SIM Group, a member of the Russian Car Dealer Association, has been on the national market for 15 years. The group is an official dealer of Suzuki, Kia, Renault and Hyundai vehicles. In 1998, the SIM showroom was among the first in Russia to be awarded official dealer status for Suzuki Motor Co., Ltd. Today, seven state-of-the-art SIM car retail and service centres provide a full range of services to their clients. The SIM quality management system has been certified ISO 9000-compliant – all products, raw materials, production processes and services have been carefully tested to prove their compliance to required norms. The standard also covers the terms of service the company gives to its clients.
Without a way to monitor service and repairs to cars, the company was susceptible to customer disputes, which were costing the company money. When it was claimed that damages had occurred as a result of repairs, disputes were often resolved in the clients’ favour. This was costly, but the company had no way to check the work of its service people. As a customer focused company, SIM Group service areas provide clients with an option to monitor the technicians’ actions during a service call – but the company wanted to protect itself against fraudulent disputes, while also monitoring the work of its employees.
Another desired feature was the centralisation of video monitoring through a single control centre with user rights management system to access video channels. The influence of the human factor on system operation and the data collected had to be reduced as much as possible. In addition, better theft prevention and parking control was required.
The SIM Group board decided to create an integrated video surveillance system across the entire retail/service centre network to monitor events and to establish video control over the premises.
A revealing solution
The solution was found in Axxon Enterprise - a multi-purpose security software platform upon which a video surveillance system was built. The Axxon Enterprise platform was selected in part for its ability to integrate virtually any make and type of equipment, making the platform extremely scalable and minimising additional peripheral equipment costs. Grand Prix, an Axxon integration partner, performed the installation.
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| The access control system was enhanced using additional cameras with the Face-Axxon Enterprise feature |
Grand Prix had a long history of creating and supporting reliable security systems that ensured stable and profitable business operations for its customers. To provide 24/7 monitoring of parking lots and surrounding areas, Grand Prix chose high sensitivity speed dome day/night cameras for video patrolling, operating as a separate unit within the Axxon Enterprise-based system.
The access control system was enhanced using additional cameras with the Face-Axxon Enterprise feature. This technology grants personal access rights to certain areas using remote facial identification results.
Workplaces located in service areas were equipped with video control to prevent lift platform accidents. An LCD display was installed in the customer waiting area, displaying images from the service area and allowing customers to monitor the status of their vehicles in real-time.
The integrated system is managed from the head office, with monitoring workstations provided for security officers, company board and site managers.
Better security, better management, better savings
Since the system was installed, SIM Group management now receives logs of the precise work done on each car, which includes information regarding the complexity of each job. These journals are created for each technician to record the vehicles they service and jobs they perform.
Dispute resolution has become much easier because video evidence is now available. Using the Axxon Enterprise-based system, SIM Group managers are much better prepared to manage clients’ behaviour as well as to correct the initial job prices should they require increased man-hours.
As promised, Axxon Enterprise has improved SIM Group’s ROI. Axxon’s system brought safety and transparency into SIM Group’s relationship with its clients – which translates into long-term savings.
