AGRR - March/April 2008 - AGRR Magazine

Only Onagrrmag.comMARCH/APRIL 2008Tucson TimeA NNUAL M EETING IN S UNNY A RIZONAby Penny Stacey and Charles CumpstonTo figure out the future of theindustry—a burning questionon most of our minds—one doesn’t need a crystalball, one just needs a newspaper, accordingto Don Ableson, president ofAbleson Consulting LLC and formerexecutive director of the North AmericanSpecialty Vehicle Activity for GeneralMotors. Ableson pointed out anumber of automotive headlinesfrom the last few months at the recentauto glass conference in Tucson, Ariz.“These headlines are precursors ofevolutionary changes that will be happeningto our industry,” he said in hiskeynote address. Ableson opened theconference on February 12 to an audienceof about 60 people. He pointedout a variety of recent of headlinesthat have appeared in the news, suchas ones dealing with changing globaleconomics, various economic factorsthroughout the world and the fuel issuesthe world has been experiencing.He also noted that with the economyin its current state, what customersare looking for is changing too.“To succeed as a business today,you must have the highest quality andthe lowest price,” Ableson said,adding that this is compelling manymanufacturers to outsource partsHe also mentioned the possible saleof PPG’s auto glass business to PlatinumEquity and the litigation that hasfollowed (see related story in January/February2008 AGRR, page 10),along with the possible sale of some ofFord’s glass plants.“Time will tell the final chapter forthese two glass companies,” Ablesonadded.For future trends, Ableson notedthe explosion of panoramic sunroofs(mentioning that he saw several in theparking lot of the JW Marriott StarrPass Resort where the conference washeld), along with an increase in headsupdisplays. He also mentioned a December23 New York Times headlineabout Porsche possibly taking overVolkswagen in the near future.“The glass industry must embracethe principles of the OEMs, includingglobal consolidation …” Ableson said.Profits and PeopleAfter Ableson’s discussion, thegroup broke into small groups to discussa variety of topics from sales andprofit to utilizing technology.Richard Voreis of Consulting Collaborativemoderated a session on increasingsales and profits.He started by explaining, “I’moften asked how you can improveyour business and I say you have toadapt to change. I see very similarproblems and issues at companiesthat are having problems. You have tobe sure your employees are focusedand that they share in the need tohave a profitable company. If there’sonly one thing you take out of thissession, that’s it.”Voreis had attendees fill in a 13-question self-assessment of theirbusinesses, which focused on thecommunication between managementand employees.He then asked attendees to sharewhat they had done to increase sales attheir companies. One person indicatedthat he had hired an outside salesperson,while another said conductingcontinuing education courses for insuranceagents had been successful.A lengthy discussion of yellowpages versus Internet as a marketingtool followed. Most said that they arefinding the Internet more successfuland that increases in the cost of yellowpages advertising is making thedecision to switch easier. However, itwas mentioned that the price of advertisingonline is also increasing asmore companies are using it and biddingon the costs of placement.Part of the discussion of increasingprofits centered around employee incentiveplans. In group discussion thepoint was made that any incentiveplan has to be easy for the employeeto understand and that makingchanges to incentive plans is fraughtwith danger because people don’t likechange and may not understand why©2008 AGRR Magazine, 540-720-5584, www.agrrmagazine.com, All rights reserved.