Anaheim, California — IBIS USA’s 2024 conference event was held March 19th to the 21st at the JW Marriott Anaheim in Anaheim, California, bringing together members of the collision industry for insightful conversations, innovative solutions to industry challenges and vibrant networking opportunities.
The event, which this year was themed “Transforming, Tomorrow, Together,” began on Tuesday, March 19th with a welcome reception in partnership with Axalta. Here, guests were able to mix and mingle, all while enjoying the winter-free California weather.
Following this, Wednesday morning kicked off at 8:15 a.m. with arrivals and registration and then an introductory presentation with IBIS CEO, Jason Moseley and moderator Dave Smith on the 2024 IBIS journey. Here, discussion surrounded current challenges facing the industry from advances in technology to the ongoing technician shortage.
At 10:00 a.m., a group of speakers from across the industry’s training and education sectors gathered to give a round table presentation on the technician shortage as well as ways for all sectors of the industry to collaborate on solutions. The main question asked during this section of the day was “with so many programs in place, why do we still have (a technician) problem?”
Coffee and a networking brunch filled the afternoon before the day kicked off again with a discussion from James Crawley, entrepreneur, investor and business consultant on how to do more with collision industry employer brands. The talk specifically looked at what employer branding is and why fueling it matters. The talk also included an opening keynote session that invited industry partners to participate and create future action plans.
Day two ended with updates from the Women’s Industry Network (WIN) as well as an IBIS USA exclusive networking drinks reception and dinner, also in partnership with Axalta.
Day three, and the last full day of the conference, started with another sunny California response, beginning with a welcome back to IBIS USA 2024 reception.
The first presentation took attendees to the Bermuda Triangle; not the choppy seas of myth, but the relationship between insurers, OEMs and collision repairers. Here, the main question asked was “if we are all pulling in the same direction, why isn’t the consumer or vehicle owner more satisfied?”
During the presentation, Sean Carey, IBIS board member and ambassador, along with a roundtable of various members in the industry explored sharing data, joint decisions to help benefit customers, as well as a call to action to make future changes to industry efficiency.
With the sun shining down on attendees, the conference ended with an action plan summary, closing remarks and an IBIS USA delegates networking departure lunch.
Check out Collision Repair magazine’s photos of the event below!
27 photos
The post An Anaheim Adventure: Looking back on the IBIS USA 2024 conference appeared first on Collision Repair Magazine.
