In this week's Innovate podcast, Chris Cloutier, shop technology expert and owner of Golden Rule Auto Care, joins the show to discuss the timeline of a shop's technology. 

Cloutier created his own site to go over this topic, and he walks through the timeline's three stages, including where your shop is now, and where it can be. The further along on the timeline you are, Cloutier says, the more efficient and productive your shop can be.

Stage One (3:26): Stage one covers the vast majority of today's shops. This is the inescapable technology, like your shop's website, or online reviews. 

Stage Two (10:10): Shops in stage two know they need to embrace technology, and leverage it in their day-to-day operations. These shops have already embraced software like automated workflow, or digital vehicle inspections. 

Stage Three (30:04): These shops are in what Cloutier calls the advanced category, and are the 1 percent. These early adopters may have already included cloud based SMS software, or telematics into their daily operations.