SEMA Returns with Repairer Driven Education

Experience the SEMA Show once and you’ll never forget it.

Attracting approximately 200,000 attendees to Las Vegas each year, SEMA is one of the world’s most exciting vehicle-related gatherings. As of this writing, SEMA was slated to return to an in-person event after pivoting to a virtual format in 2020. For more than a decade, the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) has brought relevant auto body-specific education, training, discussions and networking opportunities to the Show, leading to unforgettable experiences beyond the stunning visuals found in and around the Las Vegas Convention Center. After producing a virtual version of its Repairer Driven Education (RDE) series in 2020, SCRS is thrilled to once again partner with SEMA to deliver a week-long schedule of live seminars and industry gatherings this November 1-5.

“I cannot begin to express how excited we are that we will be returning in person this year,” SCRS Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg shared during the association’s recent Open Board of Directors Meeting in Cleveland, OH. ”Last year, we had some great alternatives to delivering information, but there’s nothing that replicates collision repairers going to a show to spark energy back into themselves and their businesses.”

For this year’s SEMA, SCRS has created an RDE agenda that aims to identify and address many of the key issues impacting today’s industry. During “Scanning and Calibrations – Make Them a PROFIT Center of Your Business,” Eric Newell and Aaron Clark of AirPro Diagnostics will explore whether scanning and calibrations should be a business cost or a separate revenue-generating profit center. Additionally, they will guide attendees on how to prepare their business to embrace in-house diagnostics and calibrations to positively affect their shops’ P&L statement, prompt a fast return on investment and streamline repair processes.

For some facilities, the pandemic prompted the unexpected loss of at least one major revenue source. Whether such a change is by choice or by edict, repairers need to evaluate and (in some cases) prepare for sudden changes in their market business strategy. This will be the main focus of “Severing or Surviving the Loss of a DRP or Key Account,” an RDE course by AkzoNobel Coatings Senior Services Consultant Tim Rona. This session will focus on evaluating the effect of two types of change – voluntarily choosing to sever a Direct Repair or key account business relationship or involuntarily losing such a connection – and the strategic and tactical plans associated with both.

Auto body industry veteran and noted speaker Mike Anderson (Collision Advice) will be back for the 2021 Show, joining Danny Gredinberg of the Database Enhancement Gateway (degweb.org) to present “Capture Everything! Using Estimating Resources for Thorough Repair Planning.” Those who sign up for this high-powered presentation will learn how to use resources like SCRS’ award-winning Blueprint Optimization Tool (BOT) and the DEG to guarantee the accuracy of their estimates and make sure they aren’t forgetting anything.

The 2021 SEMA Show will also feature the return of SCRS’ OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit, an all-day series of special panel discussions featuring experts in automotive innovation and design. This year’s Summit will feature individual sessions devoted to electric vehicles (EVs), vehicle research/trends and ADAS and safety.

The RDE series will conclude with the IDEAS Collide Showcase, which SCRS says will feature “10 fast-paced presentations designed to stimulate thought, innovation and resolution of business challenges with brash, outspoken and provoking concepts from thought leaders both in and out of the industry.”

For SCRS’ complete event schedule at SEMA, please visit scrs.com/rde.

PROTECTING CONSUMERS AND THE COLLISION INDUSTRY