SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Mitchell International is acquiring Vancouver, Canada-based ClaimTools -- the creators of a leading digital camera and photo management solution designed to improve shop operations. ClaimTools' innovative solution transforms the time-consuming process of capturing, sorting and accessing collision-related photographs into an efficient, streamlined process that enables shops to visually document the repair and improve communication with insurance partners and parts vendors at any stage of the repair process.
 
Jesse Herrera, senior vice president, product management and marketing for Mitchell International, said, "We are extremely excited about the value that combining ClaimTools photo management technology with Mitchell's existing portfolio brings to our collision repair and insurance customers. ClaimTools fits perfectly as an integrated component of Mitchell RepairCenter and WorkCenter by eliminating the time consuming and manual processes of managing digital photos."
 
According to Mitchell, shops using ClaimTools can experience instant time-savings ranging from 10 to 30 minutes per repair order, which can dramatically reduce cycle times. Insurers also benefit through the ability to easily share photos with repair partners, subrogation and SIU. Since ClaimTools helps users effortlessly capture and wirelessly transmit vehicle photos, conveniently storing them in clearly identified folders, the vehicle photo location process is quick and easy.
 
Anyone in the shop -- from estimators and technicians to customer service representatives -- simply affixes a bar code sticker directly to the vehicle and the customer file, scans the bar codes using the built-in scanner in the "ruggedized" digital camera and takes as many photos as they choose. After taking the photos, the camera wirelessly transmits the high-resolution images, eliminating the hassle of manually docking the camera to transfer the photos. The camera's intuitive technology even automatically knows which vehicle the photos are associated with and the status of each vehicle so that it is easy for any member of the team to quickly send the photos to insurers and parts suppliers.
 
ClaimTools enables everyone working on the repair order to fully capture estimate dollars associated with point of impact, replacement parts, supplement requests, prior damage and other vital components of the repair process. In addition to complete ease-of-use, the solution offers shops peace of mind by backing up all photos daily to a secure off-site data center in case shops ever need to recover their photos.
 
"Joining Mitchell is the perfect fit for ClaimTools. Mitchell has such a rich legacy for delivering superior value to collision repairers through data, workflow automation and service," said ClaimTools' Founder Dan Casler. "Together, we can now provide access to the ClaimTools solutions for each and every North American collision repairer looking to improve repair profitability and eliminate the administrative headaches associated with managing photos."
 
To learn more, technicians can visit www.mitchell.com/claimtools.