According to a report from The Courier Mail, Suncorp, an Australian insurance company, is looking into saving money by sourcing car parts itself at a collision repair facility in Sydney it partly owns.
With parts being a controversial topic now in the U.S., and speculation that insurers may one day directly source parts and/or paint in the U.S., too, association leaders are keeping a close eye on trends happening across the globe.
Some U.S. collision repairers feel that insurers’ new electronic parts procurement initiatives will threaten their parts profits, and it seems Australian repairers are feeling the same about Suncorp’s latest endeavor. A message from the Country North Vehicle Repairers Association to its members read:
“If anyone had any doubts whether it was a bad idea or not to allow Suncorp to directly supply their own radiators, A/C cores, driers and auto transmission coolers, then hopefully [the Courier Mail article] will awaken those who have accepted this policy of theirs. If you value your smash repair business or spare parts business, then carefully read the article, and read firsthand from the horse’s mouth of Suncorp’s plans to direct supply parts in the future! We all know that our businesses cannot survive without our spare parts markup. We all need to act today and send the right message to that company that ‘enough is enough’ and we won’t take any more. No action will certainly bring the end to many and pave the way for Suncorp to open even more of their own shops. What will you do? You have been warned.”
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