Ben Sherwood´s Marine Business Blog

Dealer trading

Kudos to Scout Boats for their new Dealer Linked Inventory program! It lets dealers list their current boat inventory so other dealers can quickly locate a boat they need but don’t have in inventory. More manufacturers need to step up and develop similar programs simply because dealers are just not going to be able to stock as many boats as they did before the bottom fell out of the economy. …  [ READ MORE of this article and comment ]

Ed Lofgren

Contentious issues between marine dealers and manufacturers have existed for as long as I can remember. And I have been in this industry for many years. I do believe, however, that Now is the time! That’s right… now is the time, during this economic duress, for both dealers and manufacturers to forget about the contentious issues of the past, that so often negatively affected business relationships, and start working together for an industry renaissance. …  [ READ MORE of this article and comment ]

My May blog, “It’s a dealer’s market now, especially with 2010 dealer agreements,” generated several responses, mostly from dealers but a few from boat reps. I think it is also a “dealer’s market” when it comes to placing orders for 2010 boats. But it is equally important that we make sure the whole process is a “two-way street.” …  [ READ MORE of this article and comment ]