Direct Sales and Agency Consulting

Context

We have worked with automotive organisations as they investigate their journey to direct sales. Our work with Audi on their transition to Fleet Agency is public domain. However, other companies are understandably coy about their thinking and plans, therefore, they are not mentioned by name here.

Need

The move to the ‘Agency Model’ is a massive undertaking for the manufacturer. We have covered a range of topics in published articles, some of which have featured in Auto Retail Bulletin. We wrote some of these while Agency was novel – things have moved on but the content broadly stands up still.

• Agency – Friend or Foe? So what exactly is the agency model, and how might it affect retailers? In particular, how might it help them?
• From ‘Online’ to ‘Ecommerce’: There have been loads of articles in the automotive media about online car sales and lots of views and some conflicting opinions. In this article, we wanted to provide a hypothetical case study where cars are sold through the omnichannel direct sales model.
• Transition to Omnichannel Direct Sales: Let us take a look in more detail about some of the changes accompanying omni-channel direct sales and what it might mean for the OEMs and their networks.
• What Happens to Property in the New Auto Retail World? Here we explore the implications on property for automotive retailers as the retail environment changes.
• 20 Questions for Retailers to ask OEMs re Agency: Key questions for Retailers to ask the OEM. The answers retailers receive, and the input they have on the shape of the final agreement, will have a major bearing for retailers on how happy they are with the model imposed upon them.

Support

Given the scale of change that Agency requires, we work with others on consulting engagements, where two heads are always better than one. Specifically, we work with:

• Atonic4: collaboration between four consultancies, namely Akeno Ltd, emva Ltd, Stonac Ltd and thebigteam Ltd.
• Grant Thornton Automotive: working on an Associate basis with various OEMs.

We provide upfront advice based on our research, knowledge and implementation experience. Should this turn into a delivery, we have the business change capability to do this too.

To find out more, click here.

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