Using the Cat Dealer Advisor

Cat Dealer Advisor –

House of Standard Work
 Cat Dealer Advisor
• Resource to support dealer process improvements
• Establishes consistent measurements and operating
procedures
• Baseline materials to be adapted locally
• Content formats are designed to be consistent throughout and
simple to use by both Cat reps and dealer managers
• On-going content updates
• Available online through CWS logon at
https://dealer.cat.com/advisor and the regional dealer extranets
 What does it mean to Dealers and to Cat?
• For DEALERS this means:
– Leaner, more cost-effective operations
– Improved profitability and faster growth
– More timely and effective support from Caterpillar
– Stronger cooperation among dealers
– Share great ideas from dealers across the globe
– Based on CPS principles – chasing waste, standard work, etc.
– The information is from the dealers and Cat provides Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) as facilitators to
develop the content.
• For CATERPILLAR this means:
– Better, targeted dealer support with fewer resources
– A compelling delivery method to bring CPS and core processes to dealers
– Dealer profitability improvement that drives product and parts sales growth
– A stronger partnership with dealers
 Advisor Main Page
• 20 Business Areas
 Advisor Business Areas
• Each business area contains 4 Sections
– Referred to as the 4 Ps
• Performance - What is my performance?
• Processes - Am I following a lean approach?
• Practice - Are there proven ways to optimize?
• People - Can I help my people execute?
• Sequential relationship: look at performance, review related
processes, evaluate proven practices, develop people
– Consistent format of documents under each business area
Performance, Process, Practices, People
Consistent Documents in each Business Area
Performance Process - Checklist

Process
Practice

People
 Performance
• Metrics – Key performance indicators for Business Area
• Common Format
– Metric Name
– Purpose
– Calculation
– Target
 Performance – How to Use Them
• Review the purpose and calculation of each KPI and SPI
• Collect the information required for each calculation
– Work with Accounting and IT to see what data is available
– If not currently available, make request
• Collect enough data to establish current performance/trends
– Baseline your performance
– Validate the KPI targets for your market
– Adjust targets for your market
– Find the gap between your performance and the adjusted targets
• Evaluate the impact of Closing Gaps
– Quantify opportunities with Six Sigma tools, Operational Review, etc.
– Go on to the Processes section for the Business Area to pinpoint which operational
improvements will have the biggest impact
 Performance – Value of reviewing KPI’s
• Allows you to quantify the problem
• Know what it is worth to your dealership to solve it
– Helps you know you’re working on the most important
things
– Helps you get the resources you need
• Able to show impact after you make changes to your
operations
• What gets measured, gets managed and sustained
 Processes
• Process defines the basics of who does what and when
– Job roles are not the same as the job titles
• Most of the time a lean, consistently executed, process will solve your
problem
• One process per page
– Each process indicates related job roles
– Linked to related processes
– Links to associated checklists by job role
• One process for the world, to be adapted locally
Processes - Examples
 Processes – How to Use Them
• Print out the process – it will fit on one page
• Compare your current process to the page
• Mark it up, make notes, ask yourself questions
– Steps you don’t perform
• Does leaving the step out contribute to problems in later steps?
– Steps that are performed by different roles/positions
• Does this cause more handoffs to occur between people/teams
– Steps you perform that aren’t listed
• Does the step really add value or can it be eliminated?
– Opportunities you see for further reducing handoffs between roles
• Go on to review the individual checklists
– Checklists exist for every gray process box
 Process Checklists
• Each process has an associated set of checklists that provide
more detail
– When available, the process step box will be shaded gray
– Checklists are available by role
– Each role’s checklist contains all of the steps for that role
for the process
– Checklists identify additional detail within the process
– Checklists offer links to additional resources to assist with
process steps
Process Checklist - Example
 Process Checklists – How to Use Them
• Review your process steps
– Print out the checklists for each role and give the checklist and the related
process to the person who performs that role
– Have them mark it up, make notes, ask questions
• Look for differences versus your operation and ask “”Why?”
• Review checklist reference documents
• Stabilize first – make sure everyone is using the same process
• Look for quick wins
• Use Six Sigma tools to identify and quantify bigger opportunities for improvement
• Talk to your Caterpillar rep to get more details or to find out what other dealers are
doing in other parts of the district/region/country/world
• Use effective change management
 Practices
• Once processes are lean and consistent steps can be fine-tuned with a Practice
• Practices
– Based on dealer results
– Focus on why, what, & how
• Common information provided
– Introduction and Executive Summary
– Dealer Practice Description
– Implementation Steps
• Includes some excel based tools to help to organize your work or facilitate decision
making
– Benefits/Measures
– Resources Required
– Supporting Attachments
– Related Dealer Practices
– Acknowledgement
 Difference between Process and Practice
• A practice always relates to a specific process
• A practice is a not used by all dealers before it evolves into a process, it is less
known when compared with a processes
• Practices evolve through continuous improvement of processes
• Practices set a higher standard and optimize the performance of existing processes
• Dealers should only implement practices after they are able to execute related
processes effectively and consistently
• Some proven practices evolve into part of standard processes
• Practices do not necessary apply in every dealership since different
markets/operations are in different stages of development
– Review the practice to determine if it is applicable to the market
– A practice is recommended and optional depending on market
Practices - Example
 Practices – How to Use Them
• See the benefits for your dealership before reading/investigating the
practice further
• Start with the implementation steps
– Section 3.0 of each document
– Get the feel for extent of required change
• Use the information and tools provided to evaluate the practice within the
dealer processes
• Talk to your Caterpillar rep to get more details or to find out what other
dealers are doing in other parts of the district/region/country/world
• Use effective change management
 People
• Training through Dealer Learning Management System
(DLMS)
• Shift from soft skills to proven processes and practices
• The foundation for training certification by dealer role
 People – How to Use Them
• Review process job roles
• Review training plans for each job roles
• Add training to training plans for people
• Train personnel on using DLMS
 Summary
• This is your content
– Content published is based on what you need
– The content comes from your fellow dealers
– Your feedback is critical for continuous improvement
– Only interested in making you more successful in your
business
• Use the “Feedback/Content Inquiry” form on the Advisor pages,
or the “Contact Us” form on the website to offer feedback.
 Questions
• For more assistance on using the Advisor
– Contact your Operations Rep
– Contact Theresa Nelson Nelson_Theresa_L@cat.com)
or Toni Sandoval (Sandoval_Tonyette_S@cat.com)