DEALERS VIEW OF WARRANTY: SGS GLOBAL WARRANTY SATISFACTION SURVEY RESULTS FOR BRAZIL

Transcription

1 DEALERS VIEW OF WARRANTY: SGS GLOBAL WARRANTY SATISFACTION SURVEY RESULTS FOR BRAZIL WARRANTY ADMINISTRATION SYSTEMS SERVE TO IMPROVE AFTER SALES PROCESSES AND BUILD LONG-TERM CUSTOMER LOYALTY MAY 14 AUTHOR Roland Gagel Global Automotive Sector Manager, SGS

2 CONTENTS I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 II. THE ROLE OF WARRANTY ADMINISTRATION FOR DEALER AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION 2 III. SCOPE OF THE STUDY 3 IV. RESULTS IN DETAIL 5 V. MAIN FINDINGS VI. CONCLUSIONS 21 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Brazil Dealer Warranty Survey 14 is part of the first ever global warranty satisfaction survey of automotive dealers. It has intensively researched the business areas of sales, aftersales and warranty from interviews with 3 dealers in Brazil representing 15 OEMs. The results enable those responsible for warranties at vehicle manufacturers to understand their brand s position compared to the competition. It gives a clear benchmark for the warranty controlling processes of hotlines, field force and audits. The survey, conducted between January and March 14 indicates overall satisfaction with the ease of warranty handling, goodwill policies and extended warranty programmes with findings based on high-level analysis that lends support to the conclusions of this paper. 1

3 II. THE ROLE OF WARRANTY ADMINISTRATION FOR DEALER AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION The goal was to evaluate franchised dealers satisfaction of the key tools for modern warranty management, which are supplied to them by vehicle manufacturers. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) provide support and controls for their dealers when repairing vehicles during the new vehicle warranty period, and the following period under goodwill policy schemes. The focus of the study was the overall processes and dealer perception of the warranty management system which was evaluated in four main areas: Ease of conducting business Warranty control mechanisms Policy and extended warranty Satisfaction with the payment terms Support of customer loyalty and the competitive position In particular, warranty management that involves OEM personnel and their service providers, each of whom plays a vital role in the cost structure of an OEM, was researched. When looking at the cost levels of call centres, field force and auditors, an OEM has to carefully evaluate if their deployed resources contribute to warranty cost control and to dealer and customer satisfaction or whether they are counterproductive. One underlying assumption of the study is that inefficient warranty processes that dissatisfy dealers also create dissatisfaction with customers. Therefore, the survey also asks for verbatims regarding potential improvement areas of the warranty operations from the dealers viewpoint. Questions include the warranty IT system and evaluate the effective support of the customer loyalty by the OEMs warranty programme. SATISFIED DEALERS WILL LEAD TO LOYAL CUSTOMERS. 2

4 III. SCOPE OF THE STUDY SCOPE AND PARAMETERS The study was conducted on behalf of SGS between January and March 14 by an independent and well recognised market research company based in Brazil. Dealer data was retrieved from the internet and the method used was Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI). The preferred role of the interviewed person was warranty administrator, service manager or service advisor (i.e. those people in a dealership that work daily on warranty related matters). Countries within the scope Brazil Brands within the scope and grouping of OEMs The survey included 15 brands within the scope. The grouping was done in order to enable publication of the study to a wide audience. The study results with detailed brand information are not published and will only be made available to interested parties under non-disclosure agreements. Premium Audi BMW Mercedes Benz French Citroen Peugeot Renault Volume Chevrolet Fiat Ford VW JP/KO Honda Hyundai Kia Nissan Toyota Size of the samples Twenty dealers per brand were randomly selected from dealer address data files available on the internet. Multi-branded dealers were asked to answer the questions referring to their main brand, as identified by the dealer themselves. SURVEY QUESTIONS The goal of the study was to have easily understood questions that yielded comparable answers between dealers. No verbatim answers were recorded, only categorised answers to questions. Brand background Q1. What is your main brand? Key questions (Satisfaction Index) Q2. When you think about warranty and administration, how would you rate warranty processing with your OEM? (This question is later referred to as the index question.) Q3. How has it developed over the past 5 years? Warranty administration groups Q4. Is there a warranty field force? Q5. How satisfied are you with the warranty field force? Q6. Is there a warranty hotline? Q7. How satisfied are you with the warranty hotline? Q8. How satisfied are you with the warranty audit? Q9. How do you evaluate the OEM warranty audits of the major brands? Q. How happy are you with the warranty IT system of your OEM? Goodwill policy and extended warranty products Q11. How do you rate the administration of your main brand s goodwill policy? Q12. How do you rate the actual level of policy goodwill that is granted, for your OEM? Q13. How do you rate the handling of the extended warranty products of your OEM? Q14. How satisfied are you with the actual coverage of the extended warranty products your OEM offers? 3

