Service Activities for Distributors

8/13/2019 Service Activities for Distributors

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SERVICE ACTIVITIES OF

DISTRIBUTORS

99528-00010-01E


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Table of ContentsFOREWORD................................................................................................................ 2

[I] Company Motto, Activity Charter, Principle Policy of SUZUKI and Quality

Assurance Group Policy ..................................................................................... 3

(1) Company Motto ................................ ............................... ............................... ................................. ................ 3

(2) Action Charter.................................................................................................................................................. 3

(3) Quality Assurance Divisional Policy ................................................................................................................ 3

(4) Objectives of Quality Assurance Division ................................ ................................ ................................. ....... 3

[II] Establishing Service System of Distributors .................................................... 4

(1) Basic Concept ................................................................................................................................................. 4

(2) Establishing Service System in Market ........................................................................................................... 6

1Establishing policies for dealers and having them fully aware ............................................................... 6

2Grasping actual situation of dealers and coaching them........................................................................ 7

3Securing appropriate number of dealers .............................. ................................. ................................ . 8

4Coaching dealers for operation .............................................................................................................. 9

5Providing quality information to dealers ............................................................................................... 10

6Education program of service skills to dealers .................................. ................................. .................. 10

7Preparation of service literature and materials for Customers and dealers.......................................... 11

8 Others................................................................................................................................................... 11

(3) Establishing System for Handling and Managing Warranty Claims .............................................................. 12

1 Judging warranty claim......................................................................................................................... 12

2Handling and settling warranty claims.................................................................................................. 12

3Check points when using warranty computer processing system........................................................ 13

4Warranty audit ................................ ................................. ................................. .............................. ...... 13

5Warranty application to manufacturer .................................................................................................. 13

(4) Collecting Market Information and Reporting to SUZUKI (KD factories) .................................. ..................... 14

1Market quality information .................................................................................................................... 14

2Collecting information on laws, regulations, etc. .................................................................................. 15

(5) Organization structure of distributor .............................................................................................................. 16

Appendix 1: Flow of Market Quality Information Processing .............................. ..................................... ............ 19

Quality Assurance Responsibility Structure......................................................................................................... 19

System of Quality Assurance............................................................................................................................... 20

Service Activities.book Page 1 Thursday, August 9, 2007 4:50 PM


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FOREWORD

We, at SUZUKI, have prepared Service Activities of Distributors (manual) which describes service activi-

ties of overseas distributors carrying SUZUKI motorcycles, automobiles and marine & power products.

We request each overseas distributor to have full understanding of contents of this manual and establish the

structure and system (including both organization and personnel) to provide the same service for all prod-

ucts with SUZUKI badge.



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[I] Company Motto, Activity Charter, Principle Policy of SUZUKIand Quality Assurance Group Policy

Every SUZUKI service staff member should have a clear idea about how to think and act as a member

of SUZUKI group. For that, it is important for him/her to understand SUZUKI management concept,

basic policies, activity charter and quality assurance group policy and act in accordance with them.

(1) Company Motto

1. To produce valuable products judging from consumers standpoint.

2. To cooperate in constant innovation of the company.

3. To continue efforts to improve yourself and move forward with positive will.

(2) Action Charter1. Listen to Customers and social public, both domestic and overseas, at all times, adopt such informa-

tion in development of products and provide truly useful products and service.

2. Always use care for preservation of environment when developing products and providing goods

and service.

3. Perform business activities, complying with all laws, regulations and rules and stand firmly against

any antisocial power or party which threatens public order and safety of the society.

4. Disclose accurate and fair information to the society and always maintain appropriate relationship

with the society.

5. Achieve long-lasting and stable growth through fair, clear and free competitions.

6. Participate in social contribution activities positively as entrepreneurial citizens.

(3) Quality Assurance Divisional Policy

To establish a comprehensive quality assurance system from product development to sales, aiming at

the one and same quality in all parts of the world.

(4) Objectives of Quality Assurance Division

Thorough development of quality to the stage of mass-production

Effective use of quality information

Strengthening global service system



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[II] Establishing Service System of Distributors(1) Basic Concept

It is the mission for all in SUZUKI group to provide good service so that Customers can use vehicles

without anxiety. Necessary factors for that are; Reliable technology, Speedy work, Clear and fair

charge and Comforting reception. Also, careful communication with Customers including explana-

tion of repair details and information of periodical maintenances are important. Such good service will

fulfill satisfaction of Customers and eventually lead to their re-purchase.

