General Motors (GM) and Mitchell plan to introduce a strategic plan for the GM collision repair certification program, according to Assured Performance Network's CEO Scott Biggs.
Mitchell will act as the administrative program on GM’s behalf and offer tools including cloud-based estimating with integrated repair procedures, scanning, first notice of loss (FNOL), assignment dispatch, and more, said Jack Rozint, senior vice president of sales for the repair group within Mitchell International.
The program is set to be launched for either Q3 or Q4, Rozint says. Mitchell will be able to give GM analytics and dashboards that provide insight to how the shops are performing on the new program.
One shop owner said there are concerns about the cost of the new program. Bob Pearson, general manager for Pearson Auto Body in Shakopee, Minn., said that if GM or any manufacturer does their own program with unique costs and requirements it could be problematic for small shop owners.
If a new program does not follow the same or similar approach, extra cost and specialized training with additional fees might make the program more expensive and also require shops to send technicians to training for weeks, resulting in the loss of revenue and the added cost of putting the technicians through training, Pearson said.
For another training program, Pearson spent about $3,500 for one technician.
Since 2012, the cost for shops to become certified by multiple OEMs has been a fraction of what it was and remains contained through collaboration, Biggs said.
