Mitchell International Announces Sweeping Changes to NAGS at Auto Glass Week

John Gilmartin detailed the changes coming at NAGS during a session at Auto Glass Week.

“Based on the complexity of what is happening in the market why is NAGS not changing?” asked John Gilmartin, senior vice president for Mitchell International (NAGS). “I’m here to tell you that we are.”

NAGS announced it is going to modernize its approach to pricing by eliminating the NAGS price index.

The new program will be launched in one year at Auto Glass Week 2019, but attendees at Auto Glass Week 2018 in San Antonio received a preview of all those changes this morning in a special session at the event.

A preview of the changes include the following:

• NAGS part information will be published online in real time.
• The information will only be available via web interface/API.
• More ADAS information will be included.
• The NAGS price will have industry involvement.
• All products are moving to the cloud.

Industry Involvement

Regarding involvement from the industry, Gilmartin said, “I wouldn’t say we have had industry involvement in the past. We are changing that. We will be setting up an industry group to get feedback.”

Members of this group would be asked: “This is how we set it up in the past. What should we do differently?”

The mix in this group will include small and large retailers, manufacturers, insurers, etc.

“When we produce the model it will be more transparent,” said Gilmartin. “How can we collaborate? Is there a different way we can provide the information to the market?”

The New NAGS Price

“What you experience today regarding a NAGS part will change,” sai Gilmartin. “We need to make it current instead of leaving it stagnant. We will be going to a Recommended Retail Price Value.”

Gilmartin did not provide specifics on what that Recommended Retail Price Value will look like. He did say they will provide information on included and non-included items. He hinted that manufacturer pricing could play a role.

One attendee asked if prices will change based on market conditions.

“It is not our plan to produce supplemental info, based on tariff changes, for example,” said Gilmartin.

“We are going to go where the market tells us to go,” he added. “As we update the part number that will be updated in real time.”

Gary Hart from the Independent Glass Association asked why NAGS doesn’t use the OEM MSRP. “We are looking at that,” said Gilmartin.

Someone asked if the company will look at labor time and Gilmartin simply said it is something they will look at and again this is an area where they would love to hear from the industry. “The industry should let us know on a part-by-part, vehicle-by-vehicle basis.”

Moving Forward

Gilmartin said he knows that these changes will be difficult for auto glass companies.

“There will be a transition,” he said. “There will be a pain for some folks. All the information will move to the cloud but you can access on a variety of devices so we don’t lock you down.”

“We will manage it appropriately,” he added. “We know there is complexity and it will not all happen tomorrow.”