By Chris Daglis
For decades, automotive recyclers have measured efficiency by how quickly their teams answer phones, quote parts, process orders, and move vehicles through the yard. But today’s most successful businesses are redefining what efficiency really means.
It’s no longer about working faster—it’s about removing waste from everyday operations.
The Hidden Cost of Interruptions
Many recycling businesses believe they have a staffing problem. Often, they actually have an interruption problem.
Every phone call requiring a salesperson to stop what they’re doing, every inquiry about opening hours, every request for directions around the yard, and every call transferred between departments breaks concentration and delays higher-value work.
While each interaction may only take a few minutes, the cumulative impact across an entire day—or an entire business—is significant. The result isn’t simply lost time; it’s reduced productivity, delayed customer service, and missed sales opportunities.
AI Is Changing the Definition of Efficiency
Artificial intelligence is changing how businesses think about productivity. Rather than asking people to work harder or longer, AI is increasingly being used to remove repetitive, low-value tasks from daily operations.
Routine inquiries can be handled automatically. Information can be gathered before a staff member becomes involved, and administrative tasks can begin before an employee even picks up the phone. The objective isn’t to replace people—it’s to ensure people spend more time doing work that creates value.
Not Every Customer Interaction Requires the Same Response
One of the biggest opportunities for efficiency comes from recognizing that not every inquiry requires the same level of expertise. Some customers are ready to purchase immediately, while others need information.
Modern AI systems can identify the purpose of an inquiry, gather relevant information, and direct customers to the most appropriate resource.
By ensuring experienced staff focus on high-value conversations while routine requests are resolved efficiently, businesses can improve both customer satisfaction and operational performance.
From Theory to Practice
At B&R Auto, AI has become what Michael Severyn, Chief Revenue Officer, describes as a “force multiplier for our sales team.”
Before introducing ari’s AI voice agent, “Maria,” B&R Auto was dropping approximately 40% of incoming calls. According to Severyn, that figure has since fallen to approximately 2%, while positive customer satisfaction has increased from around 70% to roughly 95%.
Beyond simply answering more calls, the technology is helping B&R capture better information before a salesperson becomes involved. Customers can provide details about the parts they need, allowing higher-value opportunities to be identified and prioritized and giving salespeople greater context before they return a call.
As Severyn explains, “Maria did not replace any humans. She made our humans more effective.”
The result is a combination of AI-driven consistency and human expertise. The AI helps ensure opportunities are captured, qualified and prioritized, while B&R’s salespeople bring the product knowledge, judgment and customer relationships needed to convert those opportunities.
For recyclers, this is where the productivity opportunity becomes tangible: fewer lost calls, better-qualified opportunities and salespeople spending more of their time selling rather than starting every customer interaction from zero.
Importantly, the technology hasn’t replaced B&R’s salespeople.
Beyond Customer Service
Efficiency doesn’t stop once the phone is answered.
Artificial intelligence is also beginning to reshape inventory acquisition, administration, and business workflows. Vehicle buying inquiries can be qualified more quickly, information can be collected automatically, and internal systems can be updated without duplicate data entry.
Opportunities that might otherwise be missed outside business hours can be captured and reviewed when staff return, creating a more responsive business with fewer manual processes and greater consistency.
Better Data Leads to Better Decisions
Another benefit of AI is the quality of information it generates. Businesses gain greater visibility into customer inquiries, response times, common requests, and operational bottlenecks.
These insights allow owners and managers to make informed decisions about staffing, workflow improvements and customer service priorities. Efficiency isn’t only about doing things faster—it’s also about making better decisions.
People Remain the Competitive Advantage
Technology alone doesn’t create great customer experiences. People do.
Experienced salespeople understand customers, build relationships, and solve complex problems in ways technology cannot. The role of AI is not to replace these skills, but to amplify them. As B&R’s experience demonstrates, AI can provide the consistency, information and prioritization that allows experienced people to do what they do best—apply judgment, build relationships and convert opportunities.
The Future of Efficiency
The automotive recycling industry continues to evolve. Labor shortages, rising customer expectations, and increasing operational complexity mean businesses are continually looking for ways to improve productivity without compromising service.
Artificial intelligence is emerging as one of the tools helping recyclers achieve that balance—not because it works faster than people, but because it enables people to focus on the work that matters most.
Ultimately, the businesses that succeed won’t simply adopt new technology. They’ll rethink how work flows through their organization, eliminate unnecessary interruptions, and empower their teams to spend more time creating value.
Because the most valuable asset in any automotive recycling business isn’t technology.
It’s the time and expertise of its people. Protecting that time may be the greatest efficiency gain of all.
Chris Daglis is CEO & Founder of ari (auto recycler intelligence), powered by Auto PARTnered Solutions.
