Are you going to be left behind?

Auto recyclers have come a long way over the past few years (nothing like pandemic to expedite an innovation and technology movement!). But as many forge ahead with new innovations and adopting new technologies, the gap between those who are innovating and those who are not, is widening.

The automotive industry as a whole is in the midst of a fundamental transformation.

So it’s not surprising that many auto recyclers are following suit and reviewing their internal systems and processes. 

This movement is opening a door for new innovations and a quest for solutions to streamline business operations and increase profitability. 

Add in the fact that we are on the back of a pandemic that revolutionised a remote workforce, it’s the start of a new era for auto recycling.

This is really exciting. 

Especially for an industry that has a long history and been around for a long time. 

It’s exciting to see a shift from the old ways of doing things “just how they have always been done” to the status quo being challenged. 

I’m here for the movement. It’s great to see. But I’d be remiss if I said I wasn’t concerned for the yards that aren’t evolving.

On my recent trip to the UK, Canada and the US - I was in a unique position to visit a number of yards across three countries - from the very small to some of the largest in the world. I also had the pleasure of hosting 80+ auto recyclers from across the UK at our Evolve: Playing a Bigger Game event, which was a terrific opportunity to meet with so many from our industry.

On reflection of this recent trip, it was really apparent what the recyclers who are leading the movement are doing. I can see that they are forging ahead and widening that gap - leaving those who are set in their ways behind. 

I am now even more acutely aware that if auto recyclers continue to ignore new technologies and turn a blind eye on innovations readily available to them as an industry, they are at the very real risk of being left behind and becoming obsolete. 

So what are those Auto Recyclers doing that puts them ahead of the rest?:

• Embracing Certification & regulation bodies like the Vehicle Recyclers’ Association (VRA) to ensure accountability and a standardisation.

• Optimising use of on online sales platforms like eBay - I can’t tell you how encouraging it is to see the UK in particular using eBay UK to its advantage. Plus with eBay fully supporting auto recyclers, you can’t lose.

• Outsourcing. This one is huge! I cannot emphasise this enough. Anyone who is looking at increasing their profitability going forward, must start by reviewing overhead of staff and how they can reduce costs. The option of outsourcing some functions to remote teams (inventory, salvage previewing, eBay listing, sales etc.) is a no brainer.

• Embracing new vehicle technology and being able to manage these vehicles safely and profitably.

• Moving back office operations and accounting online - the paper era is long gone, yet I am too often visiting yards where accounting and bookkeeping systems from the 1970’s are still common practice. 

• Focus on improving green practices - which will only get more important over time. Yards must be acknowledging and adopting ways to reduce environmental impact.

• Working more strategically with key stakeholders like insurers and vehicle manufacturers.

Even those who are jumping onto this movement and enthusiastic about bringing on change, are not necessarily tapping into every one of the above points. 

Many are tackling one or two at a time, which is encouraging to see. 

But equally, I’d say on the whole there are even more who are not. 

Now is the time for all vehicle recyclers to look at what products, technologies and services are readily available to them and really ask themselves the question, “if I don’t adopt some of these new technologies now, will I be left behind if I don’t?’