A KPI is a statistical fact or numerical value generated from transactional event records.  For the automotive industry, KPIs represent total repair order (RO) counts, average RO dollars, average RO parts sales, average RO labor sales, and other well-defined metric indicators.  A key feature of KPIs is that KPI results can be filtered by user-defined parameters, such as geography, vehicle year, make, or model, and time.

The KPI Web portal is called Mitchell 1 ShopMeter, and it is brought to you as a cooperative effort of ASA and Mitchell 1.

KPIs provide the benchmark metrics from which to gauge individual shop performance.  By knowing where you stand compared to the local competition, and knowing your shop’s performance compared to national averages, you are armed with the information on trends in real-time and you can act on those numbers – whether positive or not so favorable – in a timely fashion.

KPIs underwent a three-stage process to get included in the Mitchell 1 ShopMeter.  First, a “top ten” list of desired KPIs was generated focusing on the core automobile characteristics of Year, Make, and Model (Y/M/M).  Next, the database was scrutinized to identify data constants that would support analysis and selectable query of the desired KPIs.  Finally, the revised list was submitted to ASA for review by the ASA Mechanical Operations Committee and key members of the ASA team.  The KPIs reported in Mitchell 1’s ShopMeter are the combination of this selection process.  ASA and Mitchell 1 intend to expand the list of available KPIs based on enhanced data processing and suggestions from users like you.

The KPI data is generated from thousands of repair shops across the nation.  Shops that use Mitchell 1 Manager systems provide the transactional data for analysis in an aggregated form. 
There are three essential components of the source data:

• Personally identifiable information or individual shop information is never used in analysis.
• All data is used in an aggregated form to generate averages and total counts.  A specific shop’s data is never used alone and KPI subscribers cannot identify an individual shop – ever!
• All source data is transactionally accurate and data fields are processed to eliminate incorrect or missing information.  Subscribers can trust the integrity and security of the data source.

No personally identifiable information is ever contained in the data analyzed by Mitchell 1 ShopMeter users.  All personally identifiable information, such as shop name, shop ID, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, or customer data is completely stripped out of the database before analysis.  All information is then re-assembled in aggregated form to deliver database totals or averages.  Zip code information is retained solely for the purpose of generating geographic KPI analysis, and zips are converted to latitude/longitude values to preserve shop privacy.

The source data is warehoused in Mitchell 1’s secure facility in Poway, CA.  These data are then transformed into an analysis database that is completely separate from the original data – but retains the transactional accuracy of the source minus personally identifiable information.

Unlike annual or periodic publications that collect and report their data months after the events took place, Mitchell 1 ShopMeter data is updated and refreshed every month!  Premium subscribers can choose weekly or even daily updates of their data.

The ShopMeter database reflects mainstream aftermarket repair facilities located across the nation.  Currently, only shops using Mitchell 1 Manager systems contribute to the analytic database.  However, many shops using non-Mitchell 1 management systems are very similar to Mitchell 1 shops, and ShopMeter users can feel confident that the KPIs reflect solid averages, totals, and trends that are representative of the aftermarket automotive repair segment of the industry.

Mitchell 1 ShopMeter analyzes 1600 nationally distributed databases containing over 3 million transactional records.  As a member benefit, ASA members are able to search all 2006 and newer transactions for vehicle years 2004 to present. 

Not yet.  But they are coming.  Currently, the Mitchell 1 ShopMeter you are using is the only version available.  It is provided to you as an additional benefit of ASA membership.  There is no charge or fee for this utility, and you have unlimited use of the different query selections available in the ShopMeter utility.

Premium services will be released in the near future, on a subscription basis.  They will offer customized KPI reports, targeted automotive data analysis, and full access to the entire data repository.  Features of this service will include top 5 to 50 sorting, broader geographic segmentation, full Y/M/M range look-ups, odometer readings, and service date availability from 1994 to present.    Additional KPI services are planned for 2009, including repair reference look-ups, broader vehicle classes (including trucks), and analysis by major service categories.

A mathematical algorithm is applied to the data which converts all zip codes to latitude/longitude values.  When a user enters their zip code, a circular geographic buffer is extended from that zip code which returns shop data from all shops in the database within a 50 mile diameter.  Converting the zip code to a  latitude/longitude preserves the locational privacy of an individual shop.

Mitchell 1 ShopMeter is an internet-based utility that displays the data you want in a familiar web-page format.  After you log in to the ASA member’s only site, you access ShopMeter through a special link.  From there, you may walk through a tutorial, get more information, or view KPI reports. 

ASA members can search all 2006 and newer transactions for vehicle years 2004 to present.  Users can select local averages and totals based on zip code, and national averages and totals.  This information can be analyzed by vehicle year and make, and by when the service or repair was performed.  Results are presented as total number of repair orders, or average RO cost, or average labor cost, or average part cost.  In addition, ASA members can filter by ASA members only, to see how ASA members stack up to the rest of the nation.

KPIs are presented as real transactional values.  That means they are shown as total counts, or average dollars, or total dollars, depending on the user selection.  There are no percentages used in the analysis.

By inserting your zip code, the KPI analysis will return information from all shops in the database that are within 50 miles of your zip code.  In this way, you can compare your shop data with the shop down the street, across town, and in the neighboring villages.

Not yet.  This capability is scheduled to be available as a premium feature in the near future, and it will include regional selection and annotation.

There are hundreds of vehicle models and thousands of year/make combinations of vehicles on the road today. Most likely your selection was for a low frequency year/model and repair time period and location that had few or no records. Make sure the threshold selector is set to 10 or 0. Try expanding the repair date to include 2006-2008 and increasing the model year range. Also, try your search from the national averages tab.

ASA and Mitchell 1 welcome suggestions for improvements, changes, modifications, enhancements, and additions to the KPI selection.  We want to know what information is most valuable to you and how we can present it to you better.  Please e-mail your suggestions and comments to Angie Kilbourne at ASA email: angiek@asashop.org