Mitchell Enters Beta Testing On New Version of ABS -- The Industry's Leading Body Shop Management System
SAN DIEGO--July 12, 2001--Mitchell International announced today that Version 7 of its ABS Body Shop Management System has entered beta testing with 25 repair shops, including both consolidators and independent shops, nationwide.
The ABS system is the collision repair industry's leading solution for increasing profitability by automating many shop management functions for greater efficiency.
"Larger shops and consolidators grow their bottom line when they use ABS," said Chad Taylor, Mitchell's director of product management. He noted that ABS is the industry's most comprehensive management system, leads the market and is proven by use in over 2000 shops.
ABS Version 7 continues the product's leading-edge tradition by offering many new features designed to help collision repair shops save time -- as much as 30 minutes per repair order, increase productivity and enhance profitability. The new version also allows for multiple shop management with data communication occurring over the Internet.
"ABS Version 7 comes complete with a proven track record, an unbeatable feature set and a new technological architecture that will increase the speed of all functions," Taylor said. "ABS 7 also communicates openly with CIECA standard EMS estimate files, and includes an Internet standard XML data export for repair orders. This new version keeps shops efficient today, while also preparing them for the online future."
ABS Version 7's step-saving XML Export feature enables users to transfer their data via the Internet. With this feature, individual shops or chains of multiple shops can send data to a central location for analysis by shop owners.
And the entire system, with its new 32-bit platform, will be faster and also ready to quickly accommodate future versions.
With ABS Version 7, shops will be able to:
| -- | Import any CIECA compliant estimate. |
| -- | Export data to the Internet more easily. |
| -- | Save time -- as much as 30 minutes per repair order -- by offering complete supplement support for all P-Page estimating systems. |
| -- | View shop data in reports including detailed breakouts of personnel, job functions and locations -- a total of more than 100 available reports. |
| -- | Simplify parts management with ABS' ordering, receiving and costing processes. |
| -- | Increase sales performance by tracking estimating activities. |
| -- | Maximize employee efficiency and productivity by assigning employees to jobs that capitalize on their skills and provide useful reports to detail their performance. |
| -- | Manage job costs by providing reports that highlight profits and losses generated at every step in the repair process. |
| -- | Wisely spend marketing dollars by tracking those efforts that generate sales. |
"This new version of ABS includes the tools needed to bring multiple shop locations into one efficient management process," Taylor said. "ABS Version 7 offers an unmatched opportunity to improve any shop's profitability."
About Mitchell International
Mitchell International, founded in 1946 and headquartered in San Diego, is The Source for information software and e-business solutions for the insurance and automotive repair industries. Providing services that enhance productivity, profitability and customer satisfaction, Mitchell facilitates several million electronic transactions between more than 16,000 business partners each month. Mitchell's own parts and labor database, a critical connectivity point between shops and insurers, is trusted for its accuracy and respected as the industry standard. For more information on Mitchell International or ABS Version 7, call Chris Andrews, Director of Marketing, at 858/578-6550, ext. 8321. Visit our Web sites at www.emitchell.com and www.mitchell.com.