Get Exclusive Look Inside the Shop of Tomorrow at AAPEX
BETHESDA, MD – October 14, 2010 – Take an exclusive look inside the repair shop of tomorrow at live demonstrations of i•SHOP™ and a new aftermarket telematics solution to be held at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. daily at The Shop of Tomorrow display, AAPEX booth #2866. Billed as the “Imagination Station,” The Shop of Tomorrow demonstrations will showcase how the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) and an alliance of aftermarket innovators built a remote diagnostics and communication solution in a matter of months by leveraging open industry standards.
i•SHOP™ is the AAIA Web Service standard that enables shop equipment and business systems to communicate with each other. This shop integration technology eliminates the need to re-key information about the customer, the vehicle or the service work to be performed because the computers understand how to communicate with each other. Even service and diagnostic results from the back shop can be shared electronically with the front shop business systems.
i•SHOP™ allows a modern service shop to transform into a model of paperless efficiency and increased productivity.
Aftermarket telematics are critical to ensure that the independent service industry does not get shut out by the blue button found in most GM cars and similar OEM technologies. To vehicle owners, aftermarket telematics means the freedom to choose from a variety of service notification solutions and an alternative to captive, factory-installed, subscription services.
To the industry, aftermarket telematics represent a cost-effective CRM solution that can be retrofit to millions of OBDII-equipped vehicles, cost effectively. Pooled vehicle diagnostics and service information can be transformed into automotive market intelligence.
The Shop of Tomorrow is envisioned as an Imagination Station in the middle of AAPEX. Bring your best ideas for how an aftermarket service shop should operate; and, see how existing standards-based technology can make it a reality today. For more information, visit www.aftermarket.org/tomorrow.