Parts Management – Purchasing & Expediting

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The part you DON’T have in stock is what sets you apart from the competition.

This Tuesday, December 2, 2014 at 12:00 p.m. PST, Learning Without Scars will be presenting a one hour webinar on Purchasing & Expediting for your parts business.

  • learn about expediting with a purpose
  • Rule #1: before going home, every part must be either supplied or located to be supplied to the customer
  • Purchasing – what to do when your supply chain doesn’t have the part you need

This webinar will give a fresh perspective, and fresh methods, for providing parts to customers and mechanics on the same day they need them.  These solutions will make your Parts Business stand above the rest in your field.

Before you go home every night, remember Rule #1.

To register for this webinar, please follow the link: https://learningwithoutscars.org/webinars/parts-management/purchasing-expediting/

The time is now…

Parts Management – Instore Merchandising

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How can we create a successful and interesting retail store in our Parts Businesses?

Next week, on December 2, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. PST you can find out in a one hour webinar from Learning Without Scars.

You will learn:

– how our walk-in business has changed over the years

– other examples of successful merchandising from companies like Harley Davidson, Ski Doo, and Arctic Cat

– what an appealing layout looks like

– how to keep your retail area fresh and vital

– how to increase revenues through the instore merchandise available to walk-in customers

Our retail space is an often overlooked area in our Parts Businesses.  By merchandising our brand, we can drive traffic back into the Parts Business, and improve our visibility among our customer base while expanding that base.

Please sign up to join us for this informative session by using the following link:

https://learningwithoutscars.org/webinars/parts-management/instore-merchandising/

 

The time is now…

Roles, Responsibilities, & Expectations – Parts & Service Management

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It is more than job descriptions and standards of performance

Management gurus and management theory changes like the wind. From Peter Townsend to Peter Drucker to Porras and Collins and Lencioni and many more. It is much more than a cottage Industry it is a full blown educational and consultative foundation. We have gone through multiple iterations of significant things we MUST do.

We must have job descriptions and then we have to have standards of performance for each job function. That was a starting point way back when. Then we got into vision and mission statements and other buzz words. Or how about Total Quality Movement and Continuous Quality Improvement. Now let’s not forget Six Sigma and all of us needing to become “black belts.” Oh and now we have “Lean Management.” In the midst of this we have the Balanced Scorecard and Activity Based Management. Don’t get me wrong. There are a lot of benefits to each of these various “movements.” It is not just a series of passing fads. After all I grew up with Industrial Engineering. At the AED we have the Product Support series. The Handbook. The Opportunities Handbook and the Best Practices Handbook. It is a cookie cutter solution to all of our problems that we are looking for in all of these theories and from each of these guru’s. Would that it were that simple.

But let’s take a breath here and get back to some basics. There is a terrific new book out there from the Chairman of Koch Industries, called the largest private company in the world. In it one of the subjects broached is roles, responsibilities and expectations. I think that this is an extremely important book and it contains a series of good pieces of advice to contemplate.

The roles of the individuals in the parts department and the service department and the product support sales department. What are those roles? What do the employees think those roles are? How about their responsibilities? I believe this is important. Do each of the employees have a clear understanding of that which they are expected to be doing within the company? No, not their job descriptions what is their role? Or have they got to the place that they know what the process is and they repeat it as often as is necessary. This is the curse of our American business structure. We teach you how to do the job and then expect you to do it over and over again until you get really good at it. The Asians with Kaizen have a much better approach; Do the job better each and every day. Do the employees invest their intellectual capital in improving their jobs? Or do they find out how to do the job and then just keep on keeping on? This is a symptom I find in a lot of dealerships. People are doing what they are told to do and working in the business. They are not working ON the business. Do you understand the distinction there?

I believe that the employee who is doing the job knows how to do the job better than anyone else. Particularly better than the boss. So with the arrival of summer I thought it would be good to have each of us read this book on holiday. And then to ask how we can improve our daily lives by doing our jobs more effectively, more with the customer in mind, and more with making ourselves live fulfilling lives. Don’t forget In Search of Dignity by R.C. Sproul either. He reminds us that everyone wants to feel they have made a difference in their lives.

That brings us finally to expectations. What are the expectations that the employee has for their job? What are the expectations that the company has for each employee? This is much more than job descriptions and standards of performance. It becomes almost a “what do you want to be when you grow up” question. Those of you that are still reading might think this is too soft a subject but expectations are hard things. The struggle to attract and retain talented employees is all about expectations. Keeping employees happy keeps customers happy and makes money for the owners. This is not easy stuff.

