IC Reception, Bio Service, MOVEO - this year's meeting with business partners was full of proposals aimed to increase profitability of garages. The phenomenon of company, which for a quarter astonished with pace of development, should leave no doubt that the new strategy will withstand the test of time.

The Garage Masters' Gala is a unique event in Polish automotive market. Every year three months of struggling is summarized and ended with a meeting of lucky winners. The results as always remain secret to last moment. The rules of the Great Race competition, which was finished with the Garage Masters' Gala, were similar to those from the previous year. Contestants were divided into three categories: passenger market garage, passenger market garage with a shop and truck market (garage, garage with a shop, transport company). And also this time it was to purchase particular products at a particular time from particular suppliers, including Bosch, Castrol or ZF (ZF Parts, Sachs, Lemfoerder). The rule is simple, the more money you spend on promoted products, the higher place in the rank you will have and a chance to take part in the finale. Traditionally the basic reward was participation in Garage Masters' Gala.

Time spent together is used for exchanging experiences in a highly relaxing way. Is is the climate of mountains or the Mazurian lakes - for a few days of weekend - Golebiewski Hotel is taken over by the team with Inter Cars logo. This year's celebration of the Great Race for the rewards had its finale in Mikolajki (13 - 15 June), where in the congress hall a kick-off meeting was held with the motto: "Together we are changing the future of motorization". And it was the role of independent garages in shaping the automotive spare parts distribution industry which was stressed by Robert Kierzek, President of the Board of IC SA in his speech.

- Recently celebrated 25th anniversary of regaining independence is a great moment for summarizing activity of the company, which was founded on fundamentals of recovered economic freedom - said Robert Kierzek. - Our Company would not have existed if it weren't for the change in political system, economic recovery and opening for the world. It is that events that Inter Cars owes success to - thanks to them and thanks to you we have a leading position in the country, Europe and the world. We are a team, and we are building our advantage through the power of consistent identification, therefore, also this time we shall give you further proposals, so that you can take advantage from co-operation with us. We share our profit, knowledge and experience. And we are still thinking about development of capital sales support, by taking over some of the risk that the garages have because of settling accounts with their customers.

After a short presentation of origin and development of the company, specific proposals were made. The most attention was given to interactive support of garages. Moreover, it is known that IC is heavily investing in future HR. So far IC spent PLN 1.3 million for equipping laboratories and on trainings for pupils of mechanical schools. Finally it will be more than PLN 3 million. On the other hand, the company investment support programs, dedicated for independent garages, today are used by 4.2 thousand of them, and the company only in 2013 trained 13 thousand mechanics.

New solution was announced with the name IC Reception. The concept is intended to provide more interactive tools supporting cost and work management for garages, as it reduces time-consuming procedures in warehousing - garage - customer relations. From now on all the information will be stored in a convenient way, thanks to IT achievements. The intention is to design an interface that we will be able to operate on mobile devices, such as tablet or smartphone, so such procedures as: accepting a vehicle for repairs, photo documentation of damages, description of activities, spare parts availability status, cost estimates, will be able to be performed on the spot. User friendly interface will be developed with garage management analytical program via Internet by business owner. It is also possible to store such financial data as: cash in hand, expected revenue, commitments, forecast profit ... in "control panel of the program.

Eventually the IC Reception system will be a kind of service book for both, vehicle owners and technicians who will get to know the repair history and mileage, which may evoke associations with Motointegrator project, which directs 15 thousand customers per month to repair garages, and that number is growing month by month!

A further proposal is the waste management system, which was developed in co-operation with Ojler and Partslife companies. Realizing Bio Service Project, Inter Cars company collects garage waste in compliance with law regulations in force. The offer is addressed to garages associated in garage chains in accordance with the provisions in force. The offer is directed to chain garages associated in one of Inter Cars garage chains, but also to independent garages. Refinancing costs of waste disposal will be related to products purchased from IC and shall be realized the form of IC Premium Plus points. Within the Bio Service project customer will get help at the stage of filling in the Waste Collection Card and Reports, as the company announced during the second day of training in Mikolajki.

Another activity of the company is establishment of Automotive Employers Organization MOVEO. The idea of the project is operating in two aspects: road safety and economic security of companies operating on the market of repair services. The intention is to gather as many representatives from the automotive industry as possible, in particular garages. The urgent need for common actions was argued by Jerzy Maliński, who was presenting basic assumptions of new association.

The gala ceremony in Mikolajki was also full of partners' booths and offer of technical trainings. The participants of the meeting were the first to see a special model of a car, which will serve IC SA customers as ... guinea-pig.

- We have noticed a great need for practical training on "a living creature". Our new toy, Citroen C4 Grand Picasso, fully equipped, one will be able to break down as much as possible, so that any failure of the system can be diagnosed and repaired - explained Patryk Zawadzki, from Technical Training Department.

At the time when half a thousand of garage owners were getting information on the latest undertakings of IC, accompanying persons had a chance to take advantage of highly relaxing hotel offer and prepare for thrilling events of Saturday night. Garage Masters’ Gala is an event during which artistic program and entertainment are very important and must be at top level. This year's cabaret performances, well known vocalists and bands were an introduction and a brake during announcing the results of final rank. The value of rewards was considerable - one and a half million zlotys! 45 participants left Mikolajki (13 - 15 June, Golebiewski hotel) richer not only in unforgettable experiences from exciting discussions and presentations. Additionally there was a drawing in Garage Masters’ Lottery, during which participants had a chance to win rewards worth PLN 100,000, 50,000 and 10,000.

source: Modern Garage
01-07-2014

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