FAWHubeiLianheCo.LtdINTERVIEWDATE:March9th,2000INTERVIEWERNAME:AnneWangIntervieweeNameMs.DingLihuaPositionViceGeneralMangerCompanyandAddressFAWHubeiLianheNo.169WuchangMid-NorthRoadFuWuhan430077Telephone/Fax(027)87897070BackgroundKeyProcessesKeyIssuesConclusionsBackground.HubeiLianhestartscorporationwithFAWin1993.Currentsalesperformanceismiddle-rangeamongallFAWassociatedcompaniesHubeiLianhehassoldof600-700trucksperyearin1997and1998.Lastyear'ssalesvolumeisonlyaround200trucksduetothelimitationontheirsalesregions.Meanwhilearound20%aresoldaschassis.Thereare5-6salesmenworkingspecificallyfortrucks.Among80%oftheendusersareindividualtruckowners.Bigcorporatesalesareusuallyperformedinformofbidding,butthefinalpriceistoolowforHubeiLianhetoaccept.Theother20%ofsalesarechassistolocalrefitplants.HubeiLianhehasasmallpartsshop,whichonlysellsaround100,000RMBperyear.HubeiLianhedoesnothaveservicefunctionscurrently.Mr.Dingclaimedthattheywereplanningtobuildone,butnodetailscanbegivenatthisstage.KeyProcessesForcustomerinitiation,Mr.DingaskshissalesmentodrivetheFAWtruckstoruralareasforregularcustomervisiting.Allsalesmenarerequiredtorecorddowneverytelephoneinquiriesandphonebackthesecondtime.Lastyeararound100trucksaresoldinformsofinstalment.ThoseinstalmentscanonlybeappliedwithinWuhan.Mr.DingisdiscussingwithbanksfromYichang,Jinzhouetcseparately,forinstalmentinthoseplaces,asbanksherearehighlyfragmented.Everyhalfyear,thereisalectureforallsalesmentoinvolve.Majorcontentisaboutsellingskills.Thosetrainingprogramsarenotspecificallydesignedforthetrucksales.1KeyIssuesConcerningcustomer'ssatisfactorylevel,Mr.Dingtoldusthattheonly,biggestcomplainfromcustomeristheservicelevel.Attitudesofservicetechniciansisimpolite,andtheyareunwillingtoservicelessprofitableclients.Mr.DingwishesFAWtogivehimmoresupportinturnovertrucksandhelptobuildawarehouseinhissite.AccordingtoMr.Ding,mostcustomersprefertochoosetrucksfromalargewarehouseratherthansignthecontractwhenthereisonlyonesampletruck.CurrentlyHubeiLianheowesFAWaround12MillionRMB,whenaskedabouthowtoresolvethosefinancialproblems,Mr.Dingclaimsthatthey'llfindasolution,butnosolidplancanbereachedgiventheunsatisfactorymarketcondition.Mr.DingadmitsthatFAW'sbrandimageisenhancinginHubeiarea,withhigherqualityandreasonableprice.HeisconfidentinFAWtrucksifonlyFAWcanhavebetterservice/sparepartsstandardinHubeiregion.ConclusionsHubeiLianheisatypicalSOEtruckdealerwholacksenthusiasmtoFAWinHubeimarket.Itownsmorethan10MillionRMBtoFAW.HubeiLianheevendoestnotconsiderascheduletoreturnthedebtinshortterm.Mr.DingcomplainsaboutservicestandardofWuhan'sservicestationandblamesthemforhisundesirablesales.2