Shape of things to come
Page 11
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II by Toby Clark The prominent consultancy firm KPMG Consulting has produced an extensive report on Truck Retailing in the new Millennium. It is a hefty piece of work, with around 100 closely typed pages, but it makes for interesting reading.
Many of the report's findings will come as little surprise to the industry, but its conclusions are stark: it speaks of a "negeve short-term outlook due to worsening economic conditions, huge number of young used trucks and new market participants", concluding layoffs and plant closures have become inevitable".
But the report isn't just negative: it suggests an approach to restructuring the truck sales business, for both manufacturers and dealers.
As you might expect from a mainstream consultancy firm, the report's recommendations concentrate on information technology (IT) solutions"Internet-based services and extended information offerings," for instance—but it also discusses the ways in which service packages are important in attracting and retaining customers, coining the expression: "The first truck is sold through sales, the second through after-sales service".
The report is critical of the current dealer set-up, talking of "an increasing tension between manufacturer and dealership as to who is responsible for the customer relationship". This is said to be clearest in the area of "Customer Relationship Management" (CHM), which is identified as being almost entirely due to the salesman. A more structured approach is recommended, starting from the
view that "the customer is the centre of the companies' interest: every action should put the customer up front".
The report proposes a -`; complete change in The structure of truck marketing and sales departments, emphasising the relationship between customers and the marketing department. According to the authors: "It became quite cbvrous through the interviews that...knowledge about the customers is not highly sophisticated".
Among the critical success factor's identified by KPMG was the quality of communication with customers. The report talks of "IT-enabled marketing"; it criticises the implementation of IT services by manufacturers, particularly the way in which sales and manufacturing systems are integrated.
The report also envisages a business model called "the networkeo organisation" in which the dealer, after-sales service provider and manufacturer all have a direct input into the sales process. An important part of this would be
a wide-ranging Internet portal— which would provide access to all of these areas, as well as to trailer builders and accessory suppliers.
• Truck Retailing in the New Millennium will be available soon from from KPMG Consulting (01212 323760).
What do YOU think? Is the straightforward dealer/manufacturer relationship a thing of the past, or will we be buying all our trucks via the Internet in a couple of years' time? What do you look for from your truck supplier—both before and after the sale?
Drop us a line to let us know: write to us at Commercial Motor, Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM2 54S ore-mail toby.clarlarbi.co.uk.