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Your dealer network is the face of your brand. If it is truly professional, it helps to support your brand and drive your business. Dealer Network Integrity Audits ensure that your dealer and after-sales service network is working in accordance with your standards and that they provide the quality of service which your customers expect.
We work with independent auditors and provide complete audit services which cover all aspects of the automotive dealer business from back-office planning and coordination, showroom presentation, pricing and professionalism in dealing with customers through to after-sales service and support. Our audits give you a highly efficient tool to review the current level of compliance of your network with your standards so that you can concentrate on maintaining and improving overall quality. These audits can be combined with ISO 9000 audits and be supplemented by follow-up visits, if needed. They can be incorporated into global reports which provide both individual assessments as well as an overall picture:
What Are Dealer Network Integrity Audits
The new Dealer Network Integrity Audits are conducted in accordance with European Commission Regulation 1400/2002 to ensure that your dealers (who have been authorized by you either for selective or exclusive car sales) and their after-sales service comply with your company standards.
We can also conduct audits of independent auto repair shops, if they are authorized members of your after-sales service network. Bottom line, you determine which criteria and standards your network should comply with, and we help to ensure that they do so.
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Your Right to Control Your Dealer Network
The SGS Dealer Network Integrity Audit is based upon the Group Exemption Agreement of 1985 which allows European car manufacturers to exclusively control their car dealer network systems. This statutory regulation was intended to prevent ruinous competition between car dealers and to ensure that Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) could control the prices of their products and avoid unacceptable discounts. Thanks to harmonized prices and quality standards, both car manufacturers and dealers benefit from the group exemption.
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How Dealer Network Integrity Audits Work
SGS auditors monitor and control the compliance of your authorized dealers and their services through regular objective audits. To do so, the auditors visit dealers selected by you and assess them on the basis of the criteria agreed by you and the OEM as well vs. industrial quality standards. Each criterion is assessed with a simple “complies” or “does not comply.” The Dealer Network Integrity Audits are focused on assessing strict compliance with your requirements, noncompliance in any area results in a “failed” audit.
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Dealer Network Integrity Audits Can Be Used for the Following Purposes:
- New Application Audits – checks the basic requirements of the standard such as size of the roofed over and unroofed surfaces in square meters or the number of employees. They provide you with an overview of your dealer and after-sales service network.
- Surveillance Audits – focus mainly on maintaining compliance with your requirements, the update status of resources and the code of conduct for both sales and after-sales service activities.
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Assessing Your Dealers
SGS auditors check, for example, the following areas at your authorized dealers*:
- Corporate Identity Standards (Flags, Colors, Floors)
- Cleanliness
- Showrooms
- Test Drives/Demonstrations
- Sales Personnel (number, conduct, identification badge, courtesy)
- IT Equipment/Computer Systems
- Financing Options
- Delivery Area
- Used Cars
- Brochures
- Car Offers and Customer Acceptance
*This list is incomplete and can be supplemented with other specific points.
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Assessing Your After-Sales Service
SGS auditors check, for example, the following areas at your after-sales service*:
- Corporate Identity
- Size
- Repair Shop Management, Customer Care and Technical Personnel
- Customer Waiting Rooms, Reception Areas and Repair Shop
- Parking Spaces Before/After Repairs
- Spare Part Sales Desk, Spare and Replacement Parts Storage
- Body Shop
- Training Rooms
- Special Training for Warranty Repairs
- Diagnostic Software
- Repair Shop Equipment and Technical Documentation
* This list is incomplete and can be supplemented with other specific points.
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Making the Most of Dealer Network Integrity Audits
The SGS auditors who check the integrity of your dealer network are efficient and very knowledgeable. They understand both the automotive dealer business as well as the specific OEM requirements including dealer management programs, repair tools and instruments including diagnostic testing methods for electronic devices. As OEMs frequently revise their quality standards, an important part of our job is to keep everyone up-to-date and informed about new changes so that your dealer network can work according to the latest standards. Dealer Network Integrity Audits help you to develop a quality standard on which your dealers and after-sales service organization can focus their work. That way, you can effectively enhance the reputation of your company and the quality of your dealer network.
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Why SGS
At SGS, we know what the automobile industry is all about. In addition, we are ready to serve you immediately and that at a fraction of the cost to conduct an equivalent audit with your internal resources.
Our experience with and understanding of the complex and diverse needs of our customers is based on expertise we have developed in the auditing, certification, checking and verification of companies over the last 125 years.
Our global corporate brand is supported by our subsidiaries in 75 countries and by more than 80,000 audit certificates worldwide. SGS is the world’s leading certification body for a broad range of standards such as ISO 9001:2000, ISO/TS 16949, ISO 14001:2004, OHSAS 18001 and SA 8000.
Audits are a tool which helps you to improve the efficiency of your processes. Audit services are not just a measurement instrument but also a building block within your continuous improvement system. They identify past achievements, document progress which has been made to date and provide tangible motivation within your company to further improve and grow your business. The SGS auditing concept is transparent and logical. That’s why we’d like to become your partner to help you further improve your processes and meet your business objectives.
The diverse industrial and technical experience of our global team of highly qualified auditors ensures that our audits are conducted in a focused and highly professional manner and assist you in achieving your business targets. Our auditors have been thoroughly trained in the “SGS methodology” - they listen closely to our customers, are objective and strictly comply with ethical principles. The consistency of our global auditing concept ensures that our auditors also determine, in a consistent way, which Corrective Action Requirements (CAR) must be addressed.
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