Diamond International, a major Navistar truck dealer based in Memphis has completed the final phase of a $6-million facilities expansion that includes a completely re-tooled service department.
To support business growth and service innovations, Dick Sweebe, president & CEO of the Diamond companies, Diamond International’s parent , said the dealership purchased the adjacent five-acre property last February and began extensive renovations on the site’s two buildings in April. With the additional property, Diamond doubled its size at the corner of Brooks and Millbranch Roads.
Sweebe said his also staff studied how technicians worked on trucks so they could create a more efficient work environment. “We’re adopting a continuous improvement methodology called ‘LEAN’ to make sure we always provide a higher standard of value in our service department,” he noted; forming teams of dealership service technicians and support personnel to identify changes to processes and routines t that could save time and increase quality.
“We were very impressed with the teams’ work and approved a number of recommendations immediately,” Sweebe pointed out. “The suggested improvements were common sense and they helped us re-invent how we perform service and repairs for our customers. I’m pleased to say, we have developed new methods to serve customers more accurately and more quickly.”
Part of this upgrade includes offering Navistar’s new “Accelerated Service” process, which provides quick diagnostics and reduced repair times on common services, all within two hours of a vehicle’s arrival at the dealership. “It’s about putting customers back on the road in their fully repaired vehicle much faster than the competition—and that’s my definition of a higher standard of value,” Sweebe said.