Good service Good vehiclesReliable technology Speedy work

Clear and fair charge Comforting reception

Careful communication with Customers

Satisfaction andconfidence of

Customers

Stable management of distributors

and dealers.

Vehicle in propercondition at all

times

Betterassessmentat trade-in

Reinforcement in theBase of Existing Customer

repurchasing database

Obtaining newCustomers through favorable

reputation Obtaining NewEntry Customer by

Favorable Word of Mouth

Securing profits



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Example

In order to ensure successful repair, High-level service skills, Full line up of tools and equipment,

Easy availability of parts and Reasonable parts prices are important.

Repair Increased Walk-in customers

Word of Mouth-advertisingSpeediness

Accuracy

Reasonable

charge

Customers sense of security

Increased sales

Repair

Speediness

Accuracy

Reasonable

charge

Basic education

Education on new products

Routine Service coaching by dealer visit

High-level service skills

Supplying service manuals

Issuing service bulletins and service news

Conducting service training program

Full line-up of tools

and equipmentSupply of general tools, equipment and special tools

Easy availability of parts Appropriate stock of parts and smooth parts supply

Reasonable parts prices Sales of parts at reasonable prices



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(2) Establishing Service System in Market

To have Customers fully satisfied with SUZUKI products, the service system including dealers must be

established and requirements for that purpose are as follows.

1 Establishing policies for dealers and having them fully aware

The distributor should establish service policies based on SUZUKI policies and have them fully aware

by dealers while reviewing them periodically. In this way, the service system of the SUZUKI network

can function properly.



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2Grasping actual situation of dealers and coaching them

Grasping actual situation of its affiliated dealers and comparing with other companies of the same trade

(competitors), the distributor should correct the points that are found missing or inferior.

Items to check in grasping actual situation (Use the check sheet.)

Reception of visitors

Appearance of the shop, space of the workshop, layout (effective use of CI)

Service coverage rate (Ratio of number of sold vehicles to number of attended vehicles) (Prin-

ciple: Each dealer should service vehicles sold by them at their workshop.)

Number of incoming vehicles and number of service personnel

General tools and special tools

Service facility and equipment

Management and utilization of Customer information

Implementation of 5S principles (SEIRI (coordinating), SEITON (tidying), SEISO (cleaning),

SEIKETSU (neatness), SHITSUKE (discipline))

Judging and handling warranty applications and storage of warranty replacement parts

Warranty data compared with other dealers

Storage and utilization conditions of manuals, charts and other materials

Spare supply parts in stock

Close information exchange with the distributor



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3 Securing appropriate number of dealers

It is necessary for distributors to secure dealers and service personnel suitable for the number of vehi-

cles sold (kept) in its area.

Calculation example (In case of Japan)

Number of technicians: 1 technician per 300 vehicles under control (UIO)

Number of bays at service workshop: Same as the number of technicians

Number of lifts: 80% of the number of technicians

Calculation example (In case of India)

For the dealer which sells 100 vehicles each month

Number of bays at service workshop: 10 bays

Number of service personnel: 16 persons (1 manager, 1 receptionist, 2 supervisors, 10 techni-cians, 2 washing persons)

For the dealer which sells 250 vehicles each month

Number of bays at service workshop: 20 bays

Number of service personnel: 31 persons (1 manager, 2 receptionists, 4 supervisors, 20 tech-

nicians, 4 washing persons)



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4 Coaching dealers for operation

It is ideal for the dealer to be able to pay all expenses of dealers operation covered by sales of service

and parts. To achieve that level, the dealer needs to have good Customer management, make efforts

to invite Customers and set the sales target of service activities.

We recommend to set a target that each Customer brings in his/her vehicle 3 times a year and perform

following activities.

To make absolutely sure that the new vehicle after delivery is brought in for the initial mainte-

nance (free service)

To explain importance of inspection/maintenance to the Customer at the time of delivery and

give him/her the contact information for effective communication

To contact the Customers to urge him/her to bring in the vehicle for the initial inspection/main-

tenance

To contact Customer after his/her initial visit to urge him/her to bring in the vehicle for the sec-ond time.