So there is your vacation reading. The Science of Success by Charles Koch of Koch Industries in Wichita, Kansas. A great read and it is full of excellent points for your consideration and implementation.

Happy reading.

The Time is NOW…

Parts Management – Customer Service

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What Drives Good Customer Service

Attracting, developing, sustaining, and retaining customers is the key to profitability.

In the world of customer service, we seem to be saying one thing and doing something different. We don’t walk our talk. But we are not alone as a group of service providers who are interested in what our customers need and want. This has become an epidemic in industries worldwide.

Microsoft commissioned a major survey back in 2007 as well. Its conclusion was that the number one business issue for service providers was “customer relationships.”

The survey noted: “They value innovations that support improvement in the customer experience, and they paint a picture of corporate cultures that prioritize customers.”

The survey conclusion also asked, “Why is it that their actions don’t support this belief?”

This is a similar conclusion that I reach in my consulting business. When intellectually we know what needs to be done, why is it we just don’t get it done?

Blog post 11132014

This might be a cute comment, were it not so serious. The world has clearly changed. Products are much more capable and technology is definitely influencing how they can be used. The opportunities for clients to obtain products and services from a variety of suppliers have never been so numerous. How will we defend ourselves and protect our customers from competition?

We have a serious need to provide much better training, technology, and tools to our employees, especially the ones we charge with the responsibility of satisfying customers in the parts and service groups. Without good system information, these critical employees are dead in the water.

And so far, we haven’t provided them with much good information. Many times the first question we have to ask the customer in parts support or service inquiries is, “Who are you?”

How friendly is that opening for a discussion with a potential consumer? Does it bolster a “customer relationship”? I think not. Go back to the conclusion from the Microsoft survey and note the “innovations that support improvement in the customer experience.” What have you done over the past year to enhance the customer experience in your business? More importantly, what are you planning now?

My suspicion is there was nothing in the plan last year and this is not a subject included in many of your businesses’ annual planning cycles. You know that process, don’t you?When you set budgets and create forecasts. This planning cycle needs to be focused on the customer experience, not only on your profit and loss. Companies that focus inwardly are destined to fail. It is the company that focuses on keeping their customers happy that will succeed.

Let’s look at the top focuses of the companies surveyed in the Microsoft survey.

It is very clear and straightforward to me, and I am sure to you as well. The view of the market in 2009 is cloudy and mixed at best. We might have a somewhat brighter outlook based on the more environmentally sensitive mood in the country, but the economic outlook is much more difficult than at any other time in my experience.

Yet I know that parts and service business opportunities will increase. I also know that you know your opportunity to increase business in the parts and service area is huge. But I also think it is clear you either don’t know what to do or don’t want to do it. That is a difficult position to be in, isn’t it? The customer expects us to provide leadership to them. They expect us to provide the support they require for their needs.

So do yourself and your customers a favor and ask what they want you to do for them. Don’t be shy. They will willingly tell you what it is they want and need. But be careful. If you ask and they tell you, then you will have to act. If you don’t act, you will be in more trouble than if you hadn’t asked at all.

Last month we looked at your most valuable service attribute as a business—your employees. This month we’ve looked at retaining your customers, the people who provide everything in your life.

Are you ready for the challenge? The market, your employees, and your customers wait for your answer.

Parts Management Training

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Upcoming Webinar Notice

October 28th and October 29th

Don’t miss any of the four webinars being offered on Parts Operations.

  •  TeleSelling: learn how to grow your parts business. From market segmentation to using the phone as a customer service tool this webinar has it all.
  • Basic Inventory Control: the more we know about managing the parts inventory asset the better off we all are. This webinar takes the mysteries away and deals with methods to employ to improve performance for both your customers and your investors.
  • Warehousing: that big room out back is one of the most important customer service tools you have available to you. How to layout the facility, how to design the facility and much more are exposed in this webinar. The cost of labor is critical in parts operations and without a proper layout and design the costs will be out of control.
  • Parts Pricing: profitability and competitiveness are the results obtained with proper pricing programs. We explore the various theories and applications of pricing algorithms in a manner that is understandable. The price point you choose is a marketing statement learn how with this important webinar.

For more details please go to www.learningwithoutscars.org and review the webinars available.

Don’t forget to purchase your membership and receive a 30% price reduction on all of our learning offerings for a full fifteen months.

The time is now…

Training for the Capital Goods Industry

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Training has long been a problem for many businesses.

