DalianFAWDacaiAutomotiveTradingCo.,LtdINTERVIEWDATE:March6,2000INTERVIEWERNAME:BillHeIntervieweeNameMr.ShiDianjingPositionManagerCompanyandAddressDalian,LiaoningTelephone/Fax0411-6512596BackgroundDalianFAWDacaiAutomotiveTradingCo.,Ltd(Dacai)has12employees.2peopleareinfinanceandallothersareinsales.Halfofthesalesmenhavemorethanfiveyearsofrelatedsalesexperience.Currently,thereisnoperformancebasedincentiveplaninplace.Thecompanyplanstoadoptitinthenearfuture.AccordingtoFAWTradingCompany,DacaiistheonlyFAWdealerinDalian.Theysoldmorethan2,000JieFangtrucksin1998andabout1800in1999.ThesefiguresareforFAW’sheadquartersonly.IfincludingthenumbersfromFAW’sQingdaoFactory,Dacaisoldmorethan3000JieFangtrucksin1998and1999respectively.ThesalesrevenueofDacaiwasaboutRMB400millionin1999.Thereasonofthedecreasefrom1998’smorethan2000to1999’sabout1800wasFAWTradingCompanydecidedtoeliminate“debttrucks”in1999.“Debttruck”usedtobeabigheadache.Thedirtycheappricesof“debttrucks”disruptedthemarket.FAWstillowedalotofmoney(RMB500to600million)toDacai’sparentcompany.Dacai’sparentcompanyisawhollyownedsubsidiaryofFAW.TheparentcompanymanufacturespwertrainforFAW’sJieFangtrucks.ThepriceDacaigetsfromFAWisthesameasotherdealers.Thepriceitsellstoitscustomersisalsosimilartootherdealers.SinceitsparentcompanyisthepowertrainmanufacturerofFAW,Dacaioffersfreepowertrainpartstoitscustomers.Also,itdoesnotchargethelaborcostofthepowertainmaintenanceforthefirsteightmonthsofatruck.Dacaistronglysupports“Four-in-One”dearlership.Actually,itisa“Four-in-One”dealeritself,althoughtheserviceandpartssalesdepartmentandDacaiarefinanciallyindependentfromeachother.Dacaithinks“Four-in-One”dealerscanbuildgoodreputationamongcustomers.Andcustomerswillintroducethedealertotheirfriends.Theyagreedthat“Four-in-One”requestssignificantupfrontinvestment.Fortunately,Dacai’sparentcompanyalreadyhastheabilityforalongtime.Theyjustsimplychangedthenameofaoldservicedepartmentto“FAWNorthServiceStation”.Thebestselleristhemediumweighttruck,especiallythefive-tonseries.1Dacaialwayskeep50JieFangtrucksintisinventory.TheinventorybelongstoFAW.DacaisendsmoneytoFAWassoonasitgetsthemoneyfromthecustomers.However,ifitcannotsellaparticulartruckwithinthreemonths,ithastosendmoneytoFAWTradingCompanyanyway.KeyIssuesBecauseFAWisabigcompany,itisveryslowinrespondingtocustomerspecialrequirements.Onthecontrary,FAW’sQindaoFactory’sresponsetimeismuchshort.Insomecases,theQindaoFactorycanrespondinaweekwhileFAWtakesatleat22days.DacaiwantstohaveawarehouseinChangchun.TheycanselltrucksinDalianbuttheyhavetoallowsomecustomerstopickupthetrucksinChangchunsincealotofcitiesinLiaoningprovinceareinthemiddlebetweenChangchunandDalian.Itdoesn’tmakeeconomicsenseforFAWtosendtruckstoDalianandDacaithentodeliverittothosecustomers.Eventhoughitagreesnottoapproachcustomersfromotherprovinces,Dacaithinksitisverydifficulttosendanycustomersbackeveniftheyarefromotherprovincesandthereforebelongtootherdealer’sterritory.ConclusionDacaiistheonlyJieFangtruckdealerinDalian.Itisa“Four-in-One”dealeranditisaqualifieddealer.2