MAY 2025AUTO BUSINESS OUTLOOK 9One of the primary causes of friction between the two FVL customers is time. The sales/marketing and manufacturing organizations operate on two completely different time horizons. The FVL department is challenged to make both customers happy, and it is not easy. For example, the FVL supply chain starts four to six months before a finished vehicle is available to the retail market. This extended time frame does not address the changes that occur in the markets over a month or, in some cases, in weeks and days relative to sales demand.Manufacturing is focused on consistency and long-term planning. They are not structured and do not have the flexibility to respond to the quick and varied changes in the market. This requires that the FVL team develop processes that provide flexibility to the sales/marketing customer to address changes in the market with minimal advance notice. However, these processes are still constrained by the long lead time required by the manufacturing customer. Changes that the FVL team incorporates are rarely recognized within the current manufacturing cycle due to the complexity of the FVL supply chain. As such, the sales/marketing customer often views these changes as unsuccessful. Thus, any FVL team within a sales and marketing company has the challenge of anticipating potential changes and addressing them within their very limited sphere of control. For example, holding finished vehicle inventory to address potential high-day supply of vehicles at dealers. The ability to teach/instruct the manufacturing and the sales/marketing executives is a critical skill set for the FVL department lead in organizations set up with two objectives (manufacturing and sales/marketing). The differences in the time frames involved are not natural to the executive's experience in either silo. However, understanding the challenges faced by both the manufacturing and sales/marketing sides of the process is necessary for the organization's success. It requires the FVL team to be able to embrace and understand both sides of the business and provide the necessary interface so that both silo's objectives are met for the entire enterprise. This teaching process is both critical to the executive's education and time-consuming. The weaker and less experienced the executive, the more challenging the teaching process. FVL is a complex but rewarding role in such an organizational setup that requires individuals to be both strategic and operational for success. At times, neither silo recognizes nor understands the challenges which occur each day to be successful in FVL. Manufacturing is focused on consistency and long-term planning. They are not structured and do not have the flexibility to respond to the quick and varied changes in the market
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