Strategy [<Greek Stratêgos, generalship>]

Proper Strategy development enables the Dealer to achieve business objectives at the least amount of cost. This crucial management process strengthens operational, commercial and financial results.

Strategy includes a complete plan of exactly how you would make the best use of your scarce and costly resources to achieve a goal. How should you position your “big guns” at “big cost” to get “big results”? Are you properly deploying Information Technology as a Competitive Weapon?

A viable Dealer business strategy must identify which markets, what products, which sales channels, what promotional-persuasion techniques, what dealer information system, what management skills and how much investment of your time and money are you willing to commit? 25 Profit Building Tools for Machinery Dealers, Achieving Excellence in Dealer/Distributor Performance and Strategies, Tactics, Operations for Achieving Dealer Excellence are extremely useful guides to help you evaluate these options.

Since 1975 we have completed scores of business consulting engagements for manufacturers, distributors, and their trade associations. Relevant projects include:

  • Market and channel analysis
  • Competitive assessments
  • Channel strategy development
  • End user equipment customer satisfaction studies
  • Customer equipment purchase experience studies
  • Customer machine performance follow-up studies.
  • Customer field work to identify opportunities for dealer service improvement.
  • Sales and management compensation studies
  • New product market and product support risks and potentials
  • Comprehensive dealer product line profitability analyses
  • Customized management problem-solving discussion workshops
  • Creation of dealer excellence performance models for manufacturers.
  • Creation of customized in-company, manufacturer and association sponsored management training and employee development programs

Client and Industry Experience

Our McDonald Group adult education and business consulting clients have included:

  • The Associated Equipment Dealers (AED)
  • ASTEC Underground
  • Bobcat
  • Bobcat Europe
  • Bobcat Far East
  • CASE
  • Caterpillar
  • Caterpillar Compact Equipment Division
  • Caterpillar Europe
  • Deere Construction Equipment
  • Ditch Witch
  • Ingersoll-Rand Construction Equipment
  • Jacobsen
  • JCB
  • Komatsu Construction Equipment
  • LBX Link Belt
  • Pettibone
  • Timberjack
  • Valmont Industries
  • Vermeer
  • Vermeer S.E. Asia
  • Vermeer Australia
  • The Material Handling Equipment Dealers Association (MHEDA)
  • Linde
  • Komatsu
  • Komatsu Forklifts USA
  • HYSTER
  • Hyster Big East
  • PON North America
  • NISSAN Forklift
  • Yale Materials Handling
  • Crown
  • Raymond
  • Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America
  • Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift Europe
  • Freightliner
  • Peterbilt Motors
  • Kenworth Truck
  • Volvo Truck
  • Mack Truck
  • Thermo King
  • Emergency One Fire Trucks
  • Pierce Fire Trucks
  • Ingersoll-Rand Tool Division
  • Trimble Instruments
  • Heil Trailer International
  • Elgin Sweeper/Vactor
  • Kohler Generators
  • Karcher Industrial Cleaning Equipment

We also work with numerous other independent industrial equipment Dealers in North America, Europe, Australia, Indonesia and the Far East. Walter is also a Special Projects Consultant to the Boston Consulting Group.