Aug. 28, 2012—The Washington Metropolitan Auto Body Association (WMABA) will host two meetings Sept. 19 in Virginia and Maryland to discuss issues related to State Farm Insurance’s parts procurement program through PartsTrader.
The first meeting, meant for both repairers and parts vendors, will be held at 11 a.m. at the Springfield Hilton in Springfield, Va. The second meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the Embassy Suites BWI in Linthicum, Md.
The WMABA said Aaron Schulenburg, executive director of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) will give an in-depth presentation on State Farm’s pilot program, including historical data relating to PartsTrader in other international markets and the SCRS’ views regarding potential ramifications for the U.S. collision repair industry.
"Understanding that not every repair facility can participate and hear the discussions taking place at national meetings, we wanted to bring the discussion to the local level and share with regional areas of the country,” Schulenburg said. “These insurer mandated parts procurement programs have the potential to drastically affect every repairer if our industry isn’t cautious about understanding the potential ramifications. This isn’t about one carrier, one process or one business model. It is about insurer control over repair facility processes, and insurer intrusion into your business. If these programs are launched nationally, and the repair industry watches it happen, business for repairers and parts vendors will be affected.”
Registration for the meeting is $25 for non-members of the WMABA. For more information, visit wmaba.com.