VMI DEALER INSIDER - Vantage Mobility International, Inc.cdn.vantagemobility.com/wp-content/uploads/DealerInsider_Jan2015… · what it means to give back to the industry and our

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VMI DEALER INSIDER

Select Dealer Communications Newsletter

Issue #13 | January 2015

committee chair attendeesLen Norten, Performance Mobility | ChairmanRichard May, United Access | Business DevelopmentChad Blake, Ability Center | Direct SellersAndy McMahon, Frontier Access | MarketingMarcus Newby, Newby Vance | Products

VMI attendeesDoug Eaton | President and CEOTim Barone | CFOSteven Crandell | COODJ Todd | Vice President of MarketingJeff Weston | Vice President, Sales & Business DevelopmentPenny Malone | Director of Marketing ProgramsSophia Anderson | Marketing Manager, B2BGuestsBob Currie, Charles Loftin, Jeff Lowman

council charterCouncil MissionTake care of the customerProfitabilityCouncil GoalsIncrease the value of our mutual businessesOpen & honest exchange with closed loop feedbackDealers have a strong voice in VMIMutual insight into business issuesStrengthen relationships

table of contentsLetter from ChairmanLetters from Committee ChairmenCouncil Recommendations and VMI ResponsesDealer Committee RosterDealer Council Schedule

committee membershipChairmanProductsChairperson + 5 membersDirect SellersChairperson + 5 members

Sales & MarketingChairperson + 5 membersBusiness DevelopmentChairperson + 5 members

Dealer Council MeetingPhoenix, AZ | January 14–16, 2015

855-VMI-VANS | vmivans.com

PHOTOS

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VMI DEALER COUNCIL CHAIRMAN REPORT

Len Norten

Greetings VMI Select Dealer Network,

This is my first letter as the new Chairperson of the VMI SDN Council. My name is Len Norten and I’m with Performance Mobility based in Denver. I joined the mobility industry when I started with Performance Mobility back in 2011. Previously, for the past 25 years I held positions with American Express, Cisco and American Airlines, along with starting my career with John Deere. I guess you can say I’m a finance person but I really consider myself to be a business strategy and operations generalist.

I learned about wheelchair accessible vans about 15 years ago when my step-father started using a wheelchair. He was a WWII vet who fought in the Pacific theater and survived an attack while operating a tank. Over the years he had chronic back issues that ultimately led to requiring a wheelchair to get around. He was a feisty guy who wanted his independence and after many years he was finally was awarded VA benefits to purchase a wheelchair accessible mini-van.

I was fortunate to see him get around and enjoy life in his remaining years. His story made a big impact on me and when I had the opportunity to join Performance Mobility, I felt I had a personal connection to the mobility industry. This is probably the same for many who never knew about these products until a tragic event changed their life or the life of a loved one.

I joined the VMI SDN Product Committee two years ago and had the opportunity to work with a great team consisting of Marcus Newby, Toney Marx, John Wilson, James Norris and DJ Todd from VMI. We had great discussions on improvements, came up with some great ideas and have seen many of them realized, such as the Northstar E conversion. My thanks to this group for their patience working with a finance guy on the Product Committee.


VMI DEALER COUNCIL CHAIRMAN REPORT

Len Norten (continued)

I consider this new role as council chairperson a great honor. Previous chairs are icons in the industry, including Richard May, who just moved to Chair the Business Development committee. He did a great job over the past years and he was appropriately “roasted” at the meeting in Phoenix. Richard exemplifies what it means to give back to the industry and our customers by dedicating time to help a variety of organizations. Thanks Richard for your service.

In closing, my goals as the incoming Chair are the following:• Encourage engagement from the committees and all SDN dealers by providing your feedback and

ideas to help make VMI, its dealers and our customers more successful;• Increase innovation so we can collectively continue to identify and deliver the best products and

services for our customers;• Discourage future increases in IMP fees unless there is a tangible return on investment (ROI) on the

program or activity VMI is providing to dealers; and• Have some fun along the way!

I look forward to an exciting new year in 2015 and sincerely welcome your feedback. Stay tuned!

Len Norten, Performance Mobility

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DIRECT SELLERS COMMITTEE REPORT

Chad Blake Greetings VMI Select Dealers,

At the recent VMI Dealer Council meeting in Phoenix, Doug Eaton asked the question: When thinking about 2015, what work comes to mind? The word that came to my mind was Opportunity.

