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Improving Efficiency & Costs in the Parts & Service Departments

By Kim Schmidt posted on July 15, 2017 | Posted in Best Practices, Operations & Finance, Department Management

As Ellens Equipment — Farm Equipment’s 2017 Dealership of the Year in the under $75 million in revenues category — has grown in recent years, it became clear changes in the service and parts departments were needed to help improve efficiency, reduce costs and ultimately improve the dealership’s absorption rate.


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Valley Truck & Tractor: Planning Service Operations for the Long Term

By Dave Kanicki posted on July 15, 2017 | Posted in Best Practices, Used Equipment Remarketing, Operations & Finance, Department Management
In 2016, Valley Truck & Tractor achieved a parts and service absorption rate of 106%. According to the Western Equipment Dealers Assn.’s (WEDA) 2016 Cost of Doing Business study, the farm equipment industry average absorption rate was 64%, with an industry benchmark target of 80%-plus.
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Dealership of the Year 2017: Ellens Equipment, McBain, Mich.

By Kim Schmidt posted on July 15, 2017 | Posted in Best Practices, Operations & Finance, Department Management
What do you get when the son of the local New Holland dealer marries the daughter of the local Case IH dealer? While this sounds like the start to a bad joke, it’s actually the foundation of the Ellens Equipment ownership team, a couple who knows a thing or two about running a successful dealership and who treats the business like another one of their children (including knowing when it’s time to let them spread their wings).
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[Podcast] Comp Programs to Move Used Equipment: Dealers ‘Trade’ Best Practices

In this podcast recording from Farm Equipment, 3 farm equipment dealers share their expertise for the levers that work best to get the behaviors that dealers want and need relative to used equipment inventories.
July 2, 2017 | Posted in Best Practices, Used Equipment Remarketing, Department Management
In this podcast recording from Farm Equipment, 3 farm equipment dealers share their expertise for the levers that work best to get the behaviors that dealers want and need relative to used equipment inventories.
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Wider World of Business

Are You Committing the 7 Deadly Sins of Decision Making?

June 29, 2017 | Posted in Best Practices, Department Management
Source: SmartBrief.com
How well your organization makes decisions directly impacts the quality of the people you are able to hire and retain. Regardless of company size or industry, my experience has been that decision-making sins can be grouped into 7 categories, each of which has a distinct set of symptoms that play out in the culture of the organization.
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Wider World of Business

7 Practical Ways to Reduce Bias in Your Hiring Process

June 16, 2017 | Posted in Best Practices, Department Management
Source: Rebecca Knight, Harvard Business Review
A vast body of research shows that the hiring process is biased and unfair. Unconscious racism, ageism and sexism play a big role in who we hire. But there are steps you can take to recognize and reduce these biases. So where should you start? And how can you help others on your team do the same?
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A&I Products

Since 1980, A&I Products has become a leading manufacturer and wholesale distributor of aftermarket replacement parts for the agricultural, turf, and industrial equipment markets. A&I Products' experience and expertise has greatly contributed to the company's reputation as a top supplier of quality, reasonably priced parts. Founded with roots as a small machine shop and repair facility, the company made the transition by manufacturing new parts to replace those that were identified as commonly needing repair. Throughout the 1980s, the company quickly garnered a reputation for offering quality parts at a reasonable price.

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Built on 90 years of expertise, Yetter Farm Equipment leads the agriculture industry in designing effective and innovative equipment for residue management, seedbed preparation, precision fertilizer placement, harvest attachments, strip-tillage, and more.
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At Machinery Scope, we believe you deserve the best risk management solutions for your investments in heavy equipment. Since 2013, we have been proud to offer extended warranty, appraisals, and inspections. Machinery Scope is a family-owned business built on our experience in farming and equipment dealerships. We understand your business and provide a personalized and professional level of customer service. Machinery Scope has built a strong warranty product with our customers in mind, offering the same professional level of service from the time you get a quote, through the processing of a claim.
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