Service Dealer has conducted another of our regular panel discussions with a mix of dealers from around the country, representing domestic, commercial and agricultural machinery businesses.

Again we'll be keeping who joined us anonymous to create an atmosphere where everyone feels comfortable sharing their opinions frankly and honestly. We thank everyone involved for their time and for their expert insight.

Has the season kicked off?

We began by considering that subject discussed whenever two or more dealers are in the same room together, has the season begun and how is it progressing?

The consensus was most definitely that it has been extremely slow to get going this year. We heard the view that everything was perhaps around 6-8 weeks behind where dealers would expect it to be in a normal year (whatever that is these days!). Also, unusually, there had not been that initial flurry of customer activity often seen in March which can act as a warm-up to the main season.

Why is this? Well, you could point to the economic situation to a degree, however all our panelists were in agreement that the weather conditions simply had not been in dealers' favour so far in 2023. We heard how businesses are raring to go, chomping at the bit, to start selling in earnest - but until there was a prolonged period of warm, sunny weather, it just isn't happening to the levels desired. With the three bank holidays for England and Wales coming up in May, at least it was felt that the potential is there for some bumper times in the showroom - as long as the weather plays ball.

This is not to say that our panelists were downcast. Everyone spoke about experiencing incredibly busy workshops so far this year for example. 'Ticking over nicely' is how one summed it up. But everyone was clearly just waiting for everything to go boom!

Overstocked?

When that boom does come this year, which everyone seemed confident it would do, we were told that the stocking situation is greatly improved from where it has been these past couple of years. Yes, some items are harder to get hold of than others. Some professional turf care machinery still has long lead times for example and we heard certain ag tractors are difficult to get hold of in numbers if a customer is wanting to place a large, multiple order. 

But generally speaking, levels are demonstrably better than they were. That's not to say it's the same as pre-Covid. We were told that ordering whatever was desired and expecting to receive it quickly, hasn't exactly returned. Sales figures for the month will reflect what manufacturers say is available. But circumstances have clearly improved

Which leads to the question, are dealerships in fact overstocked? Panelists told us they will inevitably be carrying more of some particular lines than ever before, there's no doubt about that. More than they would perhaps ideally choose to. The problem is exacerbated when orders get delayed, stack up, and then arrive all at once.

In a situation such as this, rather than delivering 100 of one line to an individual dealer on a single day, it was suggested, why doesn't the supplier, spread out the goods amongst several dealerships? Regular arrivals of fewer machines would be favoured over sporadic delivery of huge numbers.

However, the impression given was that even if storerooms were filled to bursting, it was with good products that they are confident will move. Some felt there was a degree of scaremongering from certain manufacturers with all this talk of overstocking. 'You can't sell fresh air' was a phrase used, reflecting that even if levels are above where they should be, it's still better than the empty shelves that all have experienced in recent times.

Battery handling

The discussion moved to a topic that dealers everywhere will have a keen interest in and one which we have been discussing in this Update in recent weeks, the safe handling of lithium-ion batteries - and who is ultimately responsible for their disposal?

As we have been hearing, it's a confusing and complex situation, with the guidance available to dealers not exactly crystal clear. What we did hear, is that in general customers are not giving much thought to what happens to their batteries at end-of-life. They are focusing on the much discussed benefits that battery-power offers and certainly with the top-end cordless equipment enjoying a much longer life, the disposal of batteries is not on their agenda.

The dealers we spoke to though, all thought it was an important topic that does require some serious industry-level consideration. Sales of battery-powered machinery for some dealers have jumped massively, so the issue of spent batteries is one that is only going to grow larger and more pressing.

At the moment there arguably appears to be a bit of finger-pointing, not unlike that famous Spider-Man meme, with three parties all addressing the others and saying 'you're responsible'. In this case dealers, manufacturers and customers alike can believe the onus is on the other two for disposal.

One of our panelists pointed us in the direction of the official government WEEE Directive advice and the website of the UK's WEEE Distributor Take-back Scheme (DTS), which could be helpful for all to peruse. But it was believed that what would be most helpful is that a clear industry path to safe disposal is established.

Currently it sounds like a situation that is going to rumble on, with some considerable sorting-out required. The sooner this happens we heard, the better for everyone.

Looking for the positives

We drew our chat to a close, asking what our panelists were finding was going well for their dealership so far this year, or what they had high expectations for?

It was encouraging to hear that however much everyone naturally grumbles about the odd circumstance or situation, on the whole an upbeat outlook is held. "It's been a challenge, but a positive challenge,"  is how one dealer put it.

Some spoke about new brands they had taken on which had given their dealership a real boost, finding popularity amongst their customer base. Others said how all their departments had taken it in turns being busy, all contributing to the business' ongoing success.

What all seemed to agree upon was that there were positive times ahead this year. Being stocked up meant that when the weather behaves itself, customers would be spending. 

In terms of serving all the customers expected through the doors, "There won't be enough hours in the day," one said.