2015 will be an opportunity for all the dealers to increase and improve their businesses. As part of the Direct Sellers committee, we all are committed to helping VMI and the dealers develop a consistent plan to compete with the direct sellers. Regardless of whether the dealer loses one sale or 100 sales to direct sellers, in my opinion, that’s one sale too many. We the dealers cannot afford to lose any business to direct sellers and I’m honored to help both VMI and the dealers continue to improve the value proposition to combat direct sellers.

I hope we all have a great 2015!

Chad Blake, Ability Center


BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE REPORT

Richard May Dear VMI Dealer Council,

It has been an honor to serve you as Chairman these past two years. I’m thoroughly in the corner of Len Norten, your new Chairman. Product advancements have defined the value contribution of the Council the past several years and as Product Committee Chair, Len has multiple accomplishments to boast.

Evergreen Pacific Partners founder, Tim Bernardez, spoke to the council about their investment strategy in VMI. My limited experience is that private equity brings higher expectations for disciplined management processes that ultimately bring better returns. Tim expressed his desire to engage the distribution channel with innovative products and services to capture double digit growth. This is a far cry from private equity behavior in slower growth markets where it is essential to cut spending and squelch innovation to get the higher returns.

I was impressed with the consultant that VMI hired Bob Currie and what he had to share with the group, specifically “The Currie Model”, a financial model that could serve as the standard for industry best practice in key financial result areas—his experience with manufacturer/dealer relationships appears to be deep and authentic. The Loftin Equipment President provided further evidence of Currie’s credibility in my mind. Bob’s “best practices and proven methods” include:• Management Engagement and Development: develop strong engaged leaders• Leadership must decide on growth metrics for Revenue, Earnings and Shareholder Value: (The

Currie Model demands that its clients prescribe to 15% growth in revenues, earnings and shareholder value annually)

• Strive to achieve Market Competency – defined as sales exceeding 150% of nearest competitor in the same market as your operation

• Sales Effectiveness: create a model for recruiting, hiring, onboarding and continuous improvement of your sales reps to an industry leading standard

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BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE REPORT

Richard May (continued) With the support of Evergreen, wisdom of Bob Currie, and the adaptation of VMI and the dealers, we (Select Dealer Network) plan to collectively achieve double digit growth by driving revenue through sales effectiveness, earnings through the financial model and measuring management by their level of engagement.

To conclude, there were a host of other topics presented at the conference, some more exciting than others, but all relevant to the process of seeking alignment between VMI and Select Dealers. Thank you all for your engagement in the Council Process!

Richard May, United Access


MARKETING COMMITTEE REPORT

Andy McMahon

Dear VMI Select Dealers,

Wow it has been a fast first year as the Chair of the Marketing arm of the Dealer Council. Some of the highlights of the past year have been the redesign and implementation of the new vmidealers.com website, introduction of the Toyota Northstar Access 360E, and the Super Bowl contest; which we actually made the top-ten list, (well for one week).

Frontier had its best year ever thanks to the VMI Northstar Toyota Access 360. Our sales over all – VMI products were up 37%. Toyota was up several hundred percent. You math guys out there are like, that doesn’t add up. It does when you figure in the fact that all the Toyota sales destroyed our Honda sales which fell by an almost identical percentage. Sorry Honda. The Toyota is just better, even though the Honda drives better.

Now to Council secret stuff; I was specifically told I could not say what exactly we saw, but will say that if you do not attend the VMI NMEDA Daytona new product release next month you will be disappointed.

There were tons of great ideas thrown at the VMI management team at the Dealer Council meeting. Many of which will be implemented. Those other chairs out there, you know who you are, all of our marketing ideas were agreed to. Our team went 3 for 3 for those keeping score. Also those in attendance, please remember that Marcus and I did win over the other two chairs in the “Is it Richard or is it Bob” game.

Love all you guys, and I’ll see you in Daytona. Ed, if Seattle wins I will buy the beer anyway.

Sincerely,

Andy McMahon, Frontier Access and Mobility Systems

IS ITRICHARD

OR IS ITBOB?

