How Digital Service Orders Transform Heavy-Duty Repair Shops

By a show of hands, who out there wakes up every morning excited to rummage through handwritten documents with illegible handwriting only to find the information was filled out incorrectly?

No one?

Huh. We thought there’d be at least one oddball out there. But maybe we shouldn’t be surprised—after all, the days of manually inputting service orders are beyond outdated.

With digital service orders, your shop’s efficiency will skyrocket. But maybe you don’t feel 100% ready to make the transition to a digital workflow. Read on, and we’ll go over the main frustrations of paper-based systems and how digital service orders revolutionize the way you do inventory and customer service. 

The Pain Points of Paper-Based Systems

Who doesn’t love a bit of snail mail and postcards? They’re a sweet, heartfelt way to stay in touch with friends and loved ones—and a well-deserved break from the usual advertisements and junk mail.But when it comes to running a business, you need more than nostalgia to get things done with precision. Let’s look at the most common problems with paper-based systems.

Inefficiency

Head to the workstation to grab the form you need. Realize you’re out of forms and need to print another. Dig through some computer files to find what you need. Send it to the printer. Fight with the printer for a bit before emerging victorious. Realize your pen is out of ink. Hunt down another pen. Realize you forgot what you were supposed to be writing down in the first place.

Even after all that, manually entering your handwritten form into the computer is slow, menial, and possibly riddled with typos.

Your process may add or remove a few steps, but they’re an unavoidable reality of paper-based systems. What should only take a few minutes ends up eating up a sizable portion of the day—and definitely not the repair shop efficiency you were hoping for. 

Poor Communication

Listen—those technicians are working hard. They have a full schedule, greasy hands, and several more jobs lined up. They’re trying to hold a few dozen things in their head as they track down a clipboard and pen to jot down their notes. In a bustling repair shop, there’s bound to be a bit of, shall we say, shorthand.

Handwritten forms aren’t just slow. That rushed shorthand also leads to miscommunications that can significantly harm the entire workflow. 

Poor communication is worth a few good laughs when you’re playing Telephone, but don’t try to convince your clients that endless back-and-forth, delayed approvals, and misquoted information is your shop’s idea of fun. A lack of technician-client communication wastes time while negatively affecting the customer experience and your shop’s reputation.

Lost Revenue

With paper-based systems, what you see is what you get. Unless you dedicate yourself to rummaging for even more paper documents, you don’t have easy access to repair history or upcoming due maintenance. That means missed upsell opportunities for work the customer genuinely needs.

And what if your shop recently updated the price for a certain part or service? Reminding service advisors of the change via Post-it Note might work if you use enough brightly-colored notes with arrows and circles pointing to the change, but we wouldn’t recommend it. Incomplete or outdated pricing cheatsheets can inevitably lead to inaccurate billing and customer frustration. 

Compliance Woes

Have you ever had to dig through a mountain of paperwork to find that one crucial document? Paper-based compliance tracking of safety regulations and repair history feels like trying to find a needle in a haystack. 

How Digital Service Orders Revolutionize Operations

If any of the above sounds familiar in your shop, we have great news. Digital service orders have a lot to offer your shop.

Speed & Accuracy

With pre-populated fields and standardized formats, digital service orders make the process fast, efficient, and typo-free. No more wasted time deciphering chicken scratch or re-entering data multiple times. With digital service orders, your team can focus on their work without unnecessary distractions.

Transparency & Customer Trust

Gone are the days of customers feeling left in the dark about their repairs. Digital service orders provide real-time updates, which allow customers to see the progress of their vehicles with digital approvals and detailed photo or video documentation. This transparency builds trust because customers feel involved and informed every step of the way. Plus, fewer disputes arise over the work performed when customers feel like they’re in the loop.

Technician Empowerment

With mobile access to work orders, parts lookup, and service history, your technicians can get started on jobs immediately with less waiting around. This speeds up job completion, which in turn boosts morale since techs feel more efficient and in control. 

Happy techs mean better service, and ultimately, happy customers.

Data-Driven Insights

Wouldn’t it be nice to know exactly where every part lives in your shop at any given moment? Digital service orders give you that in-depth overview of your inventory. You can analyze repair trends and track technician productivity to gain valuable insights into your operations. This data helps you make better decisions when ordering parts and bolsters better decision-making across the board.

Show of Hands for Digital Service Orders?

We can’t actually see if you’re raising your hand, but we’re going to assume you are.

When you go digital, service orders are just the beginning. Integrations, 2-way texting with customers, inventory management—a whole world of ways to make life easier in your shop.

Reach out today and book a free demo today!