For each inspection/maintenance, to calculate the rate of vehicles brought in and keep its

record. To clarify the reason when the vehicle is not brought in.

To keep complete information and record of each user (Vehicle ID number, date of purchase,

address, telephone number, service history)

To take measures to invite Customers for the periodical inspection/maintenance (direct mail,

etc.)

To sell MAINTENANCE PACKAGE

To sell EXTENDED WARRANTY (insurance with extended warranty period from Factory war-

ranty period) to keep relationship with Customers)

When Customers bring in their vehicles, delivery as scheduled leads to improve his/her confidence in

the dealer and at the same time, it reduces extra work from any delay. To achieve this, it is importantfor dealers to observe the following points.

To complete the service work within the specified time (process control)

To have facility so as to use bays in the effective rotation order (Target: 3 vehicles or more bay

rotation rate)

To level off (equalization) number of incoming vehicles (complete reservation control)

To control parts in stock

To conduct education/training program of service skills to dealers

To make accurate explanation to Customers



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5 Providing quality information to dealers

Information on repair and specific measures that are not included in service manuals should

be provided to dealers speedily.

6 Education program of service skills to dealers

Education program to dealers should be conducted periodically (and continuously) on the following

subjects.

New products

New skills, new mechanism

Service reception

Professional technology, general repair skills



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7 Preparation of service literature and materials for Customers and deal-ers

Service literature for Customers: warranty certificate/booklet, list of service network, periodical inspec-

tion/maintenance booklet, PDI check sheet, etc.

Service literature for dealers: service bulletin, service news, warranty form, claim tag, repair form, etc.

8Others

Other activities to achieve Customers satisfaction include:

To provide road-side assistance service To have the hot line (customer relation program) known to Customers

To handle claims speedily and properly (to explain what can be done and what cannot be done

clearly and ask for understanding)



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(3) Establishing System for Handling and Managing Warranty Claims

The system to receive warranty claims from dealers, make judgment, take necessary measures and

settlement are needed.

1 Judging warranty claim

To establish the warranty policy and have it known

To have all sales personnel and service personnel to understand the warranty policy

To appoint the person who takes responsibility of warranty judgment

To check the actual claimed item and to prevent duplicated application

To check the situation where the claim occurred

To clarify the reason why the claim is not accepted and to prevent recurrence of it

2Handling and settling warranty claims

To appoint the person who takes responsibility of handling warranty claims

To fill/enter the application form properly

To handle the application without delay

To check whether or not unnecessary part replacement is involved

To check that the labor charge is reasonable

To check abnormality on the claim

To check whether or not alleged claim is came from any accident vehicle and/or modified vehi-

cle

To judge whether the warranty claim resolution was good or poor

To collect warranty replacement parts and examine them for the purpose of the quality check



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3 Check points when using warranty computer processing system

For computer processing, arrange such system that can check the following points automatically.

The vehicle is imported and sold by the dealer itself.

The warranty period is valid (relationship between registration date and repair date, mileage)

The subject part is not warranty inapplicable part such as a consumable part

The same claim on the same vehicle has not been laid before (double claim, recurrence)

After executing computer processing, it is necessary to check that the data has been inputted correctly

and that the claim is not unreasonable.

4Warranty audit

If a dealer handles questionable warranty applications (more frequently compared with other dealers,

sudden change in trend, before expiration of the warranty period in many cases, etc.), it is necessary to

audit the dealer, investigate the cause and correct it.

5Warranty application to manufacturer

To apply for warranty according to the agreement with SUZUKI (manufacturer/KD factories)

To handle the case based on judgment by SUZUKI (KD factories) To meet the requirement from SUZUKI (KD factories) to collect parts



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(4) Collecting Market Information and Reporting to SUZUKI (KD factories)

1Market quality information

If a failure occurs and no correction method for it has been provided by such means of Service Bulletin,

be sure to issue FTIR (Field Technical Information Report), which is indispensable technical informa-

tion for SUZUKI (manufacturer/KD factories) to investigate the cause of the market quality failure, to

take necessary measures and to prevent it from recurring. (See Appendix 1)

Listed below are failures for which FTIR (Field Technical Information Report) must be issued.

