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Oct. 5, 2009 – Triumph works to increase dealer-OEM interaction

Triumph North America has created a U.S. dealer council, a source of feedback the manufacturer at times has had in the past although not in such a formal setting.
The council’s first meeting, which included a dealer from each of Triumph’s nine U.S. regions, was held in early September. “It went very, very well,” said Mark Kennedy, CEO of Triumph’s North American subsidiary. “I think the dealers enjoyed it and so did we.”
Among the topics discussed at the first council meeting was a range of issues that will be addressed at Triumph’s upcoming U.S. dealer meeting, scheduled for Feb. 20-21 in Florida. Those issues include sales and service agreements, operating standards, marketing promotions and customer service.
“The one that created the most discussion was the operating standards and how we could implement that across the network,” Kennedy said.
Triumph plans on unveiling its new dealer operating standards at its 2010 dealer meeting. The standards are expected to be conditions that dealers would implement over a multi-year timeframe.
“We knew we were going to get feedback from the dealer council and we purposely went through this operating guide and standards to get that feedback,” Kennedy said, noting Triumph staff will now review the standards based on the dealer council feedback.
Kennedy expects the dealer council to meet three times a year. The council also has been divided into subgroups, which will examine different issues through webinars and workshops throughout the year.
Such dealer interaction is something Kennedy views as crucial for Triumph in the coming years.
“That’s the key to developing the OEM-dealer relationship going forward,” he said of the council. PSB

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