EQUIP'AUTO 2007

QUALITY FOR THE CUSTOMER AND THE NETWORK

• Following the launch of Renault Commitment 2009 in February 2006, Renault began rolling out a worldwide plan to improve the quality of customer service. The aim is to position New Laguna among the top 3 in its category for product and service quality.
• Renault has reviewed all aspects of customer care in its distribution network – from reception to vehicle repairs – to ensure quality of service. By applying the Renault Production Way to marketing, it has optimized sales and after-sales processes. At the same time, training has been increased to set the highest standards of service.
• Other factors that contribute to ensuring quality of service and customer satisfaction worldwide are the express repair networks Renault Minute and Renault Minute Carrosserie, the quality of Renault genuine spare parts, and consistent excellence in logistics.

Launched in February 2006, phase one of the Renault Excellence Plan for service includes twenty essential points for customer satisfaction, a training plan for the network and financial incentives linked to quality of service. More than one million customers around the world were interviewed after delivery of their vehicle and after taking their car in to the after-sales workshop. At the same time, Renault stepped up its" "Mystery Customer" surveys to test effective application of the twenty essential service points in the field. In France, 2,500 mystery customer surveys were conducted in 2006. In European surveys, the number of customers who said without prompting that they were "fully satisfied" rose 5% to 77% in July 2007. On April 13, Carlos Ghosn presented the first Renault Global Quality Awards to the best dealers in thirty countries around the world.
The classification was based on satisfaction criteria relating to sales (New Vehicle Quality) and after-sales (After-Sales Service Quality). In the case of the best dealers, more than 90% of customers said that they were "fully satisfied" with the service provided.
Phase two of the Renault Excellence Plan aims to improve the processes and methods used by the network to ensure customer satisfaction in sales and after-sales. For example, Renault is rolling out new tools to ensure quality in repairs. These tools will be made available across the network from mid-October 2007 to coincide with the launch of New Laguna. They were developed in synergy with the design of future vehicles.

New tools for reception, diagnostics and repair

At the reception desk, Workshop Service Reception helps service advisors make appointments and deal effectively with incoming customers. With this new IT tool, staff can display the customer's name and address, complete the work order more easily and plan the workload of the workshop as soon as appointments are made. The Symptoms Targeting Module is also used by service advisors in reception. By asking the customer a few simple questions, staff can establish the main details of the incident in less than a minute. This information is then saved and sent to the workshop. This means that no information is lost between what the customer says and what the service advisor hears.
In the workshop, the technician analyses the symptoms listed. The Clip diagnostic tool guides him through each stage of the vehicle repair process. A new more intuitive guided diagnostic lets him access all the information on the vehicle's symptoms. He can then identify the exact cause of failure and establish what needs to be done. The objective is to diagnose 80% of failures in less than an hour and 95% in less than two hours. Video Assistance, a mini camera connected to Clip, lets the technician view faulty parts remotely or without dismounting them. If the incident is too complex for the technician to deal with alone, he can establish a direct video link with Renault technical assistance. The technical assistance team can then view the parts by video while also talking to the repairer, all with a single tool.
When the technician has established a diagnostic, he can start work on the car. With the new version of the documentation tool Dialogys, the technical advisor, electromechanical technician or mechanic can use the vehicle VIN to directly access the repair methods and repair times, as well as spare parts and documentation.