Failure involving safety

Failure which occurred for the first time with the subject model

Failure which is suspected to give a large influence to sales or affect the product value

adversely to a large degree

Failure which is judged possibly to hinder the function of the product Failure, which occurs frequently, even after expiration of the warranty period

Failure subjects to Customers complaint, request and rumor

Failure which is judged to cause an accident or fire, resulting in personal injury, property dam-

age have such possibility

Points to note when issuing FTIR (Field Technical Information Report) are as follows.

To describe the conditions where the claimed failure occurred using 5W 1H (when, where,

who, what, why and how) principle. To attach pictures or video tape as necessary.

To include Customers comments on products such as not enough power, poor fuel con-

sumption, abnormal noise, loud noise, etc. as well as information on products of other

competing companies.

To describe Customer's complaint, fact-finding and check result by the dealer and possiblecause by separating them clearly.

To issue FTIR (Field Technical Information Report soon after the information is obtained

(within 3 days).

To study possibility to have the subjected part sent back, if it is collectable (If the urgency

degree (swiftness in category) is A, all parts must be collected.)



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2 Collecting information on laws, regulations, etc.

Besides the FTIR (Field Technical Information Report), it is necessary to collect information on regula-

tions related to importing and selling products including Gas -Emission-norm and Ambient Noise con-

trol, etc. as well as those related to use and service of the products including lead-free gasoline and

recall system requirement, etc. and to make report on them as soon as they are enacted.

Exhaust gas regulation

Noise regulation

Lead-free gasoline requirement

Safety against collision requirement

Size of license plate

Label attaching requirement (requirement to translate labels and manuals into local languages,

etc.)

Other than legal information, following information should be obtained when marketing the products

suited to the specific market.

Landscape, population (area, geographical feature, population of major cities, population dis-

tribution, latitude, altitude)

Holidays, major events, climate (rainy season, dry season, snow-fall, freezing, temperature,

humidity), unique customs/habit

Use of snow-melting agent, flood when rain continues

Typical driving condition, driving habit typical of the area

Working hours (total working hours, start time, recess, end time)

Publicity of SUZUKI and other companies and its reasons

Popularity of vehicles, population composition in units in operation

Information on other companies (service activities, new models, new mechanisms, etc.) Road (road network inside and outside of city, high-way network, paved condition, road sur-

face condition, speed limit, typical constant speed)

Actual/general use conditions (purpose of use, place, load condition, number of people

on-vehicle, whether towed or not, use of chains)

Popularity of motor sports and participation use of SUZUKI products

Fuel, oil and grease (lead in fuel, mixed alcohol, octane value, bio-fuel, oil and grease avail-

able, prices, general fuel, oil, grease)

Frequency bandwidth of wireless machine, intensity of electric field on roads

Availability of consumables such as tires, batteries and its marketability

Limit of vehicle age (life span of vehicle) and mileage to accept an warranty application and to

issue a recall notification, general service life before scrapping

General service life before scrapping (years elapsed and mileage), monthly average mileage

and average speed Harsh, special use conditions such as by courier service (commercial usage)

Information is useful not only to improve the quality of currently marketed products or reduce number of

claims but also for the future business of SUZUKI such as to develop future products and improve their

quality.



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(5) Organization structure of distributor

Service activities range over various fields. In order to perform service activities efficiently and effec-

tively, a person in charge of each field should be appointed and he who should take responsibility in

performing activities. The number of persons to be engaged in each field varies depending on the num-

ber of subject vehicles and the area to be covered. The functions for proper operation of the service

organization are as follows.

Service manager

Assistant servicemanager

(as necessary)



(as necessary)

Dealer network (planning, service,development) and CS/CR

District management(area, zone, region)

Technical, Quality

Training

Reference literature, materials

Warranty

Customer Relations

Legal and other information

Workshop

Pre-delivery inspection



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Title Details of activities

Service manager To establish service policy and have it thoroughly known

To make long-term and short-time plans of service activities and achieve

them

To budget investment to service activities, service literature and materi-

als and manage use of the budget

To check implementation of service activities and plans

To investigate and grasp laws and regulations regarding service activi-

ties

To communicate with SUZUKI head office, KD factories and other dis-

tributors

To plan education program

To liaison with public organizations and mediasDealer network (planning, ser-

vice, development) and CS/CR

To plan expansion of service bases and realize the plan

To authorize dealers and discontinue authorization

To coach dealers for proper operation (manual, system, education)