5 Satisfaction with the payment terms Q15. How satisfied are you with the warranty labour rate per hour? Q16. How satisfied are you with the reimbursement for parts / handling charge? Free text answers Q17. What works very well with your OEM in warranty? Q18. What does not work well with your OEM? Q19. What should your OEM change to make warranty easier for you? Effectiveness of warranty programmes Q. Do you think that the warranty processes and systems of your OEM overall support the customer loyalty in service and new vehicle sales? Q21. Do you think that a warranty programme (e.g. extension, service contracts) can create an active competitive advantage for you as a dealer? Sizing and qualification Q22. What is the size of your dealership, by new vehicle sales per annum? Q23. What is the size of your dealership, by service job cards per annum? Q24. What is your position in the dealership s organisation? ANSWER TYPES In general, questions could be answered in five categories, which have been clustered here in three ratings for reporting purposes. In some cases, the answers are shown as a tag cloud with the keyword metadata comprising a visual indication of responses. RESPONSE OPTIONS VERY COMPLICATED VERY UNSATISFIED COMPLICATED UNSATISFIED MIDDLE SURVEY ANALYSIS COMPLICATED UNSATISFIED MIDDLE EASY SATISFIED VERY EASY VERY SATISFIED EASY SATISFIED 4

6 IV. RESULTS IN DETAIL Q2. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT WARRANTY AND ADMINISTRATION, HOW WOULD YOU RATE WARRANTY PROCESSING WITH YOUR OEM? Overall results 64% of dealers find warranty administration easy % of dealers rate warranty administration as complicated Premium rates easiest for warranty administration Volume rates the highest for unsatisfied dealers WARRANTY ADMINISTRATION FROM A DEALER POINT OF VIEW (%) COMPLICATED MIDDLE EASY INDUSTRY AVERAGE Premium French Volume JP/KO PREMIUM RATES HIGHEST FOR SATISFACTION IN WARRANTY ADMINISTRATION. VOLUME HAS THE LARGEST PERCENTAGE OF UNSATISFIED DEALERS. Brand results Overall gap between brands 55% Only one brand rates % for ease of warranty administration Three brands have a high percentage of dealers finding warranty administration complicated Industry average 64% (only 5% below the industry average for Europe) WARRANTY ADMINISTRATION FROM A DEALER POINT OF VIEW (%) COMPLICATED MIDDLE EASY BEST AND WORST IN CLASS 9 8 % SATISFACTION WITH THE EASE OF WARRANTY ADMINISTRATION IS POSSIBLE. 3 Q L T H A R M Z * X S D C P W B *Industry Average THREE BRANDS FIND WARRANTY ADMINISTRATION PARTICULARLY COMPLICATED. 5

