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One of the most functional business planning tools that I have used is the Balanced Scorecard. This approach looks at the business from four different but interrelated areas. Financial, which we have been managing for a long time; Customer, which has considerably more work necessary, focuses on what the customers want and need; Internal, the areas in which we must excel, process, systems and methods; Innovation, what tools, technology and training do we need to have available. From the use of this tool a clear strategy can be developed.

I would like to turn our attention to the “Internal” portion of the scorecard. What must we excel at in parts and service to accomplish our financial goals and satisfy our customers’ needs?

The customers say that availability is their number one concern and reason for their choice of primary supplier of parts. They also say that price is the most important criteria in service. So let’s focus on first availability and then price.

Parts availability is not just a function off the shelf service percentage. It is also the time it takes to source and obtain all of the parts that you are short. On the off the shelf aspect we can control our level of service through proper understanding of the inventory control system that the business uses. Rules can be established to deliver service levels anywhere that you want them to be. Is your inventory management system providing the results that your customers want? Do you know what they want and need? Their expectations for service off the shelf are not out of line. They are not unrealistic in what they want from us. But they also troubled by how long it takes us to get some of the short items. We need to develop better expediting skills and systems. It should be a very rare part that we can’t find somewhere in this world on the same day that the customer orders it. I know it happens but it is extremely rare. Have you got systems and methods in place that can accomplish this at your dealership? Try setting up a tracking system, like a safety record, that keeps track of the number of consecutive days that you find every part that every customer or mechanic is looking for in the same day that it is ordered.

The service choice of price should play right into our strengths. We should be offering fixed prices, flat rates, on every job that we do whether it is in the field or in the shop. The fact that we don’t leaves us on an hourly rate competitive field of play. And on that field we will always lose. Think about it. There will always bee someone who will charge a lower hourly rate. But rarely do you review that job with the customer after it has been completed to review the total cost of the job. Yes, competition is cheaper per hour and will in all likelihood always be. But we should be able to do the cheaper at a much higher value for the customer if you look at the total job. On top of that there are a host of “service values” that we provide with every job we do for the customer. Make a list of them and have this list in the hands of everyone who touches a customer and talks about the service offering. Credit terms, warranty, hours of service, experienced and trained workforce, and current technical information on the equipment, for starters. This list will be a long one when you take the time to sit down, down them, and list them. We should be using standard times and “flat rate” prices for all of our work. Why aren’t we there yet? The customers want it and need it; they tell us they use that as criteria to determine their choice of supplier, why don’t we supply it?

In sports they say it is never too early too start winning and that it is always too early to start losing. Don’t we want to win? The time is NOW, if not now WHEN?