Our inaugural 2023 Yard Field Trip was a great success!

May 17

Our inaugural 2023 Yard Field Trip was a great success! The tour received an overwhelmingly positive response from attendees, and we are pleased to share some of the major takeaways from the trip with you.

The three-day field trip, held prior to the 2023 URG Conference, was organized by Chris and Georgia from Auto PARTnered Solutions, Rob Rainwater from Profit Team Consulting, and JC Cahill from VINMatchPro. The tour involved visits to several Auto Recycling Yards in Florida, with a diverse mix of auto recyclers from the US and the UK joining us on the bus, representing varying yard sizes and annual turnovers.

Throughout the tour, we had the privilege of visiting six exceptional facilities across Florida, each owner giving us a guided tour and an opportunity to ask questions and learn from their experiences.

To maximize the value of our time together on the bus, we used the travel time on the bus to run workshops facilitated by Chris, Rob, and JC.

In these workshops, we asked the tough questions, shared insider knowledge, and brainstormed solutions together. This was an excellent opportunity for each of the guests on the tour to share their personal experiences running and operating their businesses in different parts of the US and the world. These intimate mobile workshops meant that everyone on the tour could collectively tap into the experience and expertise of not just Rob, JC & Chris, but all the attendees.

We would like to extend our gratitude to each attendee for their willingness to learn and share their experiences.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the Yard Tours & Bus Workshops:

Staffing is a significant issue for auto recyclers worldwide, but solutions such as outsourcing and remote workforce are being developed.
There are various ways to achieve desired results in recycling businesses, including purchasing, vehicle processing, and sales strategies, and it is essential to determine what works best for your business.
Physical yard size does not necessarily determine turnover size.
Most recyclers do not have a well-planned and structured online presence and need to consider developing a robust digital strategy covering website, social media, reviews, online marketplaces, and email marketing.
The potential for selling auto parts on eBay in the US is immense and currently underutilized compared to the UK, where up to 80% of parts are sold on eBay.
Industry leaders excel in identifying new technology to help improve business efficiency and profitability.