7 Q5. HOW SATISFIED ARE YOU WITH THE WARRANTY FIELD FORCE? Overall results Premium rates highest for satisfaction with field force at 96% JP/KO lowest dealer satisfaction (75%) and highest unsatisfied dealers (3%) Industry average 84% (overall a fairly strong result and better than Europe s industry average 78%) FIELD FORCE SATISFACTION UNSATISFIED MIDDLE SATISFIED INDUSTRY AVERAGE STRONG OVERALL RATING PREMIUM HIGHEST FOR SATISFACTION WITH FIELD FORCE (96%). Premium French Volume JP/KO Q7. HOW SATISFIED ARE YOU WITH THE WARRANTY HOTLINE? Overall results Overall gap between groups 22% for warranty hotline satisfaction but 47% between individual OEMs Premium rates highest for satisfaction at 97% Volume lowest satisfaction rating (%) and highest unsatisfied dealers (9%) HOTLINE SATISFACTION UNSATISFIED MIDDLE SATISFIED INDUSTRY AVERAGE One brand rates % for hotline satisfaction but three brands rate only just above % satisfaction Industry average 79% Premium French Volume JP/KO SIGNIFICANT GAP BETWEEN THE HIGHEST AND LOWEST SATISIFIED RATING. 6

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9 Q9. HOW SATISFIED ARE YOU WITH THE WARRANTY AUDIT? Overall results Premium and JP/KO above industry average satisfaction rating French and Volume similar rating for unsatisfied dealers (15% and 18% respectively) Industry average 84% (very high compared to Europe s industry average 68%) AUDIT SATISFACTION UNSATISFIED MIDDLE SATISFIED INDUSTRY AVERAGE Almost all dealers confirm that their OEM conducts a warranty audit (98%) Premium French Volume JP/KO PREMIUM RATES HIGHEST FOR SATISFACTION IN WARRANTY AUDITS. Brand results Four brands with 95% satisfaction ratings Brand B rates significantly low on satisfied (%) and high on unsatisfied (15%) dealers Overall gap between brands 35% AUDIT SATISFACTION UNSATISFIED MIDDLE SATISFIED BEST AND WORST IN CLASS 9 8 FOUR BRANDS WITH ALMOST % RATING FOR SATISFIED DEALERS. 3 Q L T H A R M Z * X S D C P W B *Industry Average 8

10 Q. HOW SATISFIED ARE YOU WITH THE WARRANTY IT SYSTEM OF YOUR OEM? Overall results Premium rates 93% for satisfaction with warranty IT systems French, Volume and JP/KO rate below the industry average for warranty IT satisfaction All groups have some unsatisfied dealers Industry average 81% WARRANTY IT SYSTEM SATISFACTION UNSATISFIED MIDDLE SATISFIED INDUSTRY AVERAGE Premium French Volume JP/KO Brand results Two brands rate 95% for satisfaction with warranty IT systems Two brands with % of dealers unsatisfied Brand R rates overall lowest for satisfaction (65%) and highest for unsatisfied (%) dealers Overall gap between brands 3% WARRANTY IT SYSTEM SATISFACTION UNSATISFIED MIDDLE SATISFIED BEST AND WORST IN CLASS 9 8 WARRANTY IT SYSTEM IS NOT A MAJOR CONCERN FOR MOST BRANDS. 3 Q L T H A R M Z * X S D C P W B *Industry Average 9

11 Q11. HOW DO YOU RATE THE ADMINISTRATION OF YOUR MAIN BRAND S GOODWILL POLICY? Overall results Premium rates highest for ease of policy and goodwill administration at 8% French and JP/KO rate low for ease (55% and 54%) and high for complicated (8% and 7%) POLICY AND GOODWILL ADMINISTRATION ASSESSMENT COMPLICATED MIDDLE EASY INDUSTRY AVERAGE 9 8 Industry average 64% versus 72% in Europe Overall gap between individual brands 45% with highest brand satisfaction rating at 85% 3 Premium French Volume JP/KO FRENCH, JAPANESE AND KOREAN ALL HAVE ISSUES IN GOODWILL ADMINISTRATION.

