How Fixico identifies the optimal repair solution

Traditionally, car damage repairs have always been handled with a 'one-size-fits-all' approach. And why shouldn’t it? It's always gotten the job done. This approach, however, is built upon the assumption that every repairer is capable of fixing any vehicle, regardless of the specifics. However, today’s cars are more advanced than ever before, often requiring a more specialized repair approach. This makes the traditional way no longer sustainable in today’s rapidly evolving world. To allocate a repair as efficiently and accurately as possible, companies should understand the ins and outs each of their vehicles and carefully consider the capabilities available in their repairer network.

However, inventorying all of this information and keeping it up-to-date can be quite a heavy workload, especially when you’re responsible for a large and diverse fleet or have drivers all across the country. Of course, you could outsource this. But how can you be sure that every vehicle is repaired optimally, when you have no insight into repairers’ expertise or their availability, nor are you able to benchmark prices without spending valuable time that could be used elsewhere.

At Fixico, we keep track of all relevant information for vehicles, drivers and body repair shops, so that it's readily available whenever damage occurs. Our unique 1-to-1 handling approach enables customers to identify the most suitable body repair shop for the job quickly while taking any criteria important to their business (such as availability, duration, or price) into consideration. Allocating repairs has become an essential aspect of repair management, and our platform has more than one way of going about it.

This article highlights our real-time tendering and intelligent steering options and explains when which option would be more suitable to use.

Allocating the repair

Our allocation methods, real-time tendering and intelligent steering, both identify the most suitable option for a repair by leveraging intelligence and data. No matter what option you go for, the search for the right repairer is based on the same principle: we match the requirements of the specific damage and vehicle, with the capabilities of qualified body repair shops and the needs of our customers.

Real-time tendering
In the traditional allocation scenario, a fleet- or claims manager is often met with a variety of unclear conditions: repair costs aren't always transparent, the duration of repairs are subject to change, and there is no real-time insight into a repairer’s availability or expertise.

Fixico’s real-time tendering mechanism ensures that each damage receives multiple repair offers within 24 hours and enables fleet- and claims managers to reduce cost and lower cycle times tremendously. Tendering takes place in a competitive marketplace environment, where a strong network of only suitably qualified body shops gets to place offers. Repairers’ qualifications range from simply having the right certificates and equipment to be able to perform the repair, to being located in a pre-defined maximum distance radius of the driver, having an outstanding rating, or an additional service-offering which meets the needs of our customers.

Each offer contains a fixed price, clear repair description, set duration and the distance to the body repair shop, available additional services, and multiple availability options.

This option is suitable for you if you'd like to compare repairers and select the best one based on what’s most important for your business at that specific moment. For example, if a damaged vehicle directly impacts your revenue stream, then it's crucial to get the car repaired as soon as possible. By tendering the repair, you can simply select the body repair shop who has the earliest availability. Note that for our real-time tendering to work effectively, the car damage needs to be completely visible so that it can be assessed through photos.

Intelligent steering
In the traditional sense, steering a repair means that it's allocated to a body repair shop based solely on distance requirements. Fixico’s intelligent steering includes much more than that. Each car damage is different and requires an individual approach. Fixico’s advanced systems (and team of damage experts) will take all the characteristics, nuances, and requirements for the vehicle into account, and allocate the repair to the most suitable body repair shop, directly.

For example, suppose the car needs fixing or replacing of OEM-parts. In that case, the repair request can be automatically steered towards the body repair shop that has all the required certifications and is fully equipped and able to perform the repair. This will significantly save time in searching for a suitable repairer, and also minimize the costs.

Sometimes, unequipped or uncertified body repair shops will take a job and outsource certain steps to complete it, leading to a higher bill and longer repair durations. But with intelligent steering, the repair will be steered towards the shop that already has all the requirements in-house, avoiding third-parties and additional costs. Within hours, the single offer from the most suitable body repair shop will be presented. The offer will include the description of the repair process, a fixed price and a detailed cost calculation. After that, all is needed is the approval from a fleet- or claims manager to start the work. With intelligent steering, you always ensure your quality standards and excellent operational efficiency.

Of course, repairs can be steered to preferred body repair shops as well.
In case you already have preferred body repair shops or pre-existing agreements, our platform can integrate your preference for specific repairers into its algorithm.

What about complex damage?

By using advanced systems and a team of damage experts, Fixico determines each type of damage and its repair requirements accurately. For example, non-complex damage can be a small scratch on the door, or a side-mirror breakage, or any other optical damage that can be quickly fixed or replaced. Complex damage can look like it’s non-complex. Take a dent in a front bumper for example. Depending on the type, size and severity of the damage, there could be a risk that the collision caused mechanical damage to the parts housed behind the bumper. In these cases, the body repair shop will need to run a diagnostic test and calibrate the sensors. So, if Fixico suspects that seemingly non-complex car damage might be complex, the repair will always be steered, and a physical inspection will take place.

Fixico makes sure that the process of allocating the repair goes without a hitch. Unlock the potential of digital car damage repair management for your business, request a free demo and start allocating repairs more accurately than ever before.