Auto/Mate in Pilot Program with Toyota Motor Sales USA to Integrate DMS

Auto/Mate Dealership Systems(www.automate.com), the highest ranked DMS in the 2009 NADA Annual Survey of Dealership Satisfaction, announced today that it and Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS) have successfully completed the first phase of a pilot program whose purpose is to prove the feasibility of a new TMS portal to be used for integrating Dealer Management Systems with TMS systems through the web based portal.

During this first phase, the parties successfully integrated six pilot Interfaces between Auto/Mate’s Automotive Management Productivity Suite (AMPS) and TMS through this new web-based portal. This integration electronically transmits items such as warranty claims, parts orders/parts returns and new vehicle delivery information directly from AMPS to TMS. If implemented in a production environment by TMS, Auto/Mate and a dealership, it streamlines communications between the dealership and TMS, helps to insure completeness and accuracy of the data is submitted to the manufacturer, and should save dealers valuable administrative time.

Read More

GM Announces Support for B20 at National Biodiesel Conference

GRAPEVINE, Texas, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, General Motors told biodiesel supporters at the National Biodiesel Conference that the company's 2011 model year Duramax 6.6L turbo diesel engines will be fully compatible with a 20 percent blend of biodiesel (B20). The company made the announcement, which covers all 2011 GM heavy-duty products including Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, Chevrolet Express, and GMC Savana, after extensive evaluation of B20.

GM joins Ford and Chrysler in formalizing its support for B20, providing a big boost to the biodiesel industry. These three companies produce more than 80 percent of the diesel light vehicles sold in North America.

"B20 capability in our new heavy-duty trucks is the latest addition to a growing number of alternate fuel options offered by General Motors," said Mike Robinson, vice president, Environment, Energy and Safety Policy. "We are seeking different paths to fuel solutions in order to maximize efficiency, reduce emissions and minimize the dependence on petroleum."

Read More

Is Your Succession Plan Malnourished?

By Dan Schneider, Partner, The Rawls Group
www.rawlsgroup.com

From as early as 1550 BC until 1750 AD, a type of malnourishment called scurvy often decimated the crews of mighty navies. At long last, a Scottish physician named James Lind discovered that Vitamin C could prevent scurvy. The link between scurvy and vitamin C is important to us because succession planning has its own form of scurvy. Sometimes it’s called complacency. Sometimes it’s called procrastination.

Complacency and procrastination also go back a long way. Biblical Old Testament prophets like Amos warned of complacency and not taking care of business. Then, like now, most people didn’t connect the dots. It seems that in the absence of an immediate and triggering event or crisis, we are likely to think about succession planning only in terms of “Someday” or “Next Year” or “Tomorrow”.

And it’s almost always a “have to”, an “ought to”, or a “should,” though in the back of our minds. Just as there was an antidote for the scurvy of olden times, there’s also an antidote for the plague that keeps us from getting actively involved in succession planning.

To be most effective, succession planning must occur on a proactive track. Here comes our version of the Vitamin C complex to the rescue. Daily doses increase your resistance to complacency and procrastination by providing the essential building blocks of proactive people:

Clarity – Ask yourself the right questions and you can begin to see clearly and open up options that may not have seemed possible before. These are questions that draw out your motivation and interests related to family harmony and business development. One of those questions might be “What, if anything, do I owe to the members of my family, business, community?

Consistency – People crave consistency and predictability. When those factors are absent, people are left at the mercy of their imagination. With a well drafted and communicated succession plan, people know what’s going to happen, and they become more effective in reaching goals.

Commitment – Talking about a succession plan communicates intention. Putting it down in writing demonstrates commitment. Take the time, invest the money, and reap the benefits of demonstrating that you are serious about continuing the business through the next generation.

Confidence – You are more than likely a confident risk taker by nature. There’s a lot at stake in any succession plan. Bolster your confidence in the decisions you’ve made by surrounding yourself with people who know what they’re doing; by setting up systems and processes that insure leadership and management continuity; and by insuring that family members have been treated equitably.

Business Definition for: Succession Planning

The preparation for the replacement of one postholder by another, usually prompted by retirement or resignation. Succession planning involves preparing the new postholder before the old one leaves, possibly with training or through work shadowing. At a senior level, management succession should be accomplished as smoothly as possible in order to avoid organizational crises caused by absent or inadequate top management. General Electric is held to be an exemplar of succession planning for its successful transition following the retirement of Jack Welch.

Source: BNET

Auto Suppliers in Crisis: 2. Steps for Restructuring

The coming market structure correction in the automotive supply base will leave no company untouched. Auto sales are diminished, competition has increased, and financial constraints are greater; suppliers can no longer afford to subsidize weak businesses, especially those with little or no strategic value. It is now vitally important to free up resources and deploy them to those business units that have the potential to create sustainable, advantaged market positions. The most pressing challenge, of course, is deciding which businesses fit into this category.

An important, advantaged position is one that can be defended, and hence is sustainable. It’s critical not to confuse this with the ability to earn a profit today in a particular niche. Especially in the radical restructuring that suppliers are now facing, companies must continually challenge themselves to define what a competitor might be able to do differently to attack their position and put their profit stream at risk.
Read More