I just saw Steve Finlay’s piece in WardsAuto.com, “Auto Dealers Know What’s Going On.” He makes the case that OEM’s should be listening to their dealers when it comes to product decisions and understanding customer demand. His anecdotes about Buick SUVs, the Cadillac Catera and Mercedes cupholders ring true.
Too often executives with the OEMs substitute their judgment for that of their dealers, even though many of them haven’t set foot in a dealership in years. Oxlo is currently working with one large dealer group to implement a vehicle order solution that optimizes the order based on local customer demand and allocations. That’s one way for dealers to let OEMs know what they want.