12 Q12. HOW DO YOU RATE THE ACTUAL LEVEL OF GOODWILL POLICY THAT IS GIVEN BY YOUR MAIN BRAND? Overall results Premium highest for satisfaction of goodwill policy levels at 88% French lowest for satisfaction at 63% Volume rates least number of unsatisfied dealers at 1% Industry average 74% Overall gap between individual brands % with highest brand satisfaction rating at 95% LARGE DIFFERENCE IN GOODWILL POLICY SATISFACTION BETWEEN THE BEST AND WORST PERFORMING OEM GROUP. POLICY AND GOODWILL LEVEL ASSESSMENT UNSATISFIED MIDDLE SATISFIED INDUSTRY AVERAGE Premium French Volume JP/KO 11

13 Q15. HOW SATISFIED ARE YOU WITH THE WARRANTY LABOUR RATE PER HOUR? Overall results Volume rates highest for satisfaction with labour rate at 69% Premium and JP/KO with lowest satisfaction ratings (58% and 57% respectively) Overall each OEM group has a significant number of unsatisfied dealers LABOUR RATE SATISFACTION UNSATISFIED MIDDLE SATISFIED INDUSTRY AVERAGE Premium French Volume JP/KO Brand results Significant overall gap between brands at % 12 out of 15 brands are unsatisfied with labour rate, with one brand having 3% of dealers unsatisfied Industry average 59% LABOUR RATE SATISFACTION UNSATISFIED MIDDLE SATISFIED BEST AND WORST IN CLASS 9 8 SIGNIFICANT LEVEL OF DISSATISFACTION WITH THE LABOUR RATE REACHING AS HIGH AS 3%. 3 R H W B A Q T D M * P L C Z X S *Industry Average 12

14 Q16. HOW SATISFIED ARE YOU WITH THE REIMBURSEMENT FOR PARTS / HANDLING CHARGE? Overall results JP/KO rates lowest for satisfied (57%) and highest for unsatisfied (18%) dealers Volume rates highest again for satisfaction at 68% Industry average 61% (slightly above labour rate satisfaction) REIMBURSEMENT FOR PARTS / HANDLING CHARGE UNSATISFIED MIDDLE SATISFIED INDUSTRY AVERAGE Premium French Volume JP/KO Brand results Overall gap between brands % Brand S with greater number of unsatisfied (%) than satisfied (3%) dealers Only three brands with no unsatisfied dealers Industry average 61% REIMBURSEMENT FOR PARTS / HANDLING CHARGE UNSATISFIED MIDDLE SATISFIED BEST AND WORST IN CLASS 9 8 SOME BRANDS HAVE SIGNIFICANT DISSATISFACTION WITH PARTS REIMBURSEMENT. 3 R T B A L P W * Q H D M Z C X S *Industry Average 13

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16 Q17. WHAT WORKS VERY WELL WITH YOUR OEM IN WARRANTY? WHAT WORKS VERY WELL WITH YOUR OEM WARRANTIES? Overall results* Dealers like the communication and service provided by the OEM System rates well Warranty coverage mentioned 17 times probably in line with recent increases in warranty coverage of some brands DEALERS APPRECIATE THE GOOD COMMUNICATION THEY HAVE WITH THEIR OEMS. Q18. WHAT DOES NOT WORK WELL WITH YOUR OEM? WHAT DOES NOT WORK WELL WITH YOUR OEM WARRANTIES? Overall results* Parts delivery highest mentioned issue for not working well by a significant margin (49 out of 3 dealers) Communication is also mentioned as a key item that does not work well Vehicle diagnosis appears to be an issue for some dealers DEALERS COMPLAIN ABOUT THE PARTS DELIVERY PERFORMANCE, DIAGNOSIS AND WARRANTY COVERAGE OF THEIR OEM. * The numbers indicate the frequency of mentioning by the dealers; multiple answers possible; results are keyword coded. 15

