The Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA) announced that Sovereign has joined their organization as a corporate member.

Established in 2005, Sovereign is an information technology (IT) consulting firm located in Arlington Heights, Ill. The company provides IT services to its clients and has extensive experience in the collision repair business, working with single-shop and multi-shop operators.

Dave Solak, president of Sovereign, said the company’s development team addresses a variety of technology challenges, including the development and support of custom shop management systems, mobile applications, websites, e-commerce systems, wireless networking and system infrastructure. Sovereign also has experience in providing technical support for the CCC and Audatex estimating systems as well as frame measuring and four-wheel alignment machines.

“We are excited to be part of CIECA and thankful for the structure that it provides to the collision industry,” said Solak. “CIECA standards have provided a framework for us to develop programs that move information from estimating systems to our management systems using the CIECA legacy format.”

In the near future, Sovereign plans to develop integrations with estimate systems and parts procurement systems using the BMS format.

“As the new development moves forward, we will be in a position to provide feedback on things that work particularly well and things that we struggle with,” said Solak. “Our intent here is to help refine the CIECA standards and further enable more seamless integration between systems.”