Dealer Profile
Lessons-learned from the pandemic lead to business transformation
While none of us would choose to repeat the distress and disruption caused by the pandemic, the experience provided some very important insights for many auto dealers. Dealers gained valuable new tools, skills and — most importantly — new ways of thinking that position them to be more efficient, effective and successful in the future.
Gary Brown, dealer principal at Brown's Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Fiat shared a look-back over the past year and the lessons his team learned.
“When the pandemic started to take hold last March, no one was prepared,” Gary said, “It came super-quick and every other day we were getting messages from our Governor about safety protocols and new measures to try to stop the spread. So much was changing, and there was no roadmap.”
Gary’s operation is on Long Island. With New York at the epicenter of the first surge of COVID-19, Gary and his team experienced the full effect of the pandemic. High mortality, stunning rates of infection, businesses shuttered, people in fear, employees and a business in turmoil. “There were so many deaths early on, it was truly scary, and we took it very seriously” Gary said.
The first major move came when New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, shut down the state for eight days. Gary assembled his core managers and started to make tough decisions. Gary explained, “We shut down sales 100%, operated service with a skeleton crew based on seniority, we had people working three days on, four days off to stagger staff. We were making a lot of changes on the fly and tweaking those changes as we went along.”
Lessons learned
Leaders prove themselves, or reveal themselves, in times of crisis
At the time dealerships physically shut down, a series of decisions had to be made. Gary said, “Our staff was extremely flexible and right away we all fell into a ‘working together, let’s start solving problems together’ mentality. A few people really stepped up and showed they were leaders. They really helped us, and inspired a lot of good ideas, and it was cool to see leaders revealed.“
Advancing your digital strategy should remain a priority
“We had been thinking about our technology and changes we intended to make for some time, but once we started to get the green light to start opening and sell cars remotely, we really had to figure out how to do everything virtually,” Gary explained, “Again, a few people really stepped up with ideas, and learned how important it was to have a comprehensive digital strategy. That was key.”
Expanding skill sets and empowering employees is a win for us all
“When we started thinking about how to bring employees back, we had to think through who to bring back and how. We decided we needed our people to wear more hats. We made simple changes, but those changes made a big difference. Our detailer, for example, started to have responsibility for taking photos of the cars. We asked people to perform multiple and different functions and what we found was they appreciated and enjoyed the challenge. They felt empowered to try new things and take on more responsibility. We became leaner as an organization, gained new skill sets and we were working more closely as a team.” Gary explained.
Transparency in vendor relationships is crucial to long-term success
“Right at the start of the pandemic, vendor relationships became very transparent,” Gary noted, “We reached out to every one of our vendors and asked what they could do to help us. Over 90% came up with ideas to help us cut back on our expenses. A few didn’t call us back and that was telling. “I called one of my vendors and said, ‘I’ve got to change quite a few things, I’m in survival mode.’ He came back with, ‘Do whatever you have to do to get through this. We’re here for you’, “Gary added. ”Our Zurich rep, Amy (Matyas) was calling and talking to the F&I guys all along. She worked with us to figure out what changes could be made, how to move forward, again with no road map. It was invaluable.”
Cost savings from inventory management
“Our manufacturer pushed us to carry inventory for years. Now, we realize we don’t need as much inventory. The cost savings are huge. Not having to maintain such a huge inventory means our carrying costs are significantly reduced, and that really helped,” Gary said.
Protecting people, each other is a priority
“At the start of the pandemic, everyone was taking a reduction in pay,” Gary explained. “We wanted to protect our employees and their families, so we decided to continue to pay for healthcare coverage and cover out of pocket copays throughout the shut-down”
As the industry moves forward, dealers are operating much leaner than they had before and looking to vendor partners and manufacturers to find ways to operate more efficiently. They’re keeping a much sharper eye on technology, trying to anticipate change and stay ahead with digital advancement. Finally, there is a renewed focus on people — empowering employees to try new things, take on new responsibilities and being there for one another along the way. These lessons make us all stronger and leaner and will position us for greater success in the future.
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7 DEALER PRINCIPAL