Download a sample of the report here.
Suppliers to the commercial vehicle industry find themselves negotiating in a contentious environment with a myriad of challenges:
- Declining production volumes
- OEM cost-cutting initiatives
- Competition from suppliers in low-cost countries
Taken together, these forces conspire to create tremendous pricing pressure for the supplier community.
Yet, even in this environment, some suppliers are more successful than others at resisting customer demands for discounts. As a result, even in a declining market, they are able to effectively manage their pricing in ways that set them apart. These "Price Defenders":
- Receive price premiums on the bids they win over 20% more often than other supplier sales organizations.
- Succeed at passing along more of their increases in raw material costs to customers.
- Discount less often than in past downturns.
To better understand how some suppliers are out-performing their peers in this environment, we undertook a best-practices study of over 60 parts, services and raw material suppliers in North America.
Specifically, we examined how successfully suppliers:
- Use sales collateral, tools, and training
- Engage with customer decision makers and influencers
- Overcome objections and negotiate more effectively
- Structure their sales organization and pricing process
- Reward and motivate personnel
The result of this research is a first-of-its kind study that identifies specific organizational structures, operations, and sales tactics that have a clear and positive impact on suppliers' top and bottom-lines. In this report, we offer a prescription for the types of changes that suppliers can make to align their sales efforts to industry Best Practices, and thereby improve their business performance.
The results will provide valuable input regarding how to position your company to more effectively negotiate with customers.
REPORT DETAILS
Title: Sales Best Practices Among Commercial Vehicle Parts Suppliers
Publication Date: April 2009
Number of Charts: 32
Geographic coverage: North America
