Service Dealer held another of our regular video calls with a panel of dealers from around the country this week, discussing topical issues dealerships are currently facing.

As ever, we've promised to keep who contributed to our forum anonymous in order to help generate a frank and honest conversation - and we thank those who took part for their time and their candour.

A hectic time

If one word could sum up how it appears many dealers are feeling at the moment, I think 'busy' would be the understated version of it. Hectic might be more apt.

We heard how there just isn't time to catch breath at the moment, out there in the network. As well as all the regular pressures inherent in running a dealership, the month of September has seen many manufacturers' dealer meetings also drawing on dealers' time. Having not taken place in quite the same way for the past couple of Covid-affected years, we heard that diving all round the country again this month can take its toll.

Not that the meetings weren't appreciated we were told, it was just taking some getting used to, being back in the swing of these things once again. Dealers it seemed, felt that attending these meetings were valuable and the right thing to do to show respect to their suppliers. Hearing manufacturers' future plans and getting to test machines in-person will always be a pull - however, when many events all come at once, it can be both exhausting and a strain on individuals' time.

To stick or twist with suppliers?

An interesting line of conversation that developed out of this dealer meeting discussion though, was that amongst what could be described as the 'traditional' industry players who have been holding meetings recently, there have also been some events staged for dealers by newer entrants to the market.

Entrants who might perhaps be termed as 'disrupters' to the sector.

Therefore the question arose as to what would a new player to the market need to do, in order to tempt dealers to try stocking their new kit - or indeed to go the whole hog and ditch an established supplier?

An interesting view was that perhaps if this was 2018 or 2019 we wouldn't even be having this conversation. A reason why these disrupters may be finding some footing today amongst dealers is that during these past couple of years, decisions needed to be made to go with suppliers who could actually supply!

Panelists spoke about looking around empty storerooms and realising that to satisfy customer demand, they needed stock from wherever they could obtain it. So doors were opened to new manufacturers.

There is of course a sense of loyalty to established suppliers, but by necessity, there must also be a strong loyalty to waiting customers. Some panelists also questioned how loyal certain manufacturers had been to their businesses these past couple of years, pointing out that loyalty needed to be a two-way street. Some talked about perhaps not ordering quite as much from certain brands this coming year, because they felt the support and communication levels hadn't been up to scratch recently. A lack of manufacturer rep visits were cited as one example of this.

Another comment we heard questioned a supplier's loyalty when as a dealer they had met all required targets - only for the supplier to then begin supplying a rival dealership only two miles up the road.

For others though, the idea of changing up suppliers would undoubtedly be a big call. Long-term relationships are what many dealers pride themselves upon. Some expressed a nervousness at the thought of taking on new marques for the showroom, explaining how a long-term, loyal commitment to a manufacturer should in turn engender a long-term, loyal commitment from key customers. At least that's how it should hopefully work!

From what we were heard from our panelists, all decisions whether to stick or twist on suppliers will come down to questioning is it right for their business and, crucially, is it right for their customer base?

It will certainly be interesting to see how these disrupters fare amongst the dealer community. These new suppliers must feel they have an opportunity to thrive with their fancy new products which they clearly have a confidence in - but perhaps they also see the door being ajar with some specialist retailers who maybe feel let down by their established suppliers? It's unquestionable that specialist dealers add value to any brand they choose to represent, so I'm sure our dealer readers will find themselves seriously courted over the coming months.

What's clearly the case, is that suppliers old and new need a healthy dealer network - just as dealers need reliable and trustworthy suppliers.