Reprinted From Glasslinks GlassBoard,
Auto Glass Industry Discussion Forum

    This is regarding the IGA’s decision to contract with AMJ Logistics to develop our e-direct bill program, and hopefully put an end to attempts to discredit us. At the risk of being lengthy, you deserve to hear the full story.

    We first came up with the concept for e-direct bill in Dec.98 during an IGA board meeting when I served as consultant. We held discussions with various companies throughout 1999 and 2000 to build the system. Speedeclaim, Electronic Trading Solutions (ETS), AMJ Logistics, some autoglass industry Point of Sale (POS) companies, along with e-commerce experts like Arriba and IBM were considered.

    Our due diligence was an extensive 2-year process involving the IGA Billing Service Committee (glass shop owners), IGA Board of Directors, consultants with Enamics Inc. (specialists with electronic commerce that work with Fortune 50 size companies), and consultants with the Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA).

    We spent thousands of dollars and man-hours to define our strategy and select the best company to develop the service. Now we’re building the service and will launch it in 7 weeks at our convention in Memphis. We’ve been forthright, honest, and open during this process, and concentrated on providing the best solution for the least cost for IGA members. One of our primary concerns was to ensure that glass shops had a service built for their needs as well as insurers, unlike current systems that focus on insurer needs only.

    We processed it all and found AMJ Logistics to be the best company to partner with. The Billing Service Committee made their recommendation, supported by myself, and the IGA Board voted in favor of selecting AMJ Logistics during our October 2000 board meeting. They have proven success in their current products, they’re by far the most qualified electronic commerce experts, they already have insurance company experience and contacts, they’re willing to invest their money to develop the system and expect a long-term return, and above all, they understand and support the mission of the IGA.

    The IGA’s Billing Service Committee also developed the Independents’ Rights of Billing (see www.iga.org) and left open the possibility that the IGA could endorse other services that met the business and professionalism needs of independents, after committee and board review.

    One company is obviously upset that we didn’t choose them, evidenced by the recent posts {on Glasslinks GlassBoard} to trying to discredit us. During my recent conversation with their CEO, I explained why we chose AMJ Logistics rather than their service, and anticipated the end of these type of posts that, in my opinion, is merely an attempt to manipulate you and misrepresent the truth. We are bound by non-disclosure agreements to discuss specific details about their service and I can only discuss general reasons why we did not choose them.

    We (IGA Board, Committee members, and consultants, and I) were concerned about doing business with a company that is located in Canada, with programmers located in Russia, and had to extensively teach them about the U.S. autoglass and insurance industry. AMJ is a U.S. company with the necessary knowledge and experience in our industry. We felt that their NAGS part number alternative (which did not have part numbers – just make and model information), their demos didn’t go well, and having new part numbers was not the greatest need to be filled anyway.

    AMJ was willing to develop a system around our needs, not sell a system already developed and try to make it fit the needs of members. Our consultants felt other systems had better technology, security, and backup. Their revenue model (free) failed to convince us that insurers would not control the system. Remember the insurance billing Golden Rule – he who has the gold makes the rules. If insurers pay for the development of the system they have the right to control the information. If we pay some of the costs, we have the right to information and then can develop a fair system for both insurers and glass.

    With the recent failure of Internet companies that make promises and soon fail (including our own website host that also had a “free” revenue model that failed), we felt that we needed to go with a proven candidate. Let’s face it – as independents we can’t afford and don’t have the time to misstep. Any concerns that you may have should be directed to the source – myself, the IGA’s Billing Service Committee, and the IGA’s Board of Directors. You can fool the fans, but you can’t fool the players.

    It's unfortunate that people use {a} bulletin board like this {Glasslinks GlassBoard} to spread false information and attempt to discredit the IGA. You know what you're doing...we know what you're doing, and judging by the number of calls and e-mails I received about your postings during my trip, most everyone else knows what you're doing. So, to my dear friends north of the border at speedeclaim…

    ...I had hoped that we could expect more professionalism, especially after spending so much time together. But now that our relationship is more defined, you should know that we have laws in the states about libel and defamation of character. A jury recently awarded $600,000 in damages for defamation based upon an anonymous Internet posting (it was traced and the person was sued). We have traced all postings and know who made them and from where. Our attorney has this information as well, and you might not enjoy what comes next. On the other hand, the independents whom you are attempting to cause harm to by your manipulation of information, could really benefit with a $600,000 cash infusion to the IGA.