrated online assistance service: Atelio Data’s flagship with which you can request specific documentation from a team of highly qualified Infopro technicians.

Workshop management system

The process of digitisation of modern workshops requires a new approach to work in a broader sense. 

Digital agendas, instant booking, customer communications, acceptance management, fast quoting and digital invoicing are operations that in 2023 can no longer be performed manually. These must be carried out with the help of a professional workshop management system that streamlines procedures and always keeps workshop performance under control. That is why Infopro Digital Automotive has developed Atelio Pro, a simple and user-friendly software that allows you to record and organise all customer and vehicle data. With our management software, you can create quotations, check-in forms and work orders, as well as record the condition of the vehicle on arrival to agree on any additional work.

Atelio Pro also allows you to manage payments, send reminders, print different types of communication (including recall notifications, promotions, overhauls, or vehicle recalls) and create customised text messages or e-mail templates. In this way, all important data is always at your fingertips. It is also possible to visualise the entire work schedule so that work can be quickly reorganised, distributed evenly among employees if necessary, and customer needs can be met. 

An aspect that should not be underestimated is also communication with customers. Predictive marketing solutions such as Atelio Fid (integrated within the Atelio Pro management software) are the future of workshop communication. Atelio Fid helps to contact the right customers at the right time through customised messages, optimising the rate of return to the workshop. By reading the invoices issued with Atelio Pro, cross-referenced with the car manufacturers’ maintenance programmes, Atelio Fid can predict the maintenance needs of its customer fleet and automatically send them specially designed recalls, memos, or promotions. Software such as Atelio Pro and Atelio Fid can become ideal allies for your business. They are simple, intuitive and have everything (and only) that is needed.

Spare parts catalogue and online quotation tool

A digitised workshop that organises its work efficiently is seen as an efficient workshop in the eyes of the customer. Therefore, having a good online spare parts catalogue such as Atelio Aftermarket International should not be underestimated. This, in fact, allows you to know when a supplier can deliver spare parts, to order them quickly online, and thus plan your work in good time.

Customers will therefore be happy to have their cars ready in the shortest possible time, and expensive downtime with idle vehicles or little work can be avoided in the workshop.  Moreover, displaying all suppliers’ stocks in a single environment, with always up-to-date OE and AM references and information on prices and availability, makes it possible to quickly select the most competitive spare part, once again improving profit margin. 

Finally, with Atelio Aftermarket International you can provide a clear and effective quotation to your customers, assuring them of the best possible spare parts at the best price.

The Atelio Aftermarmarket International catalogue can also be connected to our Atelio Pro management software and Atelio Data database, creating an unrivalled suite of products and services with high added value.