BMW NA to make a few changes in distribution
BMW North America plans to make some pretty important changes to the way they distribute cars throughout the country.
The focus stays on how new BMW vehicles are stored and shifted among dealer showrooms. In essence, the Bavarians are trying to centralize as much of the process as possible.
Benefits are obvious on both the dealer and the brand side but could pose a bit of an issue when confronted with typical American car buying habits.
Unlike Europe, BMW’s homestead, the Americans are used to buying off the lot. In other words, setting off from home to come back with a new car is going to be a little trickier.
Not that long ago BMW began recommending that customers drop this idea in favor of ordering a car that’s customized exactly to their desire but we’re not sure how well that synced in with the market.
We’re guessing some positive response resulted given the aggression of the new distribution plan.
BMW NA dealers will keep no more than three cars in their showrooms, thus maximizing customer care, profits and the idea of space while minimizing floorplan costs and “standing stocks”.
All other BMW vehicles will be stored at one of three major facilities held by the German company at key locations.
The system itself has already undergone tests with five dealers from San Diego with just 30% of their 3 Series stock being kept at a specific location.
With the results they achieved BMW NA decided to go national with the system and the F10 5 Series will be the first model to get in on the situation.
Source: WCF