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PRODUCTS COMMITTEE REPORT

Marcus Newby

Dear VMI Select Dealers,

My name is Marcus Newby of Newby-Vance Mobility, Guthrie, Oklahoma. I am honored to be Chairman of the Products Committee for the 2015 VMI Dealer Council. The purpose of the Products Committee is to develop recommendations that will help VMI produce top-of-the-line products that are unmatched in the current market place. For VMI and its dealers, providing the most reliable products will ultimately lead to more satisfied customers and a healthier bottom line.

Below are recent recommendations by the Products Committee: 1. VMI should pay for PDI2. Offer a power sliding door on Northstar E/E360. 3. Communicate Toyota handling changes for 2015 model year vehicles to help dealers handle

perception issues4. Offer a fuel credit on new vehicles 5. Offer an option for docking station pre-wiring6. Research a lowered-floor CUV targeting premium customer segments

Throughout 2015, the Products Committee will hold four conference calls and two face-to-face meetings to develop a list of the most significant recommendations from dealers. I encourage and welcome each of you to contact me or anyone on the committee to suggest product changes, new product recommendations, or any other areas of improvement that you would like to see VMI address. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Marcus Newby, Newby-Vance Mobility


PHOTOS

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PHOTOS


DEALER COUNCIL RECOMMENDATIONS

VMI should pay dealers for PDI

Offer power sliding doors on Northstar E and Northstar E360 products

Communicate Toyota Handling

Fuel Credit

Optional Docking Station

Lowered floor CUV

VA / FSS Sales Support

Influencer Relationship Development

Rental Program

Training to Combat Direct Sellers

Market Tool Kit

Develop a program to increase profitability of dealer’s service departments

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Recommendation #1

VMI should pay dealers for PDIRelying exclusively on warranty leads to poor customer experiences and reflects negatively on the VMI brand. When PDI is not executed properly, end-users are more likely to encounter problems with a brand new van. Early service or repair visits whether under warranty or not, lead end-users to question the reliability of the VMI product.

VMI should create a process to hold dealers accountable for missed issues.

Braun offers $100 to reimburse dealers for PDI labor. If PDI is not submitted in a timely fashion, the dealer is not reimbursed.

VMI Response

VMI performs the PDI at the factory and does not pay the dealer to perform it. Currently there is not a mechanism in place to standardize a PDI process for each of our dealers, and therefore we would not be able to assure reliable quality purely by offering a monetary payment for this process. The following chart shows that VMI’s reliability is improving over the last two years, mainly due to the ability to standardize the operational processes, including PDI that affects dealer and customer experience by over 26%. At this time it does not make sense to double this process at the dealer level.

The top 3 warranty hitters for vehicles off the truck are:1. Exterior 2. Interior 3. ElectricalEach of these occurrences have improved greatly over the previous two years and are covered under warranty. However, issues do still occur and would not be eliminated by simply paying the dealer a PDI charge. The dealer would still have to set up a warranty under these conditions, and VMI would cover the cost of repair for these and other issues. The added expense of a dealer paid PDI would not be valued by the customer.

DEALER COUNCIL RECOMMENTATION & VMI RESPONSE

Dec 12, 2012 to Dec 14, 2014 – 24 months

Warranty Problems per Hundred Vehicles in the Field for 12 Months

Warranty Problems

2 Year Improvement of 26%



Recommendation #2

Offer power sliding doors on Northstar E and Northstar E360 productsThe Product Committee understands that the bulk of Northstar E conversions will be on a low-end chassis with manual doors. However, caregivers buying high-end vehicles (especially Toyota Northstar E360) are disappointed to find out that their power doors will be disabled. The power door is still a highly convenient and time saving feature even for caregivers.

VMI Response

A power sliding door for the Northstar E and Northstar E360 products offering creates unique issues for the experience, reliability and safety of our customers. The NSE and E360 products do not come equipped with a VMI controller board to stop the door from hitting the ramp. Modifying power door vehicles was not part of the original design, and therefore would add significant cost to both products.

The Northstar E was designed specifically for the needs of the Budget Caregiver customer segment. Customers in that segment need both a low acquisition cost and low total cost of ownership. For that reason, VMI excluded a power door option on the Northstar E. However, VMI has an opportunity to revisit this decision when it develops the Northstar E for the new Chrysler conversion. VMI will conduct consumer research in early 2015 to determine the requirements for the next generation Northstar E. We will specifically investigate the viability of an optional power door at that time. If the results of that study support a power door option, we will also explore the possibility of modifying the Northstar E360 design to accommodate the same feature.

