MAHLE Service Solutions has announced a new agreement with Christian Brothers Automotive to provide the company with an enhanced enterprise technician collaboration platform. The platform is a customized version of the new MAHLE Forum, which offers a rich web and mobile application for experience and knowledge based collaboration with built-in workflows, service information management, data analytics and diagnostic tool integration.
The customizable collaboration platform, MAHLE Forum, will be used by Christian Brothers Automotive, one of the nation’s leading automotive service and repair franchise systems, at all 160 of its locations. The new collaboration environment, called CBA Connect, will allow Christian Brothers Automotive technicians to interact with and support other technicians within the organization when they need help diagnosing or repairing vehicles.
“We have had extensive experience and success using collaboration tools with our technicians,” said Bob Augustine, technical training manager, Christian Brothers Automotive. “We chose the MAHLE Forum as our next generation tool due to the automotive focus of the platform. Our customized MAHLE Forum will enable us to support our technicians more efficiently, help build their continuous knowledge base and provide a powerful search engine to quickly find the information from past repair and service information.”
The Christian Brothers Automotive MAHLE Forum will also provide a multimedia document management and document authoring environment for technicians and Christian Brothers Automotive trainers. Access to the platform can be achieved through the web or using mobile applications.
The customized application for Christian Brothers will provide repair support for domestic, Asian and European vehicles with convenient VIN decoding/lookup capabilities and social media (e.g., YouTube, What’s app) integration. Technicians in the Christian Brothers network, comprised of more than 160 locations, can upload images, videos, audio, documents and more to illustrate the issue they are posting about. MAHLE Forum will also integrate and support all Christian Brothers legacy data.
For more information about MAHLE Aftermarket Service Solutions, visit www.servicesolutions.mahle.com
About MAHLE MAHLE is a leading international development partner and supplier to the automotive industry as well as a pioneer for the mobility of the future. The group’s product portfolio addresses all the crucial issues relating to the powertrain and air conditioning technology—both for drives with combustion engines and for e-mobility. In 2016, the group generated sales of approximately EUR 12.3 billion with around 77,000 employees and is represented in 34 countries with 170 production locations.About MAHLE Aftermarket MAHLE Aftermarket, the business unit specializing in spare parts, uses the expertise from the series production of original equipment in its automotive aftermarket product range, and supplies trade, repair shop and engine repair partners. MAHLE Aftermarket is represented at 22 locations and other sales offices worldwide, with 1,555 employees. In 2016, the business unit achieved a global sales volume of EUR 899 million (USD 946 million). About MAHLE Service Solutions MAHLE Aftermarket Inc., Service Solutions division specializes in the development, manufacturing and distribution of automotive services, tools and maintenance equipment, including vehicle diagnostics, air conditioning service, fluid exchange and nitrogen tire inflation systems. Formerly known as RTI Technologies, MAHLE Service Solutions continues its legacy of building shop equipment for the most stringent OEM and aftermarket needs. Along with this expertise, MAHLE Service Solutions combines the know-how of MAHLE Behr with automotive thermal management and MAHLE Powertrain with automotive test systems. Each of these three entities have more than 25 years of R&D and technology deployment experience providing advanced solutions for OE manufacturers. In addition to the high-quality products offered through its Service Solutions division, MAHLE Aftermarket provides a comprehensive and well-developed service network to ensure quick and professional technical support and training for repair shops. For more information about MAHLE Aftermarket Service Solutions, visit www.servicesolutions.mahle.com. About Christian Brothers Automotive Christian Brothers Automotive is one of the nation’s leading automotive service and repair franchise systems, with more than 170 locations in 26 states, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington. Mark Carr, president and CEO, opened the first location in Houston, Texas in 1982. The store’s main principle was to run an automotive repair facility based on honesty, integrity, reliability and exceptional customer service, which is still the core philosophy of Christian Brothers Automotive today. Christian Brothers Automotive began selling franchises in 1996 and continues to grow at a pace of 15 to 20 stores annually. The company also continues to maintain a 100 percent success rate with its store operations, never having closed a location. For more information on Christian Brothers Automotive visit www.ChristianBrothersAuto.com.
