President's Update

This month saw an “almost record” attendance at the Calgary Stampede, crazy hot temperatures and, at time, rain like it was time to start thinking about building a raft.  You have to love summers in the west!  Its been another bust month here at the MDA Office, with events in Calgary and the early process of engaging the new government and learning about their intended mandate.

A huge congratulations to Jim Gillespie and the organizing committee on the success of their CMDCF Charity Golf Tournament.  The weather was outstanding (except for that early lightning warning that only a few of us knew about), the attendance was the strongest ever and the funds collected were the best since the event’s inception. 

Our CADA Executive Committee was in town to honor Perry Itzcovitch for his contributions to CADA during his tenure on the Executive Committee.  We took the opportunity to have the group join us at the golf tournament as well as the Chuckwagons that evening so that they could truly be dipped in the Alberta culture.

I wound up that week by attending the Grand Opening of the new Metro Ford in Taza Park on the west side of Calgary.  Congratulations to Reg Pattemore and the team for a beautiful new building and the first dealership on the Tsuut'ina Nation.  The future for this space looks bright!

The government is slowly settling into their new roles, and we are learning about how the Premiere wants to drive the province in the coming years.  We are closely monitoring the mandate letters to ensure we are comfortable with the direction and identifying any opportunities for alignment that we can work on in the coming months.

Finally, it appears that we are on the cusp of a series of AMVIC Administrative Penalties, which is unfortunate.  We are communicating with AMVIC and Service Alberta to ensure the process is fair and all dealers get the opportunity to weigh in where appropriate.  If anyone would like support from the MDA Office on these reviews, you are welcome to call me at your convenience.  In the coming months, we will also provide some additional background and direction on key learnings from these reviews.  Stay tuned.

Summer is already half over – hope its been a good one!

Good selling.

Gerald.

ARMA:  Upcoming Adjustments to Environmental Fees

Lubricating Oil & Materials                           

Release Date: 06-30-2023

On behalf of the Alberta Recycling Management Authority (ARMA), we first want to thank you for your support and participation in Alberta’s growing recycling industry as we work together to divert millions of tonnes of material from our landfills. To continue developing and growing our recycling industry, we are informing suppliers of upcoming adjustments to the environmental fees and updates to the Used Oil Recycling Bylaw to become effective October 1, 2023.

When ARMA assumed responsibility for the Used Oil Program in October 2018 after the dissolution of the Alberta Used Oil Management Association (AUOMA), the program was facing significant financial sustainability challenges. Since then, ARMA has been working diligently with collection sites, recyclers, and Alberta Environment and Protected Areas (EPA) on solutions to the ongoing challenges of the Used Oil Program.

With input from key stakeholders (including registered processors), an environmental fee adjustment has been identified as an urgent need to support the sustainability of the collection, transportation, and processing network for the industry. These environmental fees have not been updated since 2011. The new fees, to take effect this fall, will align Alberta’s fees with those currently being charged by other jurisdictions across Canada. The adjustment will allow the program to provide increased support to the recycling activities of registered processors, municipal collection sites, and Indigenous communities.

We have informed the Minister of Environment and Protected Areas of our recommended changes. The upcoming environmental fee changes outlined in the Used Oil Recycling Bylaw are as follows:

Existing Eco Fee Rates until September 30, 2023

1. For lubricating oil, $0.05 per litre or per kilogram;
2. For lubricating oil containers, $0.05 per litre of container size;
3. For filters, $0.50 for a filter less than 203 mm in length and $1.00 for a filter 203 mm or more in length.

New Eco Fee Rates starting October 1, 2023

1. For lubricating oil, $0.06 per litre or per kilogram;
2. For lubricating oil containers, $0.12 per litre of container size for containers made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or metal materials and $0.20 per litre of container size for containers made of non-HDPE or non-metal materials;
3. For filters, $0.55 for a filter less than 203 mm in length and $1.25 for a filter 203 mm or more in length.

For questions about the above changes to environmental fees, please contact us at usedoil@albertarecycling.ca. Thank you again for your continued participation in Alberta’s recycling industry. We remain incredibly grateful to have stakeholders that are engaged and supportive of our work, ensuring a sustainable Alberta for generations to come.

CADA Economic Impact Study

Dealer survey open for submissions

This survey has been sent to CADA dealers in order to gather data on capital investments made by auto dealers across the country. CADA, alongside your provincial association, is building an economic impact study of the automobile dealership industry.

Thanks to this study, advocacy efforts at the provincial and federal level will be supported by updated and substantial data. This will allow us and your provincial representatives to highlight more effectively the crucial importance of your businesses to the Canadian economy.

This survey will allow us to gather the much-needed data on the investments made by dealerships across the nation. The data will remain anonymous and will be incorporated to a greater calculation and extrapolation.

Please contact our lead economist Charles if you have any questions at cbernard@cada.ca

Thank you very much, once again, for your collaboration.

