Mazda strives to provide comprehensive after-sales service to its customers both in Japan and overseas, from vehicle purchase to end-of-life disposal, so that they can enjoy the experience of driving their cars with peace of mind.
The Mazda Service Operations Reform Program was launched at dealerships in Japan in April 2010 and is now in effect at approximately 80% of dealerships.
This program aims to provide customers with satisfactory service through the following four approaches:
- Shortening of maintenance wait times
- Satisfactory explanations and advice from professional maintenance staff
- Hospitality provided by all dealership staff
- Optimal maintenance tailored to cars' usage status
Service is evaluated through in-store surveys of operations at dealerships and customer satisfaction questionnaires.
Dealerships provide customers with appropriate suggestions regarding replacement parts, accessories, services, and other automotive matters, in accordance with the period of vehicle ownership.
- (1) Dealerships provide maintenance (disposable parts replacement) suggestions based on each customer's data on disposable parts replacement history and driving tendencies (distance traveled, period of time).
- (2) Prior to mandatory vehicle inspections, customers are provided with information for the purpose of comparing the cost of replacing parts and continuing to drive the current vehicle with the cost of purchasing a new one, so as to assist them in envisioning and planning their future automotive lifestyles.
To ensure that customers lead safe and comfortable automotive lifestyles, Mazda dealerships maintain regular contact through telephone calls, visits, and one-to-one direct mail.*1
- Inquiries about the operating condition of vehicles
- Information on automotive health checkups (reliable contact regarding mandatory vehicle inspections, maintenance, MSC*2 )
- Requests for customers who purchase service-related products (Pack de Mente, Mazda Extended Protection Plan, etc.) to ensure they bring cars in for maintenance
- *1One-to-one direct mail: Direct mail offering suggestions tailored to customers' lifestyles and automotive use patterns.
- *2MSC: Mazda Safety Check. In addition to legally mandated annual inspections, these checks are performed every six months to ensure safer vehicle operation.
- High-quality maintenance using genuine Mazda parts
- Maintenance services, such as the "Pack de Mente," offering periodic inspections required for Mazda vehicles at affordable prices
- Information made available via the after-sales service information website (Japanese only)
- Establishment of a special hotline to link with dealerships so as to respond promptly to technical inquiries
- Mazda reflects quality information, gathered from its customers through after-sales service, in improvements in maintenance skills and development of vehicles
Developing Maintenance- and Repair-Friendly Vehicles
In developing vehicles, Mazda listens to feedback from throughout the global market and streamlines its maintenance and repair operations by designing components and mechanisms that require regular inspection or frequent replacement to be easy to access and service.
For the new Mazda Premacy (known overseas as Mazda5), launched in 2010, the time taken to change the headlight bulbs and shock absorbers was cut in half.
Supplying High-Quality Services
- Maintenance performed by nationally certified service staff
- Use of the latest diagnostic equipment, dedicated tools, and service manuals
(1) Developing Service Diagnostic Devices
Mazda has developed the Mazda Modular Diagnostic System (M-MDS), a proprietary service diagnostic device, and provides it to almost all Mazda dealerships in Japan and overseas. This system enables service staff to perform efficient diagnoses of primary electronic control systems. It is also compatible with the complex, sophisticated electronic control systems used in many of the Company's newer models.
(2) Distribution of Service Manuals
Since April 2005, Mazda has been distributing its service manuals in digital format as "Mazda Electronic Service Information" (MESI), so that the information needed for maintenance can be accessed quickly and accurately. Service manuals are currently provided in the following formats.
- Internet: Dealerships in Japan, North America, and Europe
- CD-ROM: Dealerships in other regions
Because the specifications and equipment, even if the model is the same, can differ depending on the year and grade, a vast and varied amount of information is required to carry out maintenance work. With this in mind, Mazda gather and analyzes requests from dealerships, and collects data on the access to service manuals on the Internet, and uses them to conduct periodic updates. In addition, starting in FY2010, materials for models equipped with SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY are being updated in cooperation with the development sector and dealerships.
Also, since April 2011, the Company has been working to expand the scope of regions to which manuals are distributed via the Internet to include Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.
(3) Distribution of Specialized Tools
In order to carry out swift and reliable service operations at dealerships in Japan and overseas, Mazda develops and supplies dedicated tools to dealerships.
In FY2009 in Japan and in FY2010 overseas, Mazda began providing dedicated tools used with high frequency to as many locations as possible, as well as their detailed explanations.
① Establishment of Parts Call Centers
Previously, the Mazda supply system entailed 25 parts sales companies throughout Japan receiving orders from dealerships, but as of FY2010, order-receiving operations have been consolidated at four parts call centers (in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka). Order-receiving operations have been streamlined, and the speed and accuracy of parts supply has been improved.
In conjunction with the establishment of parts call centers, Mazda has reorganized its logistical structure, synergistically improving parts supply efficiency to minimize customer wait times.
- (1) Fully operational on all dealership and supplier operating days
- (2) Streamlining of order-receiving by consolidating operations into parts call centers
- (3) Enhancement of sales service resulting from consolidated order-receiving operations at parts call centers
② Reorganization of Parts Supplier Logistics
Supply of parts to 29 parts warehouses and 16 dealerships throughout Japan has been consolidated into three main depots (parts warehouses) in Hiroshima, Nagoya and Chiba.