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Recommendation #3

Communicate Toyota HandlingCommunicate Toyota handling changes for 2015 model year vehicles to help dealers handle perception issues.

VMI Response

VMI will send out a service bulletin to communicate the Toyota handling changes for 2015. It will include the different suspension changes that Toyota provided to improve the performance of the ride and handling.



Recommendation #4

Fuel CreditOffer a fuel credit on new vehicles.• Braun offers a credit for $60 per vehicle for fuel• GM, Ford and Chrysler dealers do receive a credit from the manufacturer for delivery fuel.

The fuel credits are issued by the OEMs to the dealer’s parts department

VMI Response

VMI fully supports this recommendation and will be implementing a gas card program in the 1st quarter of 2015.

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Recommendation #5

Optional Docking StationOffer an option for a docking station pre-wiring.• Highly beneficial for custom and FSS orders• Superior to a docking station plate, as plates often are obstacles to wheelchair clearance due to

their thickness• An increasing number of customers in wide chairs need docking stations because they cannot

meet 25° requirement with retractable tie downs• The angled VMI floor also causes problems with retractable tie downs

VMI Response

VMI will look into the feasibility of an optional docking station (pre-wiring) in the RU version of the new Chrysler platform as that project launches later in the year. VMI currently does not have plans to change the existing platforms for pre-wiring.



Recommendation #6

Lowered floor CUVResearch a lowered floor CUV that targets the premium customer segment• CUVs continue to increase in popularity• Braun is likely to introduce a CUV conversion in the near future• A CUV conversion would likely be more expensive than a minivan conversion, but the customer

segment most concerned about aesthetics (premium segment) may be willing to pay a premium

VMI Response

VMI currently does not have a CUV project in our strategic plan. The likelihood of this product being more expensive for the current personal use market puts this product at the top of Premium Import and Domestic markets that would potentially cannibalize the current supply. If the competition has commercial success launching this product, we may take another look at the viability of including this into our strategic plan, but choose to stay as a close follower in this category.

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Recommendation #7

VA / FSS Sales SupportHold quarterly webinars to provide dealers with insight on the purchase process unique to the VA and improve knowledge on how to do business with the VA.

VMI Response

VMI is in full agreement with this recommendation. This fits into the VMI – VA – Dealer Program headed up by Jeff Lowman.



Recommendation #8

Influencer Relationship DevelopmentDevelop a program that will motivate dealers to promote and demonstrate VMI vans to prospective customers at OT/PT rehab facilities. For example, purchase incentives for dealers on vehicles for clients that are referred through rehab facilities; marketing co-op for vehicle wrap on vans used to demonstrate to influencers (lunch & learns).

VMI Response

VMI agrees that effective “Influencer” marketing (Retail Marketing) is critical to local success. VMI will review how to most effectively support this type of retail marketing effort.

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Recommendation #9

Rental ProgramCreate a purchase program for dealers that offer a “try before you buy” rental program. Customer purchase incentive allows them to rent a vehicle for 3 – 4 days and their rental fee payment is applied toward the purchase price of the vehicle if they decide to buy a vehicle from the dealer.

VMI Response

VMI’s ideal rental vehicle is the Northstar E, which VMI cannot discount because the margins on that product are already thin. However, VMI Marketing does understand the value of trial promotions, especially when attempting to grow the size of the market. VMI will explore new ways to support dealers with their trial promotions later this year.



Recommendation #10

Training to Combat Direct Sellers Develop sales training specific to Direct Sellers and positioning against them. Incorporate into existing training programs if possible (Brand Expert / Brand Advocate)• Include product line comparison• Shop direct sellers to determine their market position (ex. price, rear-entry specialist, regional, etc)• Develop responses for VMI dealers to use when responding to a direct sellers sales pitch

VMI Response

VMI agrees that direct seller training is critical. We will deploy the necessary resources to analyze their sales and marketing strategies and tactics, then develop training materials allowing dealers to respond appropriately. However, we need assistance from dealers to acquire/borrow new products from the direct sellers in order to create updated product comparisons.

