As we roll into another new year, along with the typical personal resolutions, you likely want to see how you can improve your business to make it more resilient during sales slowdowns. If so, you'll want to check out all three columns this month, including Greg Lobsiger's strategy for fighting labor rate suppression, Tiffany Menefee's thoughts on reviewing operations for improvement, and Drew Bryant's advice on how to adapt to better serve customers and maintain your business' health.
If you've ever worked with a little toolbox with a jumbled mess of SAE and metric sockets and wrenches and then experienced the ease with which you can now find your tools once you've graduated to a roll-around cabinet with labeled, organized drawers, you might appreciate the productivity enhancements an organized parts department can bring. Read about three shops' experience with Mike Anderson's Collision Advice parts department overhaul.
Finally, I had the chance to recently speak with an expert on OEM materials on how the second Trump administration's views on EVs might impact their sales. The takeaway from that discussion was that it's too early to tell. Federal tax incentives for the purchase of new or used EVs may go away, but but at most, he predicts EV sales to plateau, not decrease, and OEMs might squeeze a little more ROI from existing platforms. The first 100 days of the administration, not that far away, will tell. Don't count out EVs just yet if you are on the fence about investments to repair them. As always, drop me a line if you'd like to share your thoughts with me, and I extend my best wishes to you and yours to have a prosperous new year!