Thanks to this consolidation, wait times for parts have been reduced, and both service at dealerships and customer satisfaction have been improved. In addition, shipping of parts from Mazda has been made drastically more efficient.
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<Main Benefits of Consolidation>
- (1) Shortening of time spent waiting for parts to arrive
- (2) Dispatch of parts management support personnel to dealerships
- (3) Reduction of dealerships' shipping costs, etc.
③ Efforts to Improve Delivery
In order to facilitate a more resilient supply of parts with reliability that satisfies customers, Mazda is working with suppliers to boost production efficiency, strengthen the overall system, and resolve production and delivery issues. Thanks to these efforts, in FY2010 suppliers met deadlines at a rate of 96.2%.
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<Specific Efforts>
- (1) Sharing of targets and results for rate of meeting deadlines
- Goal: Elimination of changes to times of deliveries to customers
- Specific activities: Suppliers are informed of degree to which targets are met
- Each supplier shares results with staff on the front lines and works to resolve issues
- (2) Delivery improvement meetings are held once a month
- Activities are continued in partnership with suppliers until targets are met
- (3) Development and introduction of a status management system for deliveries of parts and accessories to customers
- Creation of an environment for joint activities with suppliers
- Online disclosure of rate of meeting deadlines (once per month):
Information on the rates with which deadlines were met was previously distributed to 120 major suppliers in printed form, but is currently posted online - Acceleration of the PDCA cycle for delivery improvements:
Rate calculations and detailed delivery data tracked on a day-to-day basis - Analysis data for delivery improvements distributed to all suppliers:
Previously, several companies were provided with data on an on-demand basis, but now data is provided to all companies every month
① Mazda All-Japan Service Skills Competitions
Since 1963, as an opportunity for staff to compete in various skill categories, the Company has hosted annual Mazda All-Japan Service Skills Competitions for dealership service staff in Japan, aimed at cultivating a high level of professionalism in customer service skills and maintenance engineering. In FY2010, competitions were held for Mazda and Mazda Autozam dealership staff, with 98 people in 39 teams competing. In addition, the Mazda Service Skills Youth Competition has been established for new staff (working at the Company for three years or less.)
Overview of 2010 All-Japan Service Skills Competitions
Dates: October 2010
Attendance: 20 teams, 60 members (from Mazda) 19 teams,
38 members (from Mazda Autozam)
Service advisers: Knowledge-based competition, response competition, damaged vehicle cost-estimate competition (Mazda only)
Service engineers: Knowledge-based competition, vehicle repair competition
2010 Mazda Service Skills Youth Competition
Dates: First preliminary round in May, second preliminary round in June, main competition in October
Number of participants: 999 in first preliminary round, 121 in second preliminary round, 18 in main competition
Events: Knowledge-based competition (preliminary), practical skill competition (main competition)
② Training for Service Staff in Japan
Mazda provides the following two training programs for its dealership service staff in Japan:
- Technical training program to cultivate technical skills
- Customer service training program to improve customer service performance and management skills
Training |
Number of Participants in FY2010 |
Contents |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Technical Training | Standard Training | Approx. 1,300 | Training program to cultivate diagnostic skills, etc., tailored to each individual's existing skills and experience |
| Customer Service Training | Standard Training | Approx. 700 | Training program to instill the customer-relations skills needed for boosting customer satisfaction, increasing profitability, and bolstering productivity |
③ Cultivation of Human Resources
- Promoting the deployment of Class A service engineers providing top-quality maintenance at all dealerships (achieved deployment at 83% of dealerships in FY2010)
- Creation of meticulous training programs to foster development of service advisers and service engineers
④ Training for Overseas Service Staff
Training is provided to service staff at overseas dealerships, as described below:
Technical Training
New model training: 52 trainees
Customer service training: 12 trainees
Training and Certification Programs for Service Staff
Mazda Masters Program
Trainer competence training (introduced in FY2010): 24 trainees
⑤ Mazda Training Centers
Mazda has established training centers for service staff in Japan and overseas.
Mazda operates Mazda Training Centers in Hiroshima Prefecture and in Kanagawa Prefecture.
At these two centers, effective training is facilitated through the "blended training" style. The service staff have studied most of the technical materials by themselves as preparatory work through e-learning. Upon arrival, they undergo group training where they learn together, spending many hours training on actual vehicles and equipment.
Through role-playing and group practice, participants also learn professional customer relations. The Center trained approximately 700 people in two-day courses in FY2010.
At Mazda Training Center Taibi in Hiroshima Prefecture, 13 instructors belonging to associations of automobile maintenance operators learned about new technologies in FY2010. This training center aims beyond the Mazda Group to contribute to the spread of excellent vehicle maintenance techniques.
Mazda operates training centers in the Americas (North America, and Central America and South America), Europe (Germany), China, Southeast Asia (Thailand), and the Middle East (the UAE), with training conducted for trainers and service staff at dealerships in the various regions.
In China, the Company has established three centers for training of service staff in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. In FY2010, a total of approximately 1,500 employees underwent training in sales, service, and other fields at these centers.
