How would you save Dodge?
I didn't read the entire thread, and maybe I'm oversimplifying. The solution needn't be complex to work, though.
1. Do some boots-on-the-ground research to compile a prioritized list of what the consumer actually wants from the product
2. Manufacture a quality product using said list as requirements
3. Optimize all aspects of manufacturing (procurement, labor, shipping, etc) to market the quality product from a volume-oriented business model rather than make piles of money on every transaction (leave that crap to the companies producing supercars)
4. Gain trust and respect of the consumer (great customer service, etc)
5. Do really well over the long-term
I think that's roughly the plan that's been used to hand us our a$$es. Turnabout is fair play.
Ding ding ding! We have a winner folks! For the past few decades the companies have been
telling us what we want, not
listening to what we want! They study market trends, put together "packages," and basically tell us that if want one of one thing we can either have one of something else or do without. Go to Dodge's website and build your dream truck. Seriously. Try to get a tan interior in a truck with 4.11s on the site. What does the rear ratio have to do with the color of the interior?
Cliff Gromer also detailed a business model that Lee Ioacca used that Bob Lutz kept in place, that Benz honored, and then went out the window when Cerebus took over: building cars that weren't sold. Hardly fits the criteria for number three on the list. The plan is simple. If the dealerships don't order the car, don't build it. Now the company has production targets of cars built. Build a certain number and everyone involved gets a bonus. The line workers, middle and upper management. Doesn't matter these cars are sitting in the side lots rusting with no miles on 'em. *(Everyone gets paid! The company overextends lines of credit for cars that have just cost money to make and no profit because they are unsold. But everyone's happy that the company is in bankraupcy because I have my paycheck! Let's party! Woo hoo! Oh, but wait a minute, if the cars are unsold, and they're aren't showing a profit, then what happens to my job? Oh! Screw it! I have money now, who cares about next week!)* [*read with extreme sarcasm]
Really, I see on here the union/non-union debate and I've covered my feelings about that in a previous post in this thread from a dealership technician point of view. But the idea of optimizing every bit of the business needs to be understood by the unions. My wife is a state union worker and the selfishness and greed on behalf of the union astounds her. Are you really saying that you wouldn't take a pay cut and/or less bennies in order for one of your co-workers to keep a job? It happened with her union with the overwhelming majority voting to reject the governor's proposal of withholding a 3% pay raise in order to keep the number of jobs. They were willing to watch their co-workers walk out the door in order to keep three pennies on the dollar.
That being said, overloading a company so top heavy with management isn't the right idea either. How many chiefs does it take to manage that many Indians?
The quality aspect also comes back to engineering and assembling line management. Being a Ford tech for a number of years, on the body and wrench side, I always said that if, on Judgement Day, the Good Lord found a Ford engineering unworthy said engineer would be damned to Hell for an eternity of working on the s*** he designed. Anyone change a thermostat on a late model 2.7L Chrysler lately? How 'bout a water pump on a late model 3.0L Ford? Over engineering seems to be the name of the game.
Getting the unions to understand they have skin in the game would help, too. Read my last post. The idea of oh, well, let the dealerships fix it, needs to end. Why, as a Ford tech, was a I performing recalls as part of the PDI on cars? Safety recalls for things like bad welds on seat frames. Loose bolts? Having the customer come back within two weeks of buying the car to have a safety recall performed isn't a way to gain customers.
And speaking of the dealerships, ramp up tech training. Right now, in this ecomony the dealerships are looking for experienced, certified technicians. I.E. they're looking to steal techs from another dealership instead of seeking younger guys to train. Why? Because of warranty reimbursement issues. An uncertified guy can only work on customer pay whereas the certiified guy can work on factory warranty issues, where the dealership money is.
And provide a better network for your dealerships to remain viable. The dealership I worked at raised their rates from $75 an hour on cars/ $85 an hour on diesel to $90 an hour on cars and a $105 on diesel with the idea that make those who can pay pay more. As a result they've gone from seven techs over this past year, down to four, with the diesel guy being the only who's busy...
Helping with that viability brings us to number five. Great customer service. Driving away customers with outrageous pricing when other shops in the area are half that on the labor rate isn't a way to show customer service.
