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Wolf Motors Success Story Essay

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John Wolf, president of Wolf Motors, had just returned to his office after visiting the company’s newly acquired automotive dealership. It was the fourth Wolf Motors’ dealership in a network that served a metropolitan area of 400,000 people. Beyond the metropolitan area, but within a 45-minute drive, were another 500,000 people. Each of the dealerships in the network marketed a different make of automobile and historically had operated autonomously. Wolf was particularly excited about this new dealership because it was the first “auto supermarket” in the network. Auto supermarkets differ from traditional auto dealerships in that they sold multiple makes of automobiles at the same location. The new dealership sold a full line of Chevrolets, …show more content…

Wolf invested in training and equipment to ensure that the trained personnel and technology were provided. What he worried about, as Wolf Motors grew, was the continued availability of the right parts and materials. This concern caused him to focus on the purchasing process and management of the service parts and materials flows in the supply chain. Wolf thought back on the stories in the newspaper’s business pages describing the failure of companies that had not planned appropriately for growth. These companies outgrew their existing policies, procedures, and control systems. Lacking a plan to update their systems, the companies experienced myriad problems that led to inefficiencies and an inability to compete effectively. He did not want that to happen to Wolf Motors. Each of the four dealerships purchased its own service parts and materials. Purchases were based on forecasts derived from historical demand data, which accounted for factors such as seasonality. Batteries and alternators had a high failure rate in the winter, and air-conditioner parts were in great demand during the summer. Similarly, coolant was needed in the spring to service air conditioners for the summer months, whereas antifreeze was needed in the fall to winterize automobiles. Forecasts also were adjusted for special vehicle sales and service promotions, which increased the need for materials used to prep new cars and service

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