Competition is finally introducing some much-needed disruption in the automotive glass fitment industry.
Capitalism is all about competition, we are told, but all too easily industries imperceptibly settle down into accepted ways of doing things – until somebody comes along to upset the apple cart with new ways of thinking and doing. Gary Stieger, MD and Founder of My Glass, sees his company as playing the disruptor role in an industry that had grown complacent and set in its ways.
It’s common for disruptors to be industry insiders – who knows better than them where the persistent pain points and gaps are? Stieger is one such, an industry veteran with a commitment to changing the way things are done for the better.
As in so many industries, technology is a key driver of the disruption but, says Stieger, it’s far from the whole story. “In essence, what underpins our disruptive model is a focus on the customer experience. Technology provides the platform, makes it possible, but it’s the way we deal with customers that is really the differentiator,” he says.
Stieger has used technology to create a platform that enables great customer experience. One aspect is that My Glass’s systems integrate directly into the back end of the insurers it services, ensuring that there is total transparency across the whole claims process, including for brokers and customers themselves. An app has been developed to enable My Glass fitment centres to allocate work and track progress, again transparent to the My Glass head office.
All this technology improves and streamlines the business processes, but the real aim is to make the customer experience better. It enables what Stieger says is the biggest disruption in the glass industry – reconceptualising glass fitment as service.
“Glass companies have been offering a ‘we come to you’ service for years but it’s never taken off – I think because the default setting was going to a fitment centre, and the mobile service was slow,” he muses. “We have totally turned that on its head – we’re very much a mobile-first and mobile-only operation, and thanks to our integrated technology platform, it’s quick and slick. Our units will go to where the customer is – for example, the parking lot at the mall or the gym, so the impact on their day is minimised.
“We don’t think in terms of how many fitment centres we have, but how many mobile units there are – it’s a different way of thinking about what you’re actually doing.”
In short, then, it’s not the technology per se that’s the disruption, but what it enables.
One can see this playing out in the kind of business model Stieger chose. When he began putting his network together, he went for a licensing model, with the prime criterion for joining the business owner’s attitude towards customer service.
“Once you have the right people, people who are really motivated by satisfying customers, you have something to work with. I just didn’t see the point in trying to box entrepreneurs in,” he says.
The technology is what makes everything work, but first of all you need to have people who are committed to using it right. It also enables head office to monitor how things are going and keep a beady eye on the key metric, turnaround times.
“We are creating something that is very authentic and is totally geared towards customers.”
The proof of the pudding is that My Glass has the lowest complaints ratios in the business according to insiders, says Stieger.
This “let’s get the job done for the customer” spirit – expressed in the company’s payoff, We’ve got you – is also evident in its approach to stock. Because it is not tied to any one supplier, it will source the glass a customer needs wherever it can be found.
Generally, supply is a big issue in the automotive glass industry. Stieger says this is a hangover from the days of sanctions, when one local manufacturer supplied everybody. Because it had a virtual monopoly, the costs were high, and its business model is now somewhat outdated. By contrast, he says, My Glass takes advantage of the competitive global market with Fuyao – branded glass.
Stieger says that the fact that Fuyao, which is installed by the vast majority of the international car manufacturers, can be supplied more cheaply than the locally produced product, shows the impact of a truly competitive environment.
“The old equation of price with quality simply isn’t true anymore – in this market at least,” he concludes. “The truth is that if you look after your customers, if you take the trouble to understand their needs and to meet them, your business will be a success. That’s the biggest disruptor of them all.”
About My Glass
My Glass is an innovative glass replacement company, aiming to disrupt the industry by delivering a better experience for customers. It operates a fleet of over 200 mobile units to make replacing automotive or building glass as painless as possible – it’s all about customer convenience. The company partners with a growing number of insurance companies, and also serves the public directly. The My Glass difference is powered by its nationwide network of mobile service teams who have been carefully chosen to reflect the demographics, their entrepreneurial talent as well as their commitment to the customer experience. For more information, please visit www.myglass.co.za.
