Is your parts department the backbone of your dealership? It better be
The parts department is often referred to as the backbone of a dealership. It provides essential support to the service team, ensures customers receive the necessary components and contributes significantly to the dealership’s bottom line. Despite its critical role, the parts department frequently encounters challenges in maintaining operational efficiency, keeping up with customer expectations, and competing with online resellers....
The psychology of momentum
Imagine you are a player on a professional sports team on a winning streak. Everything is clicking. Everything is flowing seamlessly, without even consciously understanding how it’s happening. Team confidence continues to grow. You feel unbeatable. It’s some X-factor that makes you unstoppable. And the more frequently you win, the more this momentum grows. The momentum grows further if you continue to win over a long time. If you win...
Profit-Sharing Plans are making a comeback
Profit-sharing plans (PSPs) have been around for decades. Employers may use them to attract and retain workers and incentivize employee productivity. However, PSPs have gradually faded into the background as 401(k) plans gained popularity. In today’s tight labor market, some proactive employers implement PSPs to help them stand out. Should your company jump on the bandwagon? Here are some key factors to consider. The Basics PSPs...
Don’t conflate strategy tools with a strategy
The statistician George Box famously observed, “All models are wrong; some models are useful.” No strategy model is perfect. They are just possibly a helpful tool for a job that requires a lot of ingenuity, originality, and resourcefulness. I mean, AutoCAD is a great software tool for creating blueprints, but it doesn’t help you come up with a unique idea for a home design. Because strategy is about charting a particularly distinct...
Raising your labor service rate creates opportunities
I was talking to a General Manager of an OEM lift truck dealership the other day in a major metropolitan market. He told me they had just increased their service labor rates. I couldn’t believe it when he told me they were up over $200 per hour. That starkly contrasts the days when breaching the $100 per hour rate seemed like a daring move. Additionally, he told me they charge a flat 1.5 hours for travel, with a minimum of...
Go Home, Go Home, Go Home Now Let’s Make ‘Come Back’ Work
If this title feels like a lyric from a confusing song, that’s because the message has been just as mixed. For years, it was all “Go home, stay remote, stay safe”—a chorus sung on repeat. Now, the tune has flipped to “Come back, come back, come back,” and employees are understandably out of sync with the new rhythm. Some are ready to march back to the office, happy to leave behind barking dogs and lawn equipment symphonies. Others are...
AI in real-time decision-making: Agility in the modern warehouse
Let’s step into a warehouse during the holiday rush hour. Orders are flooding in, inventory is off shelves, and workers are (safely) moving at breakneck speed. A single delay in one section could disrupt the entire operation. Now imagine an invisible system analyzing every movement in real time, recalibrating workflows, and rerouting tasks to prevent bottlenecks before they occur. This is the power of AI in action. In a fast-paced...
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