To plan and conduct CSI promotion activity

To collect information through questionnaire

To provide motivation and education for customer control activities

To manage service activity information of dealers

District management (area,

zone, region)

To grasp (and analyze) current status of dealers

To plan for more complete service network and realize it

To visit dealers Advice to improve service system,

coaching of service skills,

checking of claim repair parts

To implement warranty audit

Technical, Quality To deliver information using FTIR and control its issuing

To conduct and manage service campaign

To respond to technical hot line

To analyze claims

Training To plan and conduct service skills education program

To prepare reference literature and materials for technical education

To manage education program for service personnel

To conduct the skill competition

To respond to technical hot line

Reference literature, materials To issue service bulletins and service news

To procure service literature and materials (manuals, special tools, etc.)

and introduce them to dealers

To prepare documents for Customers (warranty document, etc.)

Warranty To handle warranty application from dealers

To reimburse for warranty from SUZUKI

To check claim applications for appropriateness

To plan the guide program for dealers to make application properly

To implement warranty audit

Customer Relations To respond to inquiry from Customers

To keep information from Customers

To plan CS promotion policy

To monitor/follow up customer satisfaction level



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Legal and other information To collect and manage information regarding to laws and regulations

(when newly provided and modified)

To collect information on vehicle use conditions, climate conditions, road

conditions, etc.

Workshop To service and prepare vehicles when taking pictures for catalog, etc.

and when lending them to magazines, etc.

To repair vehicles at dealers and support them with failure insolvable

vehicles

To support sales/promotional events held by distributors

To keep facilities maintained

Pre-delivery inspection To control quality of vehicles at PDI center and report failures

To install accessories

Title Details of activities



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Appendix 1: Flow of Market Quality Information ProcessingQuality Assurance Responsibility Structure

Senior General Manager of QualityAssurance Division

Quality Assurance

Quality assurance

Instruction

Technical support Instruction Information

Report

Product assessment

SIS GCA

QIA

Quality assurance

system

Design Division

Decision of design

specifications

Confirmation of part

functions

Confirmation of supply

sources

Purchasing Division

Selection of supply sources

Instructions on quality to

supply sources

Production Division

Production engineering

Production preparation

Manufacturing

Upkeep of mass-production

quality

Inspection

Quality assessment,

improvement

ServiceQuality information

in market

Collect / Develop

KD Factories

Plant

Production preparation

Upkeep of mass-

production quality

Inspection

Quality assessment

Quality improvement



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System of Quality Assurance

Top management/COMITEE

Engineering & Designdivision

Quality Assurancedivision

Productiondivision

Servicedivision

Salesdivision

Market/Field

Sales

Cla

imhandling

Education

Product-Planning

Prototypeproduction

MassProduction

Strategy

Instructed

Development Strategy

Approval

Model Examination

Prototype production

Project Protocol

Dicision to bebe produced

Stage transitionApproval

Pre-production/ Mass production prototype

Partsinspection

Mass productiontransition Approval

Mass Productionstart Approval

Product InspectionStandard

VehicleHomologation

Mass production

SSTParts catalogue

Service Manual

Defect Investigation

Report

Abnormal Quality

handling

Vendor Audit &Guidance

Buy-offApproval

ProductionDispatching Appraval

Mass Production

Status Report

VehicleSales

Productcatalogue

FTIRcollection

Safety andPollution

countermeasurecommittee

Engineeringchange

Production Process ImprovementDicision to gofor Recall

Recall ManagementRecall campaignImplementation

Emergencycase

Dealer/custome

Informationprovided

(SOS)

(POP, Start Of

Production)

(Customer complaint handling)

Servicestaff

ProductPrecisional

control

How to read theDrawing, How to

measure

Stating appropriateaccuracy in the

Drawing

Quality review before

actual Development started

Education Education

Vendor

training/coaching

Claim Countermeasure Meeting

FTIR handling

Distributor



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SUZUKI MOTOR CORPORATION 2007, Edition: September, 2007

300 TAKATSUKA, MINAMI, HAMAMATSU, JAPAN

Printed in japan

Documents

Service Activities for Distributors