Five ways the Canadian Digital Adoption Plan can help your dealership

Courtesy of MNP

The Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) can provide your dealership with up to $15,000 in grant funding to cover the cost of working with a digital advisor to investigate your options and create a digital transformation plan that will enable you to deliver top-of-the-line services to your customers.

CDAP funding can help your dealership increase online sales, stay connected with your customers, and manage your products and services. We’ve summarized five ways the Boost Your Business Technology grant can help you accelerate your dealership’s digital transformation journey and stay ahead of the curve in your competitive industry:

1.      Enhance the customer experience

Your dealership communicates with its customers all the time — but if you’re relying on spreadsheets and calendar reminders, you may be missing opportunities to engage with them as often as you could. Take advantage of tools to automate maintenance reminders, emails about new sales opportunities, and other communications to provide your customers with the best possible experience.

CDAP can provide the funding you need to elevate all aspects of the customer experience — from digital marketing and advertising systems to help you reach new customers, to digital retailing solutions to streamline the online sales process.

Additionally, customer relationship management (CRM) platforms can automate your client communications to remind them to bring in their vehicles for maintenance, suggest a time to renew their vehicle lease, or contact them about new opportunities at your dealership — ensuring that you always stay in touch and helping them to never miss an appointment.

2.     Manage your parts and services

Your dealership offers a wide variety of services and maintains a large inventory base to ensure you have the parts available to support your customers’ needs. However, it can be time-consuming and repetitive to keep track of every item in your inventory and schedule service reminders.

CDAP can provide the funding to automate these tasks and make your service and inventory management more effective. For example, you could purchase a service management suite to automate service scheduling check-ins and pick-ups with your customers.

Inventory management suites can help you track the items you currently have in your inventory and alert you when parts are running low. This ensures you will always have the parts you need in stock to support your customers.

3.     Make data-driven decisions

You need to make decisions to drive your dealership’s performance and stay competitive in today’s marketplace — but you need access to the right information before you begin. Industry-specific software such as a dealership management system (DMS) can help you get started by providing valuable insights into your business and operations.

Through CDAP, a digital advisor can help you identify the right platform for your dealership so you can better track your most popular products and services, measure your productivity, and monitor sales. These solutions can provide you with data to make informed decisions to increase sales, improve work processes, and support the success of your business.

4.    Increase sales

One of your goals as a business owner is to maximize your profits. CDAP will enable you to invest in a variety of digital solutions to help your dealership get customers into your store, track sales leads, predict the future needs of your customers, and boost your numbers.

For example, CDAP can enable your dealership to invest in marketing software to help identify, track, analyze, and nurture leads to achieve results.

5.     Manage your back office

Your back office is an essential part of your dealership — and your accounting department, HR department, and more all need to run efficiently to contribute to the overall success of your business.

CDAP funding can help you invest in the technology solutions you need to decrease the time your back office spends on repetitive tasks and increase productivity. Tools such as cloud-based accounting and bookkeeping can help your finance team generate and manage invoices, enter data, and track expenses.

Additionally, AI-powered workflow automation can help your HR department answer common questions from your employees — saving time and increasing productivity. Investing in the right technology can help the back office of your dealership run more efficiently.

How can MNP help?

MNP can help your dealership get started on its CDAP journey and guide you through every step of your path towards digital transformation. Our business advisors work with hundreds of dealerships across Canada and have the experience to keep you moving forward with tailored solutions to address existing challenges and take advantage of new opportunities.

We can help your dealership:

Assess your eligibility

Our qualified advisors will help you review the funding criteria for CDAP to help you determine whether your business qualifies, and which stream would be best for your dealership.

Support your grant application

An MNP advisor will help you complete your application to help maximize your funding and the likelihood of approval for your dealership.

Explore your business needs

We can help you review your operations, current technology, and business strategy to help identify where your dealership can benefit from digital transformation — and what solutions you should prioritize.

Review your solutions

A digital advisor will help you review digital solution options and approaches to determine the best fit for your unique business needs.

Develop a strategy and roadmap

MNP’s advisors will design and present a comprehensive digital strategy for your dealership with the steps, timelines, and resources to achieve your near- and long-term transformation objectives.

Accelerate your digital transformation

If you need support on your CDAP journey, contact a member of MNP’s Dealerships team. Our advisors can create a personalized approach to digital transformation for your dealership and help you get started on the path towards success.

Membership Update

Please join us in welcoming the following new members:

Associate Members

DecisioningIT

sMedia

Fixed Operations Essential Skills Program

Service & Parts Advisors, Managers & Support Staff

Help Protect Your Tire Business Against Liability

Courtesy of Federated Insurance

You always do your best to service customers’ vehicles and return them in safe working order, but issues can still occur. Whether the product is faulty or the work is done incorrectly, the consequences can result in in vehicle damage, bodily injury, or even death.

That’s why Federated Insurance has developed a risk management resource with tips that you can include in your risk management strategy to help protect your business and reduce potential liability. 

READ MORE

DealerPILOT Update