ICDP now publishes a monthly newsletter on activities in the Russian Market; the latest edition can be downloaded by following the link on the left.

New Report on Progress, Crisis, Reform: a decade of supply systems strategies

Supply systems set the context for the wider retail strategy for any manufacturer. ICDP has conducted research on new vehicle supply since the early 1990s, and so has been allowed a unique insight into progress made in system capability, changes in system management, and differences in approach by manufacturer and market. Over the last decade the supply systems for Western European markets have been through both a significant period of evolution and a dramatic economic cycle. By revisiting the data and interview notes made whilst researching new vehicle supply, used car remarketing and new car margins over the last decade, it is possible to assess the impact of both the economic cycle and changes in system management and these are considered in this report. A working excel sheet of data is also available for members to download.

New Management Briefing on Strengthening the pyramid - improving the profit of the new car selling system

The need to improve the efficiency of the franchise system has been a growing theme in recent years. Even before the global crisis struck in 2008, interest was being expressed in ways to lower the cost of the dealer-based model of sales and after-sales for cars – and this interest was by no means confined to mid-range manufacturers. And, while the immediate downturn is looking less severe or prolonged than was expected a year ago, the strains on the business model are still a concern to all players. In response to this, ICDP has made the exploration of a low cost system a priority issue in its 2009-2011 programme, and during 2009 has been carrying out initial desk and field research, looking both at the car sector to analyse the problem and options to solve it, and at other value chains to identify lessons from their experience. The focus of this work has been on the new car system, rather than after-sales, as it is here that a need for reform is particularly recognised and reported in this management briefing by Peter Bailey and John Whiteman, with its high establishment costs and low margins as well as its potentially positive feedback effect on after-sales.