Benjamin Weinlich

Background

About Benjamin Weinlich

School, university, work, wife, dog, house, child, 30th birthday. That’s how my life has not been so far. Instead, I am constantly changing myself to a never changing environment that shows threats and opportunities at the same time. For the most part I was on the creative side of things. As an employee and self-employed freelancer, I did website development, 3D modelling, animation, VFX, then ads, marketing, websites and more. Currently I’m taking classes to gain my degree as Master Professional in Business Management. Why? Because life wanted me to be in the automotive industry. That is, the old-fashioned dealer and repair shop automotive industry. The one with an older, but life-long customer base that are slowly no longer in need of a car. To stay a market participant in the not-so-distant future, we need to make our company ready for a new area. As the German demographic changes, so does the entire automotive industry transform right in front of our eyes. Accelerated by new mobility and Covid-19, our branch is under fierce attack from all sides. Unknowingly I have chosen an industry that is not easy to change. Employees like to do things the way they were taught. They love the smell of oil, lubes, and tires. They get wet eyes when seeing an 8 cylinder engine come back to life. And they cringe when spotting an emotionless computer on wheel, AKA electric vehicle. And yet we did a few groundbreaking changes that turned out to be life savers. Firstly, we diversified our product portfolio. We are now specialized in selling and repairing the world’s best electric motorcycles and scooters. Secondly, we implemented a dealer management system. It is kind of an ERP but specialized for car dealerships and repair shops. Thirdly, we became an importer for electric scooters. That means we are responsible for our own dealer network and providing them with great after sales service. These measurements make us more independent of the car sales and repair business. Those changes are profoundly changing our company to the core, but we are only scratching the surface here. The next steps to is to make the repair shop ready for 2030, when vehicles can diagnose themselves, control units receive updates over the air and calibration of sensors happen automatically. To assess damages from accidents, a smartphone and an AI will be enough to calculate repair costs, automatically. Now, do I have the answers and solution to all these issues? No, but I surely know how to drive change in an environment that doesn’t like to change. To be continued…