For most aftersales businesses and parts dealers the focus is on putting customers first. When someone calls up about a repair the person answering the phone will be friendly and helpful. When they arrive at the shop, the mechanics they interact with will be highly knowledgeable and determined to help. But what happens if the correct part just isn’t in stock?
Every aspect of a business should have the end customer in mind, but dealers’ repair services are arguably more crucial to customer experience than anything else. This area of business not only serves as a consistent ‘face’ to your company – the individuals interacting with your customers on a regular basis – but can also be a key component to improving financial performance for your business as a whole
Too often, a brand’s main ambassadors are left providing unsatisfactory excuses as customers are told that a necessary part is not in stock to make the repair – leading to an inconvenienced and dissatisfied customer, and lost revenues for your business. In a situation that is already stressful for your customer, whether or not the maintenance is routine or unexpected, you want to ensure that you are stocked with the correct part to make the repair within a reasonable amount of time
So, how can you ensure that every time a customer drops in for a repair, you can reply with “Yes sir (or Yes Madam), we have that part in stock”
Solutions exist to solve just this issue. It is now possible to connect multiple inventory networks into a single platform, connecting the manufacturer and different dealers together, and making it easy to locate spare parts quickly. If Dealer A can see that Dealer B has the necessary part in stock and they are only 25 miles away, for example, someone can retrieve that part and eliminate the guesswork and phone calls
Furthermore, the use of this type of technology makes the redistribution of stock much more efficient. By collecting data from the inventories of multiple dealers, the demand for specific parts can be analysed to establish a clear view into what has been sold and what hasn’t. This makes it possible to redistribute spare parts to dealers that are most likely to need them, keeping inventory costs down for both manufacturers and dealers.
By working together collaboratively, and enabling both the manufacturer and the dealers to have an overview of the movement of products, not only will the relationship between these parties be strengthened, but the customer experience will be improved drastically.
Giacomo Squintani, regional marketing manager of Syncron
Giacomo Squintani, is the marketing manager for Syncron. He has over a decade’s experience across the Service spectrum, primarily in inventory management, pricing, IoT and field service. He understands the challenges confronting manufacturers and how, with the right tools, these can be converted into improved competitiveness and financial performance. When not running Marketing for Syncron in the UK, Benelux and Italy, he’s generally… running.