17 Q19. WHAT SHOULD YOUR OEM CHANGE TO MAKE WARRANTY EASIER FOR YOU? WHAT SHOULD YOUR OEM CHANGE TO MAKE WARRANTIES EASIER FOR YOU? Overall results* Dealers want improvements in parts delivery and for OEMs to simplify processes Authorisation and approval processes are mentioned by dealers to be insufficient The speed of decision and answers from OEMs is in line with the issue of authorisation DEALERS WANT SIMPLER WARRANTY PROCESSES, RELIABLE PARTS DELIVERY, IMPROVED COMMUNICATION AND BETTER TRAINING. 16

18 Q. DO YOU THINK THAT THE WARRANTY PROCESSES AND SYSTEMS OF YOUR OEM OVERALL SUPPORT THE CUSTOMER LOYALTY IN SERVICE AND NEW VEHICLE SALES? Overall results French rates highest for agreement and above average at 92% Industry average 91% DO WARRANTY PROCESSES AND SYSTEMS SUPPORT CUSTOMER LOYALTY? DISAGREE INDIFFERENT AGREE INDUSTRY AVERAGE 9 8 DEALERS CONVINCED THAT WARRANTY PROCESSES SUPPORT LOYALTY. 3 Premium French Volume JP/KO Brand results Overall gap between brands % Four brands with % agreement, but more brands rate below industry average on agreement that warranty processes and systems support customer loyalty Industry average 9% DO WARRANTY PROCESSES AND SYSTEMS SUPPORT CUSTOMER LOYALTY? DISAGREE INDIFFERENT AGREE BEST AND WORST IN CLASS X D H R T * Z W M C L Q B P A S *Industry Average 17

19 Q21. DO YOU THINK THAT A WARRANTY PROGRAMME (E.G. EXTENSION, SERVICE CONTRACTS) CAN CREATE AN ACTIVE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE FOR YOU AS A DEALER? Overall results French brands rate lowest for agreement (87%) and highest for disagreement (7%) that warranty programmes create an active competitive advantage Industry average 92% DO WARRANTY PROGRAMMES CREATE AN ACTIVE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE? DISAGREE INDIFFERENT AGREE INDUSTRY AVERAGE DEALERS AGREE ON COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE. Premium French Volume JP/KO DO WARRANTY PROGRAMMES CREATE AN ACTIVE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE? DISAGREE INDIFFERENT AGREE BEST AND WORST IN CLASS H A D R C S Z X Q * L W M B T P 18

20 Q22. WHAT IS THE SIZE OF YOUR DEALERSHIP, BY NEW VEHICLE SALES PER ANNUM? Dealer size: new vehicle sales per annum Approximately % of dealerships sized between - new vehicle sales per annum WHAT WAS THE DEALER SIZE IN TERMS OF NEW VEHICLE SALES P.A.? MORE THAN CARS PER ANNUM Q23. WHAT IS THE SIZE OF YOUR DEALERSHIP, BY SERVICE JOB CARDS PER ANNUM? Dealer size: job cards per annum The dealer size by job cards per annum fairly evenly distributed WHAT WAS THE SIZE OF THE ANSWERING DEALERS IN TERMS OF JOB CARDS P.A.? ABOVE Q24. WHAT IS YOUR POSITION IN THE DEALERSHIP S ORGANISATION? WHO ANSWERED THE SURVEY? Who answered the survey? The survey was mainly answered by warranty administrators and head of service/after sales managers making up nearly two-thirds of respondents DEALER PRINCIPAL WARRANTY ADMINISTRATOR HEAD OF SERVICE / AFTER SALES MANAGER OTHER HEAD OF SALES SERVICE ADVISOR 19

