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GE Capital enhances online tracking tool

GE Capital, Commercial Distribution Finance, is enhancing its online business intelligence tool for technology distributors and manufacturers of large-ticket durable goods, including those in the powersports industry.

“Manufacturers and distributors are operating in a slow-growth, cost-constrained environment today,” Jeff Malehorn, president and CEO of CDF, said in a statement. “These companies are very interested in using data and technology to help them drive efficiencies through their large dealer networks.”

Analytics Online, a complimentary tool that premiered in late 2010, allows manufacturers and distributors to monitor the sales, inventory, credit use and other important performance drivers of each dealer. Launching in the second quarter and with enhancements that will continue to be rolled out through the end of 2011, an advanced analytics tool will provide expanded historical data, more metrics and added data filtering and customization.

Don Heidemann, treasurer of recreational vehicle maker Winnebago Industries, noted that the data could be a useful input when making decisions about production or inventory distribution: “If we find that models that used to sell in less than 30 days are sitting in the dealer’s lot for 60-plus days, it might make it easier for us to decide to speed up production of one of our top-selling models while cutting back on less popular ones.”

Analytics Online also allows the manufacturer to determine in real time which dealers are performing according to expectations by examining the upward and downward trends in outstanding dealer invoices. Based on this information, the manufacturer might reach out to the high-performing dealers to benchmark their sales techniques or take note of their product mix, then use those findings to help the struggling dealers in its network.

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