For over 30 years, the Friend Management System has been improving the performance of agricultural, consumer, and golf equipment dealerships in Canada, the United States, and Australia. The Friend Management System was developed by Doug Friend and purchased by the Western Equipment Dealers Association in 2018 that merged to become the North American Equipment Dealers Association. The Friend Management system is a financial benchmarking tool with 90+ benchmarks that provide a Financial “Road Map” to help Managers make decisions.

• A “Performance ” Peer Group Program
• All groups operate like a Board of Advisors providing advice, direction, and guidance to each other.
• Specific focus is directed toward learning about each member’s best practices and achieving better performance in all areas of dealership operations through idea exchange and goal-setting.

GROUPS

Leadership Team Groups

• Made up of like-minded, similar size equipment dealerships and their owners/key managers.

Aftermarket “Sub Groups”

• Made up of Aftermarket Management Teams from the Main Leadership Team Groups
• Could be only Service or, Parts and Service

Sales Management “Sub Groups”

• Made up of Sales Managers from the Leadership Team Groups

Individual Dealer Program

• Made up of Managers – Branch, Parts, Service, Sales of 1 Dealer Organization
• Benchmarking…90+ Benchmarks Provides a Financial “Road Map” to help Managers make Decisions
• Provide the Discipline and Structure to achieve improved results

These groups are made up of like-minded, similar-sized, mainline equipment dealerships and their owners/key managers. The first Dealer Management Group (Leadership Group) was established in 1989. Currently, the owner-groups involved represent over 300 locations throughout North America and Australia with total combined sales that exceeded $6.5 Billion in 2012.

WHAT ARE THEY

• 5 to 6 Dealer Organizations…3 to 5 principal/key manager participants from each dealership – CEO/GM, CFO, Corp. Sales Mgr.(s), Corp. Parts, Corp. Service
• Operate like a Board of Directors providing policy direction, guidance, and accountability
• Focus on discovering solutions and achieving better performance in all areas of dealership operations through idea exchange and goal-setting
• Friend Management system provides data, comparisons and benchmarks© that motivate participating dealers to strive for and achieve improved performance
• A forum to develop long term relationships
• A continuing education process that develops leadership and management skills

Our Aftermarket Management Group program is a powerful management tool that enables parts and service managers to meet, share ideas, learn, and understand parts and service as it relates to financial performance and increased profitability.

WHAT ARE THEY

• Each Service Management group consists of service managers, aftermarket managers and general managers from the Dealership Management Groups.
• Focus is placed on developing objectives geared toward maximizing customer experience and inventory management.
• Gain insight into how other parts departments operate
• A forum to develop long term relationships
• A continuing education process

BENEFITS

• Parts, Service and Aftermarket managers become motivated and take ownership of their financial responsibilities
• Managers develop a mindset that is both goal and action-oriented
• Gain insight into how other parts and service departments operate, allowing them to expand the vision and potential of their own operations
• Friend Management provides data, comparisons and benchmarks© that motivate parts and service managers to strive for and achieve greater results

SUCCESSES

Parts and Service Departments that have participated in an Aftermarket Management Group have enjoyed

• Increased profitability
• Improved margins
• Reduced work order closing times
• Reduced WIP
• Improved efficiencies

Finding the right group is essential to your organization’s success. Groups are formed based on size, AOR, product mix, brand, management style, and more. Contact us to learn more about joining a group.