If you want to keep your business supplying collision repair shops, maintain a good relationship with them, offer a wide array of quality parts and provide fast delivery. Those are the three primary reasons why collision repair shops use a particular supplier, according to the Aftermarket Business World Collision Shop Study.
Some 27 percent said they value the relationship the most, 23 percent cited parts availability as the primary reason, and fast delivery is most important to 16 percent of respondents. Only 14 percent said price was the most important factor and another 14 percent said specific product brands drew them to their supplier.
When asked about their preferred supplier, 36 percent of respondents said it was a dealership, 25 percent said an auto parts retailer, 18 percent said a jobber and 11 percent said a warehouse distributor.
When it comes to pricing, 76 percent of respondents said they did not know how much over the jobber they are paying for parts. Of the 24 percent who said they knew, 55 percent of that group said they were paying from 1 percent to 10 percent more than the jobber.
Some 78 percent of collision repairers say that their supplier does not need to contact them on a regular basis. Despite that, 71 percent said they would change brands rather than suppliers if their primary supplier replaced a brand with another brand of like quality.
Nearly 90 percent of respondents said they don’t plan to expand their offerings in the next 12 months. Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) said insurance companies have no influence on the service they can perform. Some 25 percent said insurers have some or moderate influence on their work, while 12 percent said they have major influence or complete control.
Click on Collision Shop Study to see the entire study.
Methodology: The Collision Shop Study was fielded via email to readers of ABRN, a sister publication of Aftermarket Business World. The findings are intended to show general trends, not statistical certainties.
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