CURRENT ISSUE
| Cover Story |
| Columns |
| Clear Vision |
| Print - Profile | |
| By Brooke Knudson | |
| Sunday, 01 July 2007 | |
 By taking a multifaceted approach to automotive glass repair and claims management, BELRON is taking the lead in the U.S. market. “From an international point of view, the U.S. market was an attractive market ... it’s not only the largest automotive glass repair and replacement market in the world, but also an attractive market overall because the business model is wel-developed.” Operating out of London, England, BELRON is an industry leader in vehicle glass replacement and repair. It owns many well-known brands in the industry with more than 18,500 employees serving more than 8 million customers annually. As a way of entry, in 2005, BELRON acquired Elite Auto Glass Inc. of Colorado and Auto Glass Specialists Inc. of Wisconsin. But the acquisition with the greatest impact in terms of geographic reach and brand strength occurred in March when Belron purchased Columbus, Ohio-based Safelite Group Inc. for $334 million. “[It] was the perfect opportunity to combine the strengths and broaden the geographic reach of two of the market leaders in the vehicle glass repair and replacement industry,” Lubner says. “Having spent 18 months in the U.S. market, expanding through the acquisitions of strong regional brands, we realized fairly quickly that if we were going to significantly grow the business we really needed to look at the market leader,” Lubner says. “Because of its leadership position, its rich 60-year history of innovation and its strong financial performance, Safelite Group was highly attractive to BELRON.” Prior to the Safelite acquisition in the United States, BELRON operated 90 branches and 500 mobile repair and replacement units in 11 states under the brands Elite Auto Glass, Glaspro, Auto Glass Specialists and Windshield Pros. BELRON now operates in all 50 states with an excess of 300 retail shops, 81 warehouses, a manufacturing facility with the ability to produce more than two million windshields annually and the talent of 2,200 mobile service and repair technicians. Three main operations make up the company's core business: auto glass fulfillment services, windshield manufacturing and fleet and insurance claims management services. By leveraging its size through its global knowledge base and by sharing its best practices, BELRON is in a unique position to increase its market share, which is now less than 20 percent. “Our view as to why BELRON was an attractive partner for us is that it was a very similar business to ours and the global presence is attractive,” says former Safelite CEO and now BELRON U.S. President and CEO Dan Wilson. “BELRON has spent significant amounts of time developing their best practices around the world and it made a lot of sense to use those best practices to further develop the concept of culture between the companies.” Managing a company as large as BELRON, although challenging, provides several opportunities for each entity to share its best business practices, Lubner says. Mobility Is Key BELRON’s practicing mantra is to always provide motorists with exceptional customer service. But while most companies merely state their commitment, Wilson points to several examples where the company is delivering on its promise. Based on customer feedback, in 2002, the company implemented its nationwide mobile service program, Mobile Pro. “Several years back, it became very obvious that consumers were looking for service in a more convenient way, and most people wanted us to come to their home or place of work,” Wilson says. “Today, the majority of repair and replacement of auto glass is done by mobile technicians.” According to Wilson, the concept gave the company the wherewithal to reach more than 90 percent of the domestic vehicle population. Today, Mobile Pro technicians communicate with corporate via a wireless, GPS-enabled handheld device where they receive work orders, access instructions on installations and repairs and complete transactions. “It has become a strategic business unit for us where they’re operating from the service van,” Wilson notes. “The customer receives more dependable and accurate scheduling times, and we know where the technician is at all times.” Lubner agrees, adding that the company works fast to help people in what can be a very stressful situation. “Nobody wakes up thinking that today is the day they will replace their windshield,” he says. “The whole reason for providing this service is to make the repair process as hassle-free as possible and make sure it’s dealt with quickly and properly.” In addition, through the company’s enhanced online capabilities, it offers customers instant quotes, service scheduling and product ordering. Providing Solutions BELRON partners with several major insurance and fleet companies to provide outsourced vehicle glass claims management. The company is able to take some of the stress and costs out of the claims process for its customers through its claims management services provided by Safelite Solutions. Safelite is supported by two national call centers based in Columbus which are linked to its clients using an advanced technology platform. “Today, if you have a claim, we answer the call on behalf of the insurance carrier and work through the steps where a customer service representative helps determine the best choice of service,” Wilson says. Each call is digitally recorded for quality assurance and recommendations are compliant with state insurance rights. The company provides custom claims processing for more than 100 insurance carriers and fleet management companies for which it processes about four million transactions annually. A Better Product Ensuring the best product starts with purchasing the best materials. In the United States, the company’s centralized sourcing department is located in Columbus. “Its main purposes are to procure raw materials used in our manufacturing plant and enterprise-wide, as well all of the products consumed or used during the installation process,” Wilson says. BELRON also has the unique advantage of operating a glass manufacturing and distribution facility in Enfield, N.C. Key advancements at the plant, according to Wilson, have centered around just-in-time service utilizing short runs with high service levels at low cost. At present, the facility manufactures 650 different windshields, with a total annual factory output of 1.5 million windshields. With an emphasis on product development, the manufacturing process “continues to develop the technologies that appear on new vehicle introductions, including rain sensors, heated wiper blade pad areas, moldings, special solar control glass and several other automotive advancements”, Wilson says. R&D in BELRON is spearheaded by specialists at its facility in the United Kingdom. “They are always looking at technician tools to aid in the safety and quality of our installations, including new adhesives, lifting tools as well as windshield removal tools and repair equipment,” Lubner explains. Future Leadership “One of the biggest challenges we have within BELRON – and it’s a very nice challenge – is that our business has grown significantly over the past six years,” Lubner says. “The biggest challenge is developing our leaders at a rate quicker than the business grows. “We’re going to invest even more time and money in building a leadership-development program that’s run from the central office.” Once implemented, the leadership program will evaluate each of the more than 250 leaders within BELRON, enabling the company to prepare personalized development programs that track performance and set goals for improvement. “Good business leaders are going to produce better results,” Lubner adds. In the coming months, Wilson says, the company will focus much of its efforts on integrating the two businesses, including developing its leadership program. “We have a few months of work to integrating the benefits and accounts and looking to see how we can grow business as quickly as possible,” he notes. “It’s going to be a very exciting place to be in the next few years.” |
|
| < Previous Story | Next Story > |
|---|
