Only the manufacturer knows what's in stock, where it is, how it can be delivered to the consumer, what options are available, what combinations are possible and when the factory can produce it. A lot of what we're doing looks backward to the factory. If we integrate the supply chain better, we really can almost make cars on demand. The real time spent manufacturing a car, actually assembling a car, is a day. It has to be because of current business processes.
Customers compromise quite a bit.
They don't get exactly what they want from a dealership. If you made this part right, if you got the supply chain more responsive, customers would get what they wanted. And if you do it right, there's a possibility that you can actually lower, not increase, your costs by giving people what they want. Well, I spent 14 years at Federal Express, and that's a company that's not confused about quick response and high quality. If you don't, you won't.