21 V. MAIN FINDINGS The main findings of the survey are summarised as follows: The results of the first competitive warranty survey for Brazil, as part of SGS wider global warranty survey, paint a differentiated and very diverse picture of the market. The key is the competitive character: in many questions we see 9%, 95% or even % satisfaction rating, but at the same time we see some brands ranking as low as below % for satisfaction the clear message to the low performing brands is that it is possible to convince your dealers about the quality of your operations As in Europe, Premium has the highest rating for most questions, with two Premium brands accounting for the most top ratings overall In contrast, Premium has low satisfaction ratings for the reimbursement of warranty claims, which demonstrates Premium does not just buy good ratings by paying better than the competition Volume and French rate lowest for satisfaction: in Volume there is a high correlation with the low ranking for hotline satisfaction and warranty audits, with goodwill policy satisfaction rating higher; in French the results indicate almost the opposite is true The large overall gaps between highest and lowest satisfaction ratings across many questions show dealers have very different views of their OEMs As far as the overall ease of business, some brands have issues with low satisfaction ratings, especially compared to the high ratings of the leading OEMs at world class level Low performing brands show poor results in almost all key questions, whereas high performers demonstrate consistently good results Dealers make a clear differentiation between questions, avoiding the potential for any negative bias: for example, Brand X received the lowest satisfaction ratings in questions concerning its labour rate and reimbursement for parts / handling charge, but still received a % agreement rating that its warranty processes support customer loyalty Group and industry averages are significant due to their overall high satisfaction ratings. However, the individual brands significance should be viewed in relation to the sample size of dealers, which while sufficient, leaves a residual error of 5%-% PREMIUM PROVIDES EASIEST WARRANTY OPERATIONS. VOLUME HAS ISSUES WITH HOTLINE SATISFACTION AND WARRANTY AUDITS. FRENCH HAS ISSUES WITH GOODWILL POLICY SATISFACTION.

22 VI. CONCLUSIONS Brazil has experienced -years of growth within its automotive market, and in that time much of the focus has been on the provision of affordable vehicles. Meanwhile, after sales has been rather neglected in Brazil, and as such dealers tend not to focus on customer satisfaction in the same way as more mature markets (i.e. EU, US and China) approach customer experience and after sales. Premium is a clear leader in the ratings, which may not be all that surprising but it should be remembered that probably more so in Brazil than anywhere else in the world, due to Brazil s high import tariffs, Premium OEMs must satisfy the most demanding end consumer (i.e. the Premium customer) and seller (i.e. the Premium dealer) which in itself is no easy task. In the detailed brand analysis, it is obvious that dealers have a very differentiated picture of the manufacturers. Some manufacturers within the French and Volume groups get very negative feedback on their warranty operations and would need to have a close look as to the competitiveness of their warranty offer. The instance of a gap of 55%, and a lowest performing brand with 3% of dealers finding warranty complicated, is an unprecedented finding in our warranty surveys. The call for action for this brand is self-evident. Leaving a majority of dealers unsatisfied about the payment terms, as the results show for Brand S, is both uncooperative as well as short sighted. This will inevitably lead to dealers attempting to avoid warranty work, which will subsequently impact on customers. And it could increase the risk of fraudulent claims being made by dealers in order to make up for the perceived imbalance in OEM payments. It is worth noting that at the same time feedback on the warranty system is also low, the warranty audit rates bottom three and dealers rate the OEM last for whether its warranty processes support customer loyalty, all of which is an indication that warranty operations have significant potential to improve from their current low levels of satisfaction. Warranty hotlines seem to concern some dealers. Three brands have low satisfaction ratings of just above %, which shows that dealers clearly have an issue with how the hotlines operate. Inevitably, this will impact customers, as slow or incompetent hotlines are a key driver in affecting the speed in which dealers can undertake repair. If this happens, customers have to wait longer for their car, or in the worst-case scenario do not even receive a repair, all because dealers are unsure about the payment approval of the hotline. In regards to goodwill policy, Volume manufacturers exhibit quite positive results. Among single brands, the differentiation between process and level is quite high. And, as seen in previous SGS surveys, dealers make a clear differentiation between the process versus the level of goodwill. It is interesting to note that with the Volume group being quite diverse (i.e. one German, two US and one Korean manufacturer) the three cultural differences of the OEMs may be affecting their ratings. On the extended warranty satisfaction (NB: not included in the charts in this white paper but part of the survey), two of the Volume manufacturers appear at the bottom of the individual brand rankings for administration, each with very low satisfaction ratings of only %. The coverage of the extended warranties rates more positively, but still the lowest rating of only % satisfaction is a Volume OEM. COMPARED TO THE EU, US OR CHINA WARRANTY OPERATIONS IN BRAZIL DO NOT FOCUS ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION TO THE SAME EXTENT. MANY BRANDS HAVE ISSUES IN SEVERAL AREAS HOWEVER TOP PERFORMING BRANDS DEMONSTRATE THAT SERVICE EXCELLENCE IS ACHIEVABLE. ENGAGED WARRANTY OPERATIONS ARE THE KEY TO ENSURING OPTIMAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AND LOYALTY DURING AFTER SALES PROCESSES, RESULTING IN HIGHER REVENUES AND PROFITS. 21

