Digital solutions IT, Workshop management, Customer relationship management
The digital garage and its multiple ramifications
All after-sales activites are now digital :
- technical maintenance data,
- administrative data,
- workshop management,
- customer service.
This offers a host of potential benefits :
- remote appointment booking,
- e-reputation,
- connectivity between all the company’s departments and its customers and suppliers.
This is the era of the digital garage.
All tools and equipment now have a connected version, making it possible to retrieve vehicle data and technical data concerning the operation to be carried out (e.g. a connected torque spanner incorporating tightening torques). Connectivity also involves constantly updating technical information databases, which are now installed on the vast majority of workshop equipment (wheel alignment, tyre machines, air conditioning systems, ADAS calibration, etc.).
Connectivity is a key asset for all-make repairers, who have to cope with a constantly changing vehicle fleet and the arrival of new electrified technologies.
In 2024 , the digital garage has WiFi connecting up several workstations in the workshop. The network will facilitate modern diagnostics, i.e. remote diagnostics: downloading ECU
updates, telecoding firmware that can pair a replaced component with a new car.
Diagnostics today also used this connectivity to conduct remote maintenance: for example, when the technician gets stuck on an electronic maintenance case, he or she can hook up to
a remote maintenance support platform (e.g. IMATECH, Autodistribution-Grup Eina, Daf Conseil) which takes over the repair and does the electronic maintenance task in lieu.
‘OVER THE AIR’
In the future, the digital garage will enable so-called ‘over the air’ maintenance: customers will be informed remotely of updates available on vehicles already in the workshop and in the customer database.
This type of maintenance, where a physical visit to the workshop will not be necessary, should not remain the exclusive preserve of manufacturers, but should also be possible for the independent aftermarket
Customer relationship digitalisation
Digitalisation also encompasses a new and more professional brand of customer relations.
• It starts with the exchange of information between the garage and its customers via the digital customer file.
• It continues with the online posting of the workshop’s contact details and services, through websites specialising in listing professionals (such as Allo Garage, ID Garages, Vroomly, etc.) that offer online estimates.
• A further step is online appointment booking (via the shared workshop schedule), offered by brands such as Garage AD Expert.
An integral part of customer contact today involves sending and processing satisfaction surveys. Companies with expertise in digitalisation also offer to improve garages’ search engine optimisation on the internet.
The revolution in workshop software
Workshop software publishers now all offer Web DMSs, i.e. management software dedicated to each of the business lines (garage, bodywork, used vehicle, etc.), dealer management systems operated on remote servers by the publishers: the workshop’s IT system no longer has to download and store software.
This remote software offers the advantage of being constantly updated and consultable anywhere: on a desktop PC, tablet, smartphone or any other device. There are also multiple digital gateways, with the ecosystem of digital business players. In mechanics, bodywork and used vehicles, business management programmes are turning into dashboards that can help to train and educate, and have become much more user-friendly. Data exchange hubs such as DARVA have also evolved in this direction (the Synapsauto Décision tool is a representative example).
All these digital players will be present at EQUIP AUTO Paris 2025, which will have a dedicated sector for all specialist service providers.
Digital solutions - IT, Workshop management, Customer relationship management
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