Key Word for 2003: Efficiency

It’s that time again when we reflect on the past year and make resolutions aimed at improvement for the year to come. Hopefully, we are realistic both in our look at how we have done in these last twelve months and in our expectations for 2003.

Looking back to our industry’s NACE2002, we are justifiably proud of the big event: information sharing and serious hard work spiced with awards and fun. This being MY first NACE, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the whole time. The week was entertaining, exciting, informative, and inspirational. I saw the people wholeheartedly involved in our industry working (and playing) together.

Former President Bush and Comedian Bill Cosby were wonderful guests, both sharing their wisdom with appreciative crowds.

A special thanks to our Dallas hosts, and especially to ASA’s Monica Buchholz for her gracious and steady guidance.

I came away from Dallas excited about the interesting array of software offerings available to our industry. Being the computer nerd that I am, there are several pages in this month’s Industry Update section about some of these developments. We have opportunities during 2003 to make our computers very efficient tools.

Speaking of efficiency, our traditional January feature, our overview of things past and yet to come in our industry, offers some ideas for practical New Year’s resolutions to make collision repair operations more efficient.

In December 2003, we at INSIGHT will be checking our statistical analyses and predictions against the reality that will unfold during the coming twelve months. Our crystal ball has been pretty darn accurate over the years, so you may want to read this carefully.

Collision Repair Industry-related stocks are pretty much holding their own (except, of course, for our dot-com comrades) in a Market that our publisher, Charlie Baker, predicts will be steadily turning around toward profitability.

Many thanks to our subscriber shop owners who have been ever-faithful in responding to our monthly TrendLine and MarketWatch surveys. Without your input, INSIGHT would be unable to continue to provide the statistics and industry information to our readers.

A Happy and Prosperous New Year to all!