In any dealership, the relationship with its manufacturers can be tumultuous. According to Robb Vanderloop, co-owner and CFO of Vanderloop Equipment (VE), the biggest challenge the 3-store dealership faces in terms of relationships with manufacturers is keeping all the manufacturers happy.

They all have market share goals, and it can be a bit of a challenge at times to get them that market share and survive as a dealership, he says. Because of this, used equipment is always going to be a challenge due to the fluctuating resale values and the resale ability.

Robb believes autonomous machinery is going to change the used equipment market. With autonomous machines, farmers will be running smaller equipment since they will be able to run to smaller pieces of equipment for the same cost as one large piece of equipment. He has hopes that these smaller pieces of equipment will retain better resale value than their huge counterparts.

When asked whether he believes manufacturers are getting easier or harder to work with, Robb says it depends on the department. Overall, he says, the demands on the dealer network are greater than ever in the past. The manufacturer’s dealer development departments want certain things to happen, and companies like VE are tasked with making it happen while still being competitive and profitable. Robb says that the solution is not necessarily to offer the top-of-the-line machine, but rather to offer the machine that offers the most value per ton or acre.

As far as manufacturer relations goes, Robb says every day is different. Manufacturers are often on one page, while customers are on another, and dealers are stuck in the middle.

“I think it's easier for the manufacturer to say no, but then we have to go to the customer and say, no,” he says. “It's hard for us to say no to that customer because some of it's justified, some of it's not. I think the warranties and things like that are really only as good as the dealership or the person trying to fight to get that for the customer.”

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