Retail, After Sales & Financial Services
Sales and after sales probably offer the biggest potential for optimization in the automotive value chain. Most brands need to overcome their functional silos and the accompanying friction of their sales systems. A integrated approach will drive volume growth and protect the attractive profit zones in the after sales and financial services sectors, which are under attack from third-party players.
Connecting the automotive downstream businesses in sales, financial services, after sales, and used cars with integrated solutions for customers is a major challenge; financial services can be a key enabler in this area. Another challenge is creating seamless interactions across the sales chain from OEM to wholesale and retail. Only if both integrations work well will the customer receive the desired brand experience at all touch points as the OEM is able to capture the best system profit for the brand.
With unsatisfactory average profitability in automotive retailing, OEMs need to make conscious choices about their channel partners and help them to be more profitable through simpler processes, better sales support, and a lean operating system (i.e., a “soft franchise approach”). This task is made more complex as multiple new channels evolve (brokers, leasing companies, Internet), some supporting the value proposition of the brand and others undermining it. Whatever the channel portfolio, in the end the brand needs to ensure that it does not get cut off from the customer. A fair and open partnering model is the best basis to maintain close customer proximity.
