Convince customers and leverage business potential: the digital service tool SINDRI makes it possible

Schwalbach, Germany, September 13, 2022. Simplifying work processes, increasing the focus on customers or leveraging business potential – many car workshops still have room for improvement when it comes to using vehicle data for direct acceptance. SINDRI is an app designed by Continental for mobile devices. The technology company will showcase this smart solution for customer-focused and convenient direct vehicle acceptance at this year’s Automechanika. Previously, only a visual inspection with paper and pen was carried out, but SINDRI digitalizes the entire acceptance process and looks deep inside the vehicle. The app receives its data via a compact Vehicle Communication Interface (VCI), which accesses the ECUs via the OBD-II interface. SINDRI makes the data available much faster than conventional methods so that it can be used in parallel with a visual inspection. The workshop employee quickly gets a much more comprehensive picture of the vehicle’s overall condition. SINDRI covers over 80 percent of European vehicle fleets. Continental’s new direct vehicle acceptance solution is now available in stores, and the corresponding app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. The Continental subsidiary and workshop chain Vergölst has already started using the device in several branches to improve its vehicle acceptance service.

SINDRI works very simply: plug in the VCI, start the app, and a clear, understandable description of the vehicle’s condition appears on the tablet display after a few minutes. SINDRI reads out the control units, decrypts error codes and displays service-relevant information such as the oil level, battery voltage and upcoming inspections.

The advantage: customers can view all the data immediately on site, and upcoming repairs can be discussed and agreed upon. This strengthens trust in the workshop. “Digitalization has huge potential to make life easier for workshops and take their service to a whole new level. SINDRI continues our policy of using digital solutions to make workshops’ everyday tasks easier, more efficient and more customer-friendly,” says Peter Wagner, Head of the Automotive Aftermarket business segment in the Smart Mobility business area.

SINDRI also supports workshops in their efforts to open up additional business because the system detects problems, such as a lack of operating fluids, and it indicates service intervals that would not have been noticed during a routine inspection. SINDRI has already shown that this works in practice: During a test day in a Vergölst workshop, defects or service entries were found in almost every second vehicle (46 percent), thereby identifying potential additional business – in seven different vehicle brands. “SINDRI puts an end to the rather superficial exterior check of the vehicle shell and engine compartment. Thanks to its fast and comprehensive scan, it takes direct vehicle acceptance for independent workshops to a whole new level. This means that nothing stands in the way of direct vehicle acceptance on an equal footing with contract workshops,” says Dominik Wrede, Head of the Workshop Solutions business unit at Continental. Continental’s developers are already working on equipping SINDRI with interfaces to the spare parts trade and dealer management systems (DMS) catalogs. This will simplify the workflow even more. The drawing up of customer and spare parts orders can then be done from a single source.

Especially practical: Using already integrated interfaces, checklists can be created on the tablet from the collected data, which can later be exported as a PDF. This helps workshops to carry out jobs and document their work with no errors because work steps can be ticked off individually and can’t be forgotten. SINDRI also relieves the workshop service team of error-prone work by automatically reading out information such as the vehicle identification number and mileage. “A modern car has dozens of control units that provide important data on the vehicle’s health status. Increasingly complex electronics and the transformation to electromobility mean that a digitalized direct acceptance procedure and an insight into the workings of the car are becoming more and more important. SINDRI makes this as easy and fast as possible for the workshops,” adds Dominik Wrede. The report can also be supplemented with photos taken with the tablet, of previous damage, for instance. This way, the workshop can send identified necessary repairs to the customer straight from the app, by email or by messenger. This can also open up additional business.

The SINDRI app is available for Android and iOS tablets. It can be downloaded from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. An annual license fee applies for its use. Workshops can buy the VCI directly from the spare parts trade. If necessary, the app can also be customized – by integrating the workshop logo, for example, or defining specific analysis steps when reading out the data.