Application of the Renault Production Way to marketing

To optimize and standardize sales and after-sales processes across the distribution network, Renault applies methods that have been tried and tested in production. It started rolling out these new processes across the network this year.
. To ensure that new vehicles meet the highest standards of quality, Renault has improved pre-delivery inspection and handover processes. A fact sheet entitled Quality of delivery, describes all the stages in the process from order to delivery. The idea is to provide everybody at the sales outlet with a full description of what they need to do. For example, a list describes the visual defects (e.g. stains, spots, scratches) that may be present when the vehicle arrives at the sales outlet, before delivery. For the predelivery inspection, another list sets out all the operations to be carried out by the technician prior to delivery: settings, fluid levels, state of the cabin, etc. Also, every customer receives a delivery sheet – a new document – on delivery of his/her vehicle.
This sheet lets the customer check that his/her vehicle complies with the order and that its operation has been correctly explained.
. As part of the Renault Excellence Plan for service, sales people are required to systematically suggest a test drive. Here again, new processes have been put in place.
Each sales outlet now has a test drive fleet manager who is responsible for managing the vehicles and making sure that they are ready for use.
. The working practices of mechanics have also been reviewed in servicing activities.
The aim is to minimize unnecessary movement by mechanics, to increase quality of service for the customer, and to boost productivity for the sales outlet (optimized servicing workstation). All the tools and documentation required by the mechanic are now on the workstation. This reduces the distance of movement by one-third while cutting the working time required by 25%. This process was inspired by the ergonomic improvements made to assembly workstations at industrial sites. The order of operation followed by vehicle mechanics has also been reviewed. The aim is to rationalize servicing in order to cover operations more effectively and standardize the way the work is carried out.
The pioneering environmental approach of Renault's industrial sites is also applied by the distribution network, which processes ELVs (end-of-life vehicles) and ELPs (end-of-life products). In France, the network collects 25,000 ELVs every year. In Europe, no fewer than one million batteries, 600,000 polypropylene bumpers and 100,000 catalytic converters leave the workshops of Renault's distribution network every year. Renault uses a wide range of treatment options. It works with recyclers to convert waste into raw materials and with parts manufacturers to turn them into new parts.

Intensified training for flawless service

Between 2006 and 2007, almost 23,000 people, of whom almost half were sales advisors, followed the behavioral training program on the spirit of service at Renault.
This program was developed by Renault Academy, the sole entity designing training courses for the Renault network. At the same time, as part of the launch of New Laguna, a technical and commercial training plan was set up in 2006 for the upskilling of all technical advisors. To allow technical advisors to concentrate on more unusual or more complex failures, Renault has created the function of electromechanical technician. A full 11,000 electromechanical technicians have been trained to date, multiplying the number of Clip users by 3.5. This plan is backed up by new training for service advisors, to help them acquire detailed knowledge of the products and the new reception tools.

Express repair networks, high-quality genuine spares and seamless customerfocused logistics

The Renault Minute and Renault Minute Carrosserie networks were developed by Renault to satisfy two key customer requirements: speed and local presence. Set up more than 20 years ago, Renault Minute is an express repair network for routine servicing operations.
Present in 22 countries, it had 1,063 sites in 2006. A further 92 centers are set to open between now and the end of 2007 (see appendices). Like Renault Minute, Renault Minute Carrosserie (RMC) focuses on customer satisfaction and quality of service. It was set up in 2001 in response to a new trend, where minor urban bumps and scrapes make up the bulk of repairs (70%). The number of RMCs has expanded rapidly from 176 in 2002, with the 600th Renault Minute Carrosserie center opening its doors in Turkey in October last year. RMC covers 19 countries and had a total of 675 sites in 2006. In 2007, 84 new sites will be opened and Argentina will get its first RMC (see appendices).
Renault genuine spares play an essential role in ensuring customer satisfaction in vehicle servicing and repairs. These parts should be used for all Renault vehicles up to ten years and more after they are taken off the market. Above all, genuine spares maintain the vehicle's original value in terms of safety, quality, design, technology, environment and driving pleasure.
With spare parts availability running at a worldclass rate of over 97%, a global network of 30 warehouses, 250,000 order lines shipped daily worldwide and 170,000 item numbers managed, Renault's spare parts logistics underpins the Group's commercial development, particularly in international markets. It also plays a role in Renault Commitment 2009 by contributing to customer service in terms of quality, costs and deadlines (see appendices).

sursa: renault.com