23 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Roland Gagel Global Automotive Sector Manager, SGS Roland Gagel is the Global Sector Manager for SGS Automotive, responsible for growing and developing SGS automotive audits and performance management business with manufacturers and suppliers. He joined SGS in 11 after 15 years of extensive experience in the automotive sector. He started his career with General Motors Europe Purchasing Organisation at Adam Opel AG in Rüsselsheim. After holding a buyers position in Advance Purchasing, Roland was responsible for the QS 9 (now ISO/TS 16949) certification of GM Europe s suppliers. Joining the Aftersales Organisation in 1, he then moved into warranty; first in the area of supplier cost recovery, and then in operational warranty management of the Opel Germany Warranty team. Between 8 and 11, he was the head of European Warranty Operations of GM and led several projects to increase cost control within the dealer field while reducing warranty administration expenses. Being the author of several warranty related studies and whitepapers, Roland is a frequent speaker at global warranty conferences in Europe and the US. Roland was born and raised in Wiesbaden, Germany. He holds a joint masters degree in mechanical engineering and business administration from the Technical University Darmstadt. ABOUT SGS SGS is the world s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognised as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 8, employees, SGS operates a network of over 1,6 offices and laboratories around the world. SGS can support you in the goals of ensuring dealer franchise satisfaction by using our experience in the automotive industry and benchmarking best practices. We deliver results and analysis in a concise, clear and meaningful format; and make recommendations for action plans on any issues arising with dealers to ensure the improvement of your business. Enhancing processes, systems and skills is fundamental to your ongoing success and sustained growth. We enable you to continuously improve, transforming your services and value chain by increasing performance, managing risks, better meeting stakeholder requirements, and managing sustainability. With a global presence, we have a history of successfully executing large-scale, complex international projects. Our people speak the language, understand the culture of the local market and operate globally in a consistent, reliable and effective manner. FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT OR CONTACT ROLAND.GAGEL@SGS.COM TO VIEW THE RESULTS OF THE 14 WARRANTY MANAGEMENT SURVEYS IN THE EU AND CHINA DOWNLOAD COMPLIMENTARY WHITEPAPERS AT COPYRIGHT NOTICE SGS Group Management SA 14 All rights reserved - SGS is a registered trademark of SGS Group Management SA. This study is the property of SGS Group Management SA and all intellectual property therein, including all proprietary and confidential information, know-how, designs and/or data, remains vested in and is owned by SGS Group Management SA. This document may also contain information, drawings, designs or plans owned by Third Parties and such information may be proprietary and confidential and protected by intellectual property rights of such Third Parties. This document may not be used, copied, and/or reproduced by any means, electronic or mechanical, in whole or in part for any purpose, unless such usage, copying and/or reproduction has been specifically permitted in writing by SGS Group Management SA and necessary royalty arrangements are concluded. Requests should be addressed to SGS ICS GmbH, Roland Gagel, Im Maisel 14, Taunusstein. 22

24 SGS Group Management SA 14 All rights reserved - SGS is a registered trademark of SGS Group Management SA.