22-shop Key Choice first independent auto body network to join SCRS - Repairer Driven News

The Society of Collision Repair Specialists announced Tuesday that Key Choice Collision Centers‘ network of 22 Great Plains auto body shops had become SCRS members.

The news represents the first network of independent shops to join SCRS collectively. Key Choice arranged for all of its 22 members to join SCRS’ ranks.

Key Choice is a group of independently operated body shops “focused on developing processes and product pricing systems for members” who seek to nurture each other’s improvement “and raise the bar of performance and profitability.” All shops are committed to sharing information with fellow members and will even share technicians if necessary. The structure also provides benefits like performance metrics, SOPs, and increased buying power with suppliers.

“It’s so encouraging to see how the work our board has put into developing tools for the industry resonates with others,” SCRS Chairman Bruce Halcro (Capital Collision Center) said in a statement. “It’s especially so when they have a similar desire to lift up and support like-minded businesses. Key Choice shops have committed to core values of being willing to share information needed to assist other member shops, which fits nicely with SCRS’ objectives to promote, support, and encourage exemplary businesses committed to the future of the collision repair industry. We all want to raise the professional image of this industry, to help our combined members find success, and to advance business conditions. We all believe that is accomplished through a commitment of supporting one another. I can’t think of a better fit.”

Key Choice President John Magowan cited SCRS’ educational information, 401(k) and Blueprint Optimization Tool as benefits of membership.

“As an independent organization, we create our direction based on the needs of our members, and the connection to SCRS’ efforts in the industry is a natural fit to how our group has evolved,” Magowan said in a statement. “Within our group, we strive to be associated with other high-performing shops to share ideas and best practices while exposing each other to continued learning opportunities. The benefits that SCRS is bringing to the industry to help advance shops like ours made it an easy decision. It becomes a clear benefit for Key Choice to open the door for membership in SCRS, allowing our network members the ability to then take advantage of the educational material coming from SCRS, the business resources like their 401(k) offering and the discounts on their estimating resources like the Blueprint Optimization Tool (BOT).

“We expect our members to be proactive, willing to accept change and embrace the process of transformation for their shops and connecting our very focused community to a national organization like SCRS that has such similarly aligned ideals makes for the perfect next step in the evolution of the Key Choice network.”

SCRS leadership offered repairers updates on such initiatives during the organization’s open board meeting last week.

Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg on Wednesday said some shops had saved close to $15,000 on retirement plans by using the SCRS multiple-employer 401(k) option in their businesses.

The multiple employer 401(k) pools the assets of all participating SCRS member companies to demand a better deal than the individual businesses could secure on their own. This can mean lower fees for employees, allowing them to build more money for retirement over time. Other SCRS 401(k) benefits might include reduced administrative work and fiduciary risk. Some shops might also find themselves saving money on the audits required on larger employers’ 401(k)s.

The plan has grown to more than $13 million in assets and more than 185 employees participating, and is “just shy of our next fee reduction,” from 3.5 basis points to 3 basis points at the $15 million mark, Schulenburg said Wednesday.

Launched in 2020 and recently updated with more than 300 new operations added, the SCRS BOT software software studies estimates and suggests operations a repairer might have missed.

SCRS board member Robert Grieve (Nylund’s Collision Center) said Wednesday the BOT counted about 500 licensed users who have written 26,000 line items to estimates.

“That’s a lot of operations that got added to repair orders,” Grieve said. One facility added more than 1,100 operations in June, he said.

SCRS represents 6,000 collision repairers and 58,500 industry professionals through its direct membership and 37 affiliates. For more information about SCRS, call 877-841-0660, email info@scrs.com, or visit www.scrs.com.

More information:

“Key Choice Becomes First Network to Add All Locations as SCRS Members”

Society of Collision Repair Specialists, July 20, 2021

Key Choice Collision Centers

Images:

The Society of Collision Repair Specialists and Key Choice Collision Centers logos are shown. (Provided by SCRS, Key Choice)

A testimonial from a Blueprint Optimization Tool user is shown during a Society of Collision Repair Specialists open board meeting July 14, 2021. SCRS Vice Chairwoman Amber Alley (Barsotti’s Body & Fender) is in the foreground. (John Huetter/Repairer Driven News)