Management and Leadership have conflicting views on personnel. Edward Gordon, in his book “Future Jobs,” points out the threats posed by under-skilled employees. He goes on to challenge the education providers to deliver more on their promise of providing a skilled individual.

One side of the conflict for leaders is traditional thinking:

  • The employees should come to the job trained and ready to work.
  • The employees should continue their schooling on their own time.
  • Why should I train people? They just leave me and go work for the competition.

On the other hand, there is a growing number of leaders who are changing their views:

  • I don’t want to have under skilled people ever.
  • I will support learning in any form.
  • I expect my employees to be curious and hungry learners.

In the years since 2008 – which I will label “BBS” – “Before Bear Stearns” businesses have reduced their expenditures on employee training dramatically. That results in under-skilled personnel. So the result is that we are choosing to reduce training costs, and therefore providing customers with under-skilled personnel. I am sure you don’t think that this is a sustainable position to take.

We have been offering management training since the early 1990’s. We have done this in combination with Industry associations, as well as directly with manufacturers and dealers. We have provided learning opportunities for Parts Management, Service Management, Parts & Service Marketing and Product Support Selling. Today we do this via a new Company called Learning Without Scars. You can visit our website at www.learningwithoutscars.org to learn more about training and creating an environment of skilled personnel.

Product Support Marketing: A Guide…#MarketingMonday

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Let me introduce you to#MarketingMonday.  With the arrival of Learning Without Scars and our embedding the blog in the www.learningwithoutscars.org web site we are kicking off a fresh series of activities. You are by now quite familiar with my Friday Filosophy. Well this is the first of our #MarketingMondays. We will post a new blog each Monday on Marketing.

How many people understand marketing in the Product Support world?

Let me start with a definition of marketing. Marketing is “the selling of products or services – the business activity of presenting products and services in such a way as to make them the primary choice of the customer.” Marketing is basically the selling of products or services.

We should start with the basics of marketing – the 4 Ps:

 

  • Product
  • Place
  • Price
  • Promotion

These are the ABC’s, the fundamentals, the foundation of most of the marketing class work done today. As with most everything in our world the 4 Ps have evolved. Today there is a new approach called SIVA:

 

  • Solution
  • Information
  • Value
  • Access

SIVA is much more customer focused. More recently, there has been an addition to the 4 Ps and now there are 7 Ps as  process, physical environment and people have been included. We will discuss these in more detail over the coming weeks and months.

I want to also address market share. This is the ultimate measure of success in the parts and service world. I will provide you with methods to be able to calculate the market share for parts and service. Not with the precision of capital goods market share, i.e. Boeing plane share, or Freightliner Class 8 share or Chrysler 300 market share, but very accurately.

We will discuss the significance of customer retention, and how we can influence that in our operating world. What influences customer defections, recovery methods, and the strong influence that retention has on the profitability of your business.

We will also cover market coverage methods. The “how to” manuals for setting up personal and telephonic territories. This will also cover compensation methods and options to consider.

In other words, this blog is intended to be able to cover everything and anything about marketing parts and service. I hope you will join me on this voyage.

The time is now.

Parts Operations Webinars

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October 28th and October 29th

Don’t miss any of the four webinars being offered on Parts Operations.

  • TeleSelling: learn how to grow your parts business. From market segmentation to using the phone as a customer service tool, this webinar has it all.
  • Basic Inventory Control: the more we know about managing the parts inventory assets, the better off we all are. This webinar takes the mysteries away and deals with methods to employ to improve performance for both your customers and your investors.
  • Warehousing: that big room out back is one of the most important customer service tools you have available to you. How to layout the facility, how to design the facility and much more are exposed in this webinar. The cost of labor is critical in parts operations and without a proper layout and design the costs will be out of control.
  • Parts Pricing: profitability and competitiveness are the results obtained with proper pricing programs. We explore the various theories and applications of pricing algorithms in a manner that is understandable. The price point you choose is a marketing statement.  Learn how with this important webinar.

For more details please go to www.learningwithoutscars.org and review the webinars available.

Don’t forget to purchase your membership and receive a 30% price reduction on all of our learning offerings for a full fifteen months.

The time is now

We start in 3 hours

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Time is passing by quickly now. It is time for the stragglers to register for our webinars.

The time is now.

24

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That was a terrific television series over the years. And a lot happened in 24 hours.

Tomorrow – 24 hours from now – the start of the last four parts webinars happens. Does miss out.

The time is now.