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Letter to the Editor

CIC Database Task Force Meets with Mitchell International

The CIC Database Task Force is comprised of representatives from the three largest collision repair trade associations in the country: the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers (AASP), the Automotive Service Association (ASA) and the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS).

The Task Force accepted the invitation and spent a day and a half touring Mitchell’s facility and meeting with their executive and product management teams.

AASP Immediate Past President Nick Kostakis said, “We viewed this as a great opportunity to continue the open dialogue we’ve established with Mitchell and for their management team to hear first hand the larger issues most important to our members, related to the database providers including Mitchell.”

The Task Force viewed the meeting as successful and wanted to commend Mitchell, Tom Fleming, Vice President of Database Development, and their entire Executive Management team for their honesty and willingness to work with the Task Force.

Darrell Amberson, ASA Collision Division Chairman stated, “I think all of us were pleased as to how receptive Mitchell was to the issues we raised and to our suggestions for changes that we feel would improve the accuracy of their database.”

Barry Dorn, SCRS Secretary, said, “Our mission was to raise those macro-level issues identified at CIC, and discuss them at length. Hopefully, we can expect to see future changes related to database disclosure (when significant changes are made to the database), identification of new substrates (i.e. magnesium, aluminum, boron), appropriate labor values associated with these new materials and unique procedures; and, finally, an estimate print font size that is more easily readable.”

It was during this meeting that Tom Fleming further validated Mitchell’s commitment to working with the Task Force, informing the group that the Task Force would be offered three seats on their advisory board. The advisory board, which consists of representatives from various industry segments, meets annually to discuss their database and feature/enhancement requests.

Fleming commented, “The representatives on this Task Force represent a large percentage of our customer base, are leaders in the collision repair industry, and are a valuable barometer of the needs and issues of the collision repair community. We felt adding the voice of the Task Force to our advisory board not only demonstrated our commitment to the Task Force, but also to the collective collision repair industry as we try and meet their needs from a feature and functionality perspective.”

“The Task Force will continue to work with Mitchell International and the other information providers on an ongoing basis,” stated Lou Dilisio, “The need for ongoing dialog and physical meetings between the database providers and representatives of the collision industry, whether it is through the Task Force or Advisory Boards, will continue indefinitely. The extent to which we can work together responsively and productively will determine the methodology used to address the issues as they are raised.”

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