DEVELON

“Simply put, it was good! Dealers from across the region freely exchanged ideas. I feel like I’ve become a true Doosan man.” On April 15-16, the Doosan Infracore Sales Division invited 46 dealers from 22 countries in the Middle East and Africa to a Doosan Partnership Conference at the Atakoy Sheraton Hotel, in Istanbul, Turkey. It was the first dealer meeting since the Middle East and Africa regions were transferred to the Asia-Pacific/Emerging Market (AP/E) region.

Setting a goal and creating consensus
Continuing from the integrated dealer meeting on Jeju Island in June 2013, the Partnership Conference in Istanbul was held to reflect on the vision and strategy set for Doosan and its dealers, as well as to review performances after the transfer to the AP/E region. The conference provided an opportunity to set a single goal and create a consensus among dealers by sharing their commitment to exceeding the annual operating plan for 2014. The main themes of the conference were creating a retail-driven sales approach through a “sales funnel” and the construction of a systematic dealer support system. During the conference, each of Doosan’s organizational units presented measures to expand sales and nurture dealers, followed by the sharing of success stories by the dealers of the Sales, Articulated Dump Truck (ADT), Product Management (PM), Marketing, Aftermarket (AM) and Product Support (PS) divisions. Business knowhow and partnership experiences with Doosan were shared by dealers from different fields, along with a variety of success cases, which received an enthusiastic response — in fact, dealers voted this session the most interesting and useful from the conference.

Dealers exchange ideas
In the morning of the second day, participants were divided into two groups — the Middle East and Africa — to have discussions on such topics as sales funnels and the enhancement of PS capability for retail expansion. During the session, dealers showed great interest in the sales process, and contributed a variety of ideas, including potentially linking to their own customer relations management program, ways to boost the supply rate of new models at the Parts Distribution Center in Dubai and requests for added collaboration to secure cost competitiveness. During the afternoon session, dealers and Doosan executives also had a discussion session to listen to and share the difficulties dealers had in doing business and freely exchange their opinions.

Award, cultural events, and other fun
During a gala dinner, awards were handed out to leading dealers. Outstanding Dealer Awards were given to Saudi Diesel Equipment (Saudi Arabia), My Wish Enterprise (Ethiopia) and Hydrau Mac (Morocco). In addition, Sanko (Turkey) was granted an Achievement Award and Bahrah Trading

Company (Kuwait) received a Sales Award. A Welcome Award was also given to HMD Forew in Ghana to welcome the dealer to the Doosan family. The dinner event also showcased traditional Turkish folk dance, providing everyone with a special cultural experience. “I’m grateful to Doosan for preparing such a wide range of events,” said one dealer. “It feels like we have gotten closer.”
The conference was followed on April 17 and 18 by the Doosan Partnership Business Review, assessing the main dealers from Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey. During the meeting, dealers discussed market status, measures to consolidate the strategic direction of Doosan and dealers, and ways to nurture and support dealers. Additionally, the financial results of 2013 and the business status of Q1 2014 were presented by dealers.