Sept. 2, 2021—PPG will begin a phased launch of PPG LINQ, a new end-to-end digital solution for automotive refinish customers, FenderBender has learned.
In an exclusive interview with FenderBender, PPG’s Global Marketing Director Denise Lu spoke about PPG LINQ, which will launch in early 2022.
“It is an ecosystem that we are building with the purpose of improving customers’ experience and also increasing the connectivity of the automotive collision market,” Lu said. “It’s not just one kind of software. It will be a full suite of digital solutions, services, hardwares that will connect all of the key stakeholders across the industry.”
The product has been in the works for several years and Lu expects it will take an additional 2-3 years before the full rollout is available. The first suite of services available upon the launch are its PPG MOONWALK system, along with color matching, productivity and wireless mixing tools.
Lu called PPG LINQ a “flexible service” that can be used immediately as an add-on to a shop’s shop management system and other digital tools. However, by the time the full rollout is available, Lu anticipates it could replace all other digital solutions within the shop.
“The beauty of PPG LINQ is it gives the customer a very wide variety. So it can become a replacement of an existing system, it can be an add-on. This ecosystem will have the ability to connect with any kind of existing systems that aren’t PPG. In that sense, it gives the customer flexibility,” Lu said.
That was a key benefit that PPG wanted to include, Lu said. The company heard from its customers that there is an oversaturation of systems in the market and that it is hard to navigate those systems and make them work together. Lu said PPG LINQ will solve that problem.
Among the many features of the product, it will also provide customers with the opportunity to improve the sustainability of their day-to-day operations and minimize their environmental impact with features that optimize product consumption and waste reduction.
The tool will be available to all shops that use PPG paint or solutions.
