Current Focus Days
Retail Inventory Management
August – Chicago, IL
Retail Inventory Management (RIM) is a critical business tool used by most OEMs in the industry specifically due to its criticalness to achieving high dealer off-the-shelf fill and ultimately, end-customer satisfaction. For this reason, we conduct the RIM Focus Day on an annual basis, and participants continue to see significant value in the increasingly detailed discussion.
This Focus Day takes place over 2 days, as opposed to our normal single day offering, due to the expansive and detailed nature of the topics covered during it. Exact topics vary each year depending on OEM interest levels, yet typically the days cover items such as:
- Overview and updates on each OEM’s system
- Terms and Conditions and the impact of RIM on dealer behavior and customer success
- Detailed functionality deep-dives
- System demos
- Next generation technology (including the potential use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the systems)
Supply Chain Leaders
October 22nd – Dallas, TX
Each year, we gather supply chain leaders for two meetings – one at the conference in the spring and another about six months later at this Focus Day. Unlike our traditional Focus Days, this session has more free-flowing discussion amongst OEM participants, with Ducker Carlisle facilitators guiding the conversation.
The scope of this Focus Day is limited to a few key topics to drive deeper dialogue and extract more meaningful, actionable insights. Specific topics for this Focus Day will be driven by executive input following the NAPB conference. This Focus Day answers questions such as:
- What keeps OEM executives up at night?
- What are the new “hot topics” that will be impacting our industry in the next several years?
- How are OEMs planning for these impacts?
- How are OEMs handling a world in which there are so few parts out there to sell?
Sustainability in Supply Chain Operations
August 6th – Dallas, TX
With the rise of ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investing strategies, Supply Chain Sustainability now has money attached. This Focus Day will be a mix of sustainability strategies and sustainability tactics – we’ve found from past events that if we’re biased too far towards either end of the spectrum, we don’t deliver sufficient value. The mix of the two gives some direction to the discussion but also provides a long list of immediately actionable activities in place right now (or in pilot stages) at OEMs. This Focus Day will incorporate outside-industry examples from other industries where sustainability may be further developed than in the aftersales business. The Focus Day will also cover data availability, desired metrics, and develop a path to achieve those metrics. The Sustainability Focus Day, as with all Ducker Carlisle sustainability events, is half price – whatever is the price on your Term Sheet for Focus Days, you’ll pay half that for this Focus Day.
Warehouse Technology & Systems
June 11th – Dallas, TX
Our 2023 Warehouse Automation Focus Day was an enormous success, and one of our key takeaways from it influences the design of this similar (but broader) Focus Day proposed for 2024. We learned that automation systems are an important component of warehouse technology and systems, but a single-minded focus on automation is overly narrow.
With ever-increasing volumes of technology, how are companies handling technology implementation? This seems less problematic in recent years than it was 5-7 years ago – why?
This year’s technology session will still cover automation, but will also include topics such as:
- How does automation sync with other warehouse technology?
- How effective are “basic” warehouse technologies like voice picking and finger scanning – and even simple paper pick tickets?
- What is the dividing line between moving towards human-driven systems (like scanning) or moving towards automation? How can companies efficiently make this decision?
- How do companies set up all their technology to work together and incorporate the entire supply chain, all the way through transportation?
Collision Programs & Strategy
October 8th – Dallas, TX
Certified collision centers are the rule rather than the exception at this point because collision parts sales represent a disproportionate chunk of profit for the OEM. OEMs support these collision centers differently – not only for ICE vehicles, but even more so for electric vehicles. In addition to vehicle requirements and safety changes, the collision industry is also changing! Insurance company requirements change over time, and the consolidation of the collision business affects OEM activities as well.
80% of this focus day will focus on collision service – providing good collision support to collision shops and customers. The remaining 20% will focus on parts – how OEMs ensure parts availability and provide parts to collision shops. Topics to be covered include:
- Details of each OEM’s certified collision center program
- Management of certified collision at the OEM level – where it fits in the organization, number of support staff, primary goals
- Best practices when interacting with insurance companies at the OEM level
- Best practices for wholesale support of collision centers (whether certified or not)
- Certification differences for EVs
-
What is the format?
-
Who can attend?
-
What preparation is required?
-
What is the cancellation policy?
-
What’s the Focus Day plan for 2024?
2024 Planned Focus Days
Get the Latest Updates
Stay on top of the latest news and updates with our benchmarking activities. Subscribe to our newsletter today.
Let’s Talk
With decades of experience in global consulting, strategy, and M&A support services in key industry sectors, we know what it takes to grow a business. Connect with us to discuss your goals.
CONTACT US