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Recommendation #11

Market Tool KitDevelop a marketing tool kit to combat direct sellers.• Market to the “in-between” areas with populations of 10,000 or more• Market against Rollx and AMS VA business in the Midwest

VMI Response

While VMI understands the theory behind targeting geographical “white space” to combat direct sellers, we also believe that we can have a far greater impact and sell far more incremental units by focusing our efforts and resources on large MSAs.

The VMI – VA – Dealer Program is designed to move share from Direct Sellers so we will be targeting Rollx and AMS in this effort.




Recommendation #12

Develop a program to increase profitability of dealer’s service departments

VMI Response

VMI is currently looking at developing a program to increase the profitability of the dealer service departments. This is a long-term project in nature that will kick off this year, but will take time to develop. The focus will be on helping the dealer service departments become more knowledgeable on the technical training aspect, billing, lead generation, efficiency, and other world class OEM benchmarks.

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PHOTOS


PHOTOS

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VMI DEALER COUNCIL

Attendees of the 2015 Dealer Council Meeting at The Wigwam Resort in Phoenix, Arizona.

Thank you for all of your dedication and participation on the VMI Dealer Council!

2015


DEALER COUNCIL ROSTER 2015

Andy McMahon, Frontier AccessO: (307) 637-7663 E: [email protected]

Andrew Goodyear, Movin On MobilityO: (561) 312-6708 E: [email protected]

Chris Paczak, MobilityWorksO: (234) 200-1332 E: [email protected]

Dustin Paterniti, MC MobilityO: (440) 951-4335 E: [email protected]

Randy Schiller, Performance MobilityO: (602) 405-6116 E: [email protected]

Sophia Anderson, VMIO: (602) 304-3273 C: (602) 859-7944E: [email protected]

MARKETING

Chad Blake, Ability CenterO: (623) 399-3897 E: [email protected]

Lainie Boles-Simpson, Alamo MobilityO: (210) 697-8884 E: [email protected]

Bobby Bryson, United AccessO: (972) 240-8839 E: [email protected]

Bob Knebel, Superior VanO: (317) 775-4968 E: [email protected]

Kirk Patten, VMI Mobility CenterO: (602) 385-5840 E: [email protected]

Penny Malone, VMIO: (602) 304-2831 C: (602) 359-6411E: [email protected]

DIRECT SELLERS

Marcus Newby, Newby Vance O: (405) 282-2113 E: [email protected]

Cassandra Henry, Better Life MobilityO: (702) 876-9606 E: [email protected]

Toney Marx, R&J MobilityO: (503) 838-5520 E: [email protected]

James Norris, Adaptive Driving AccessO: (713) 874-9100 E: [email protected]

David Wolfe, MobilityWorksO: (330) 860-5616 E: [email protected]

Hugh Palmer, VMIO: (602) 358-5848 C: (602) 397-6442E: [email protected]

PRODUCTS

Len Norten, Performance MobilityO: (303) 586-9240 C: E: [email protected]

CHAIRMAN

Richard May, United AccessO: (314) 989-1010 E: [email protected]

Mo Abusham, Better Life MobilityO: (714) 624-3747 E: [email protected]

Todd Navarrete, MobilityWorksC: (630) 441-6492 E: [email protected]

Stephen Nickelson, United AccessC: (314) 494-8120 E: [email protected]

Dan Plondke, Accessible Mobility CenterO: (704) 953-0016 E: [email protected]

Mark Tincher, Siebert MobilityO: (712) 527-3888 E: [email protected]

Jeff Weston, VMIO: (602) 304-3260 C: (602) 819-3011E: [email protected]

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

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DEALER COUNCIL SCHEDULE 2015

Executive Council Meeting ScheduleMarch 2015

May 2015

August 2015

September 2015

Fall 2015

January 2016

Conference Call

Conference Call

Live Meeting, Location TBD

Conference Call

Membership Drive

Live Meeting, Phoenix

Dealer Council Meeting ScheduleFebruary 2015

April 2015

June 2015

July 2015

September 2015

December 2015

January 2016

Conference Call

Conference Call

Recommendations to Chairman

Conference Call

Conference Call

Recommendations to Chairman

Live Meeting, Phoenix

Documents

VMI DEALER INSIDER - Vantage Mobility International, Inc.cdn.vantagemobility.com/wp-content/uploads/DealerInsider_Jan2015… · what it means to give back to the industry and our