Conti vows to improve customer service

ABOARD THE LIBERTY OF THE SEAS April 1, 2015) — Continental Tire the Americas L.L.C. is renewing its vow to serve its dealers' needs better — including better fill rates — as the company “turns the corner” in 2015.

“Last year we talked a lot about turning the corner,” said Bill Caldwell, vice president, sales and marketing in the U.S., told a record gathering of the firm's elite “Gold” dealers on their annual spring incentive trip.

“We were talking more about our readiness on the Continental side to deliver what we thought was everything that you needed to make us a reliable manufacturer,” he said, “a reliable brand for you to carry in your stores.”

This year's incentive trip, a four-day Caribbean cruise with ports of call in Labadee, Haiti, and Ocho Rios, Jamaica, attracted a record number of Conti's elite “Gold” dealers, 304 in all, including 31 first-time elite status dealers.  

“We felt very confident going into 2014 about our ability to supply your needs,” Mr. Caldwell added, addressing the fill-rate issue, which has been a weakness for Conti in the past. “And we also talked about you being our No. 1 priority, but also, we wanted to be your No. 1 supplier program.

“We are excited about what's to come in 2015,” he said.

At year-end 2014 Conti sent out a dealer survey to garner feedback and learned that while 60 percent said Continental is already their No. 1 pick, others offered suggestions on how to improve.

“What you told us was you need a competitive program to help your profitability. I think that's core to business every day,” Mr. Caldwell said.

Chris Jenkins, national programs manager, spoke about the success of the Continental Gold program last year, which saw significant increases in purchases and rewards.

“If the success of the Gold program in 2014 is any indication of your overall business, then congratulations to all of you because it was a terrific year in 2014 for the Gold program, which I think is a reflection of your overall business,” Mr. Jenkins told the group.

Highlights of increases for the Gold program include:

• Gold purchases up 18 percent;
• Gold rewards up 33 percent;
• Elite dealer purchases up 20 percent; and
• Elite dealer rewards up 26 percent.

As part of program enhancements, Conti is launching the Continental Automotive Credit Card on April 1.

“You can compare this automotive card to others in the industry and you'll find that this is by far the best card out there right now, and we're very proud of that,” Mr. Jenkins said.

The card is targeted at helping dealers with their average ticket sales and bringing back loyal customers for repeat business.

“As you sign up and as you get more people and add them on to your program, your name will be embossed in the bottom left hand corner (of the card),” he said.

Other features of the card include low processing fees, promotions, no monthly fees (but usage/transactions fees still apply) and application processing for the business. Customer benefits include: special financing available for SIX or 12 months, monthly payments, and the card is accepted at all U.S. Exxon and Mobil gas stations.

More supply, staff needed

Mr. Caldwell said the tire maker was not shocked by its dealers' requesting more supply.

“This wasn't a surprise for us based on the two or three years of history that we had with an inability to fill orders in a level of frequency that you needed,” he told dealers.

This was an area in which Conti knew it needed to improve, and Mr. Caldwell said the company is working to improve its capacity, including with the opening last year of its Sumter, S.C. passenger and light truck tire plant. It produced almost 1 million tires in 2014 — its first full year in production — and Conti is aiming to double that to 2 million in 2015.

“This has helped in many ways to improve our supply into the market, but it's not the only investment we've made. We've made investments in our global manufacturing…that has really freed up the constraints we were living with in the past,” Mr. Caldwell said.

“We also know that you can't be good at supplying if you don't plan correctly.”

Besides manufacturing, Conti said it also has invested in its forecasting and planning groups, allowing it to be more collaborative with distributors supplying product to dealers on a daily basis. This strategy allows the company to plan more effectively what dealers' needs are and make sure it has the right tires in the right place at the right time for its customers.