After years of negotiations, it appears the collision repair industry may finally be ready to open communications between partners in a way that will benefit all involved. Recently, ADP and CCC agreed to follow the lead of Mitchell International and have promised to allow open communication of EMS output files from their estimating systems. We applaud their promise as we believe open communication offers benefits to the industry.

Mitchell, the 1999 Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA) Electronic Commerce Company of the Year, has a demonstrated record of commitment both to customer choice as well as a commitment to open system design using CIECA standards established several years ago. We have long supported the responsible use of data by all industry constituents in an open market, with communication occurring over secured networks. As an advocate of customer choice, Mitchell believes it is up to its customers to decide how they wish to receive or transmit data. Mitchell therefore supports and facilitates the transmission of data over secured and open Internet networks, as well as proprietary networks such as Ivans and GEIS - depending upon our customer's preference. Currently, Mitchell has numerous insurance company customers for whom we translate and transmit data over proprietary networks, while others take advantage of the Internet for their communication. We are happy to support both types of networks as part of our service offering to valued customers.

Mitchell's commitment to customer choice is also evidenced by our support of collision repair shops regarding EMS file communication. Clearly, our shop customers have always desired open communication when it comes to EMS files and we have long believed that estimates written by a shop belong to that shop. While those estimates may have been written using Mitchell's proprietary data, we have claimed no ownership of the EMS file itself, nor do we charge special fees to “extract” the EMS file in an open format. The EMS files are saved by the shop's UltraMate estimating system in an open format to a local directory that the shop establishes and controls.

The result of all three data providers adhering to open communication standards will have both immediate and far-reaching impacts. Industrywide efficiencies will be more readily achieved as all supply chain constituents find it easier to share and process claims-related information. Shops benefit by more easily sharing information between their business systems, and with their business partners and suppliers. Insurers benefit by being able to accept data from body shops and adjusters regardless of which estimating system is used. Insurers can also immediately leverage advantages offered by end-to-end claims management functionality at secured Internet business-to-business sites such as eMitchell.com, which adheres to industry CIECA and Internet .XML standards. This means insurers can integrate their legacy systems with eMitchell.com today with data exchange occurring through their existing channels. And there is the promise of productivity and performance gains for all as shops and insurers choose products based on price, features and functionality, and delivery of a satisfying experience to their customers, rather than proprietary requirements.

But most of all, open standards maintain the customer's right to choose. And that is something Mitchell is proud to stand behind.

Steve Yin is senior vice president, marketing and product management, for Mitchell International Inc. He joined Mitchell in 1997 as senior director, product management, and has also held the positions of vice president - product management and marketing, electronic products and vice president of e-business. Yin holds a master's of business administration degree from the University of Southern California and has a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona. The Mitchell International Web sites can be found at www.mitchell.com and www.emitchell.com.

Turning a Challenge into an Opportunity

By Jim Dickens

CCC Supports Transfer of EMS Data to Third Parties

The Estimating Management System (EMS) data extract issue presents the collision repair industry with a unique challenge or, depending upon your view, opportunity. Throughout the debates, opinions were shared and the industry watched, listened and reacted. To understand where we are today with the EMS issue, let's take a moment to review the history.

Originally, the EMS data standard was designed in the mid-1990s by the Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA) to enable the flow of estimate data from a collision estimating system to a repair facility's management system for use by the repair facility. Now there is a new momentum to permit the flow of this data to third parties. While this free flow of data to third parties may help increase efficiencies in the industry, it also requires that industry participants be aware of the rights of all of those who have an interest in EMS data - including insurers, consumers, repairers, automobile parts data suppliers, information systems companies and automobile repair process data suppliers.

When this new use of EMS data surfaced, we felt it was critical to research this issue. While attending the recent Collision Industry Conference (CIC) meeting, I announced that we would support the transfer of the EMS data to third parties and that the details of our program would be completed by early May.

To date, we have already assisted a number of our repair facility customers in turning on the EMS extract. For example, CCC's Pathways Estimating Solution produces an EMS extract that complies with the CIECA EMS 1.0 and 2.0 standards. CCC's management systems - Pathways Professional Advantage and Pathways Enterprise Solution - also comply with CIECA EMS 2.0 standards, as recommended in the "Best Practices" produced by CIC's e-commerce subcommittee. We plan to comply with any future standards based upon our customer needs.

I have been a member of this industry for 10 years, and I personally find it interesting to see the associations such as CIECA and CIC play a major role in their mission of moving our industry forward and looking at new ways to better the way we do business. We are all out to do the very best each day and, wherever we can, reduce redundancies and increase customer satisfaction - I think we are all supportive of that notion.

In the end, insurance companies must work with repair facilities on an account-by-account basis to determine parameters and guidelines authorizing use of the estimate data. The insurance companies have significant issues that they need to be sensitive to, including the impending privacy requirements of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

At CCC, we take great pride in delivering value to our customers and in helping them run better businesses, and we have delivered a system that will permit our customers to operate an open system to the extent they believe an open system is practical. If you have any questions, please contact a CCC zone office at (800) 523-8924.

Jim Dickens is the group vice president of automotive services for CCC Information Services Inc. He currently oversees the automotive repair facility sales force that services more than 14,000 U.S. collision repair facilities. Since joining the company in 1991, Dickens has also served as director of national accounts, vice president of business development and Midwest Zone vice president. The CCC Web site can be found at www.cccis.com.

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ADP Supports CIECA, Has No Plans to Encrypt Output Data Files

By Rick Tuuri

ADP clearly supports and has always supported the Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA) and its stated mission. ADP also believes that any responsible company should take appropriate data security measures in order to protect its clients and preserve the integrity of e-commerce.

As an advocate of safe business practices, ADP will continue to work diligently to promote and establish proper security procedures and protocols for the collision industry. ADP will also continue to work with its business partners, its clients and their trading partners to ensure the responsible and appropriate use of all information contained within estimating and management systems. ADP's clients can rest assured that their communications and information are secure on the Internet within ADP communications software.

Although ADP takes the issue of data security and privacy very seriously, it also recognizes that the industry is still working on all of the issues related to implementing and managing secure transactions over the Internet. Therefore, ADP has no plans to encrypt output files from the Shoplink, Stellix or PenPro applications, and will not take any measures regarding this issue until the appropriate standards and policies are created - or unless it is deemed necessary by clients, business partners or government regulations.

Rick Tuuri is director of industry relations for ADP Automotive Claims Solutions Group. The ADP Web site can be found at http://www.csg.adp.com.

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