Dream Shop

For years, your shop grew in size, profit and number of repairs; customers were abundant and vehicles were lined up outside waiting to be repaired. Then, your profits stopped going up. Your shop was stagnant—full, but no longer improving. Technicians wasted time rearranging cars while they waited for parts to come in to fix the cars overflowing from your shop doors.

In an industry where claim counts are down, totals are rising and we have far more capacity to repair than is needed, shops are faced with one of two problems: how to fill capacity when sales are down, or how to increase sales when production appears to be running at capacity. The answer is the same for both—improve touch time and cycle time.

BASF creates chemistry in collision repair centers and has created your dream shop. The front office is two steps ahead of the back-end, while the painters and technicians dance around each other like a beautifully crafted Jackie Chan fight scene—moving swiftly around one another, but never quite touching or causing damage.

The shop of your dreams is BASF APS-certified.

Touch time equals capacity. Producing 100 labor hours with a 2.5-hour touch time requires 40 vehicles. If you can increase your touch time to five hours, you can produce that same 100 labor hours with only 20 vehicles.

Nearly 100 collision repair centers throughout the US and Canada have gone through BASF’s Advanced Process Solutions program and BASF is proud of the 100% customer satisfaction. Your dream shop may be on the other side of town, around the corner or down the street—it may be your toughest competition.

“We have to compete in a market filled with consolidators, and there is a big difference between surviving and flourishing,” said Robert Walne, Herb’s Paint and Body (Dallas, Texas) owner. “BASF’s APS program has provided us with standardized systems across several locations and improved our performance, allowing us to grow year after year.”

APS is proven to drive sales and profitability by opening capacity and helping attract new business. Our top 25% APS shops have increased sales an average of 27%. Just imagine that work increase.

Though every aspect of production is part of APS, BASF is most proud of the success APS shops have with improving touch and cycle times. Our top 25% has doubled touch time, and cycle time has been cut in half. That’s what makes a collision center attractive.

BASF partners with collision center owners and managers to develop a customized APS plan. From beginning to end—front to back—BASF provides strategy and instruction on how best to improve the shop performance.

“I couldn’t walk from one end of the store to the other without being interrupted by three or four people. I was working long hours just to keep up with my business. APS changed everything for the better. Sales are up, the chaos is gone and I actually have time to work on some of those projects I could never get to,” said Kilkeary’s Auto Body (Eighty-Four, Pennsylvania) owner Tim Kilkeary.

The APS journey begins at the APS planning session (I-CAR–approved). Here, BASF helps build the customized plan based on shop-specific expectations, skillsets and resources. BASF recognizes that every shop is different. That’s why each plan is built to each individual shop.

Your BASF team then steps in, assisting every step of the way. Culture and leadership are important parts of APS success and BASF’s business coaches are your personal guides to your dream shop, full of tranquility and profitability. It’s full speed ahead, geared to quick adoption and immediate improvement.

Soon, you will be ready for the implementation of your unique APS procedures. Each step of the way, your BASF team will be alongside you to assist and push forward the productivity plan. Results can be immediate:

“We produced over 1,000 labor hours in our second week and our painters produced over 430 hours as a team, both well above our average. Three disassembly techs flagged over 100 hours for the week. We are producing more hours with less effort and chaos,” said Tim Dys, Bodyshop Manager of Shaheen Chevrolet (Lansing, Michigan).

APS has been proven to increase sales and open capacity. Most APS shops see an increase in labor hours and sales RO (severity) due to a complete disassembly at the beginning of the repair process. This process eliminates mistakes, delivering a more peaceful environment due to the decreased chaos from rearranging cars and processing supplements.

“We just had the highest sales year ever and there was less running around than when we produced half the volume. APS added capacity and we filled it! Everyone is making more money and working the same hours, and the work environment is much more enjoyable!” said Dunshee Body and Frame (Kalamazoo, Michigan) owner Joe Townsend.

The dream shop is just a few steps away through BASF’s Advanced Process Solutions program. Whether your goal is to open capacity or to fix more cars, BASF can help. Reduced cycle times, increased touch times, fewer supplements, increased capacity, higher sales, improved profitability and a better work environment can all be achieved with BASF value added services.