Every auto manufacturer is making efforts to develop a new sales system acquiring new users without infringing the dealer's established right by the enormous magic power of Internet. Not only American manufacturers but Japanese are making the same efforts as of them.
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The left picture shows a headline of news covering "auto concierge" which Ford started trials in Chicago and Los Angeles. Dealers in these areas are against Ford@because Ford started tests without explaining its concierge service in detail.(From Automotive News August 16, 1999) |
According to the Pocket Oxford Dictionary, "oncierege" is door-keeper or porter. As you know, every western hotel has a concierge at a corner of main lobby. He will do everything for hotel guests, for example he will do flight confirmations in place of guests, help them to get theater tickets. Ford's auto concierge will do car purchasing and repairs in place of customers on line, I guess.
It is convenient for customers to have such a service. Dealers seems to be of the opinions such a service should leave to dealers not to manufacturers. Especially those dealers who have started its own internet trade service are strongly against such a service by factory. For the customers, it is quite important who give the most reliable information about auto trade to them. Automotive News reported, "Ford defends the program, saying that the auto concierge will generate new customers and additional business for Ford dealerships."
Ford is doing the other actions as follows:
Visteon (a subsidiary of Ford. of which president is a group vice president of Ford), a manufacturer of parts and components solely for Ford, started to sell their products online directly to after market users. It also started global parts procurement from suppliers online auction.iFrom Automotive News August 23, 1999j
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Ford was ahead of GM in every aspect of global online operation such as production, sales and procurements of parts and components. It is said that the delay induced GM to form e-GM group recently. Japanese manufacturers have the most advanced computer systems for the logistics of parts and components. But I am afraid that as for global online management there might be delay.
Meanwhile as Visteon is not big enough as of Delphi, Ford is said to empower it by merger or something like that with outside parts suppliers.