Automotive OEMs are navigating a dramatically changing landscape, demanding more regular in-depth planning and strategy reviews. While automotive brands have a wealth of historical data to reflect upon, it’s the new industry developments, such as electrification, digitisation and the introduction of the agency model approach, where there’s far more uncertainty. With competition growing, most notably from Chinese manufacturers, there’s mounting pressure to stay ahead of the game. A key element of this is the ability to effectively monitor performance across the network by quickly and easily analysing the vast amounts of data. Without a comprehensive business performance solution in place, this isn’t easily feasible.
Using a comprehensive business performance solution to tackle challenges
As an OEM, there are many day-to-day factors at play, as illustrated here, showing the different areas of operational responsibility. It’s no surprise that we hear data analysts are becoming overwhelmed by the volume of data. In addition to operational challenges, like the reliance on manual intervention, an overload of systems and lack of real-time data, there are also broader business challenges that we touched on earlier.
As experts in supporting multi-location OEMs in the automotive sector, we’ve developed a purpose-built, comprehensive business performance solution to address many of your challenges. Instead of duplicating data-handling efforts, our solution consolidates data through automated feeds, providing you with clear, focussed “data headlines”.
Related reading: Why Your Auto Network Needs Loop in its Tech Stack: 5 Key Benefits
How Loop helps solve your automotive challenges
We take a close look at some of the current business challenges facing the automotive market highlighting which Loop tool is perfectly placed to address them:
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Falling dealer profitability and increased network dispersion
The evolving automotive market is making it harder for dealers to maintain profitability, with challenges such as shrinking margins on new cars and rising operational costs. Using Balanced Scorecards and the Performance Comparison tool, you can collate and analyse data from your network locations to benchmark. Proactive measures for under-performing retailers can be set in the Action Centre to minimise network dispersion.
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EV transition and selling to / retaining EV customers
The automotive world is reimagining its product offerings and processes in pursuit of the ambitious target of reaching 100% zero emissions by 2035. OEMs not only need to prepare their business but also ensure their network is equipped to support consumers. The Survey tool allows you to collect data and consolidate it in a Dashboard to assess each location’s EV readiness. Off the back of this, the Action Centre can be used to allocate tasks relating to the organisation’s KPIs.
Related reading: Preparing your Dealerships for the Transition to Electric Vehicles
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Adopting a direct sales model and ensuring a seamless sales process
When embracing a direct or hybrid sales model, the Sales Funnel Management tool ensures that the inevitable increase in communication between OEMs and retailers is handled efficiently, delivering a seamless customer experience. The Dashboard and Action Centre modules help ensure that process changes are clearly communicated across the network, setting accurate expectations.
Related reading: The Roll-Out of the Automotive Agency Model: Opportunities & Challenges
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A weaker demand for EVs and the impact on the ZEV mandate
As well as many of our automotive partners opting to have dedicated EV readiness scorecards, it’s imperative that the network is motivated to encourage customers to opt for EVs. Loop’s Target Management tool can automatically build targets at dealer site level based on conversion rate history, with the ability for Area Managers to overwrite prior to publication. In addition, an effective Margin Programme tool allows salespeople to be rewarded promptly helping to drive desired actions.
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Ensuring compliance and avoiding performance disparity across the network
The Survey tool can ascertain whether locations are meeting industry standards, in areas including data privacy, customer service, sales processes and financial transactions. Alongside this the Performance Comparison tool allows you to compare five KPIs against one another and best practice insights can be surfaced. From this, actions can be set across locations to minimise the performance dispersion.
Related reading: 5-Step Process to Handle Performance Dispersion Among Car Retailers
Loop's core modules - customised to your challenges
Loop takes a holistic approach to business performance management. Not only is data centralised and delivered like traditional BI tools, but Loop also goes beyond this. The platform helps identify and assign actions to the right team member to boost productivity through effective accountability. Our comprehensive business performance solution is customised in response to the challenges you face, allowing you to pick and choose which modules are right for you —and only pay for what’s relevant.
Loop's five key modules
- Dashboards – We bring your data to life in centralised, customisable dashboards, enabling easy access and monitoring of KPIs to get the right information to the right people at the right time.
- Actions - Set tailored dealer actions to improve performance based on data insights gathered from your organisation. Evidence shows us that KPIs underpinned with actions improve 3x faster.
- Balanced Scorecards - Benchmark the dealers against each other, highlight areas for improvement and drive healthy competition.
- Surveys - Assess standards and collate survey results from the dealer network. Identify non-compliance, agree appropriate actions and set KPIs.
- Visit Planning - Ensures dealer visits are transparent, documented and agenda-led. Track to see that actions are followed up and use the platform to schedule and view meetings.
Don't forget to take Loop's supplements!
Over time, we’ve developed the platform to further enhance performance management across a broad range of automotive OEM functions. These supplementary tools were created in response to proven needs —think of them as organic, natural supplements that boost long-term performance, rather than synthetic, quick-fix solutions for short-term gain!
Our development team continually evolves Loop, but here’s a current overview of the add-on features available:
- Stock Management
- Document Bank
- Performance Comparison
- Margin Programme Management
- Forecasting
- Bonus Enquiries / Tactical Campaign Management
- Data Input / Collation
- Self-Service Charting
- Target Management
- Sales Funnel Management
Contact the Loop team to discuss your current set of challenges and to understand more about how Loop will solve them.