One thing is for certain if you do not fight for what you believe in the chance it will fall in your lap is pretty slim. Our businesses are worth fighting for and no one better to do that than those of us working in the industry. We know what we need to survive, and we know that on many levels we are not playing on a fair playground. The one thing we cannot ignore is the impact technology will have on our industry now and in the future. Growth is one of the key goals for every auto recycler, and no matter if you’re the head of a small local company or one of the leaders of a global brand, it’s probably safe to say that your strategies revolve around growing your business.
When technology divides us, it also removes some of our power. Technology transformation is and will continue to be one of the driving forces behind long-term growth and success in the modern auto recycling business, simply because technology helps expedite so many processes, automates various operations, along with making your own life a lot easier while ensuring a smooth rise to the top of the industry.
We know that vehicles have become more technically advanced, and that technology is moving faster everyday as we see the rise of electrification of the automotive fleet. But that is only one side of what we are seeing in technology that is available for use within our industry and the potential for even greater uses. One thing that is happening right now is how our customers are using and engaging in all the technology available to them. Many of the tools and technology they are using will have many applications I believe can and should be used by our industry.
We have seen just in the last couple of years many advances within the products and services available to auto recyclers and it seems something new is happening more frequently than ever before. We will need to continue looking for opportunities to improve not only our daily business operations but employee productivity, business analytics, parts identification, real time customer communications, efficiency and accuracy.
We are seeing more tools for advanced vehicle identification and continue to seek out better ways to decode vehicle identification to have a better understanding of the parts on each vehicle we inventory for accuracy. This has never been so important as we continue to move to faster growth of the virtual marketplace.
We live in a “we need it now” and “we need it right” business environment. Technology will be the only tool that will help us reach the goal of our growing global and virtual marketplace. Embrace it and watch it grow. Just think about how much you order and buy online now and what your expectations are and resolve to make that part of your business now.
Doing things, the same way and expecting to continue to be successful is not going to cut it. You might have been able to sit back and move at a slower pace many years ago, however the pandemic pushed us into hyperdrive and all customers’ expectations along with it.
At every show I attend I am amazed at the intelligent and bright minds working in our industry. It is so nice to see not only our fellow recyclers develop technology and tools for use within our industry but also our industry partners. It will be leaders like that who will walk us into the future of auto recycling, assuring we have the tools and tech necessary to manage and grow our businesses.