GMAP E-News Letter - Autumn 2002

Welcome to the latest edition of GMAP's e-newsletter. We had good feedback from the previous edition that came out in summer. Now, as the dark nights and inclement weather are on us its time to tell you what has been happening at GMAP in the intervening months. We have summarised some of the main news items below and we hope you find these interesting. However, the main difference between now and the last newsletter is that we have moved, along with our sister companies Callcredit and EuroDirect into new premises - One Park Lane, in the centre of Leeds. Occupying the top two floors of this brand new prestigious building the premises reflect our commitment to creating a highly professional environment both for our staff and our clients. To commemorate our move we are holding an office-warming event in January. If you would like to receive further details of the event and an invite please click here.

GMAP Consulting USA

As our business becomes increasingly international we recognise the need to have a physical presence in certain key markets. We are already in the process of setting up GMAP Japan in association with colleagues at Nihon University in Tokyo and our latest venture is the creation of GMAP USA. We have recruited Mr Brad Hoffman to head up the operation. Brad has a distinguished career in the oil industry, most recently as a retail planner at ExxonMobil. Brad's offices are in Fairfax, Virginia and he can be contacted on (001 703 467 8000) or emailed at brad.hoffman@gmap.com. One of Brad's principal roles is to build our relationship with ExxonMobil's Distributor Group. In the US over 10,000 of ExxonMobil's 16,000 branded forecourts are owned by distributors, as opposed to ExxonMobil directly. Earlier this year GMAP was appointed, after a competitive tender, as the preferred supplier of network planning tools to the Distributor Group. We have developed a product - Triple S (Single Site Study) - that is specifically aimed at this market. If you would like further details of Triple S please click here.

IVY EVENT - 21st November

GMAP is hosting another lunchtime seminar at The Ivy - the well-known restaurant in the heart of London's West End. The seminar is titled 'Who, Where and What? Riding the Wave of the Booming Retail Leisure Industry without repeating the mistakes of the 1980s'.

As many will know the Retail Leisure sector is experiencing rapid growth as witnessed by the expansion of many brands of pubs, bars, restaurants, nightclubs, casinos, health and fitness centres and so on. The seminar will look at how leisure retailers can avoid making the mistakes of several operators in the retail sector in the late 1980s when similar rates of expansion took place, but disaster struck in the early 1990s when widespread rationalisation of store networks resulted as a consequence of recession and changing tastes. We will argue that through the careful use of location planning tools the right investment decisions can be made in sites to ensure that robust solutions are found that are sustainable over time.

GMAP Consulting Automotive

It has been a busy time for colleagues working in the automotive division in recent months. In addition to a number of new projects from automotive clients we have been developing new products to meet requirements that the industry now has in light of the changes to the Block Exemption. Specifically we have developed a Balanced Scorecard framework for Dealer Reporting, which allows both retailers and manufacturers to take a more holistic view of dealer performance and opportunity by combining information on a variety of activities within a dealership.

Martin Clarke is presenting a paper on Balanced Scorecards and their use in Automotive Retailing at the Automotive Fellowship International meeting in November.

Additionally we have launched a new service for monitoring dealer standards, which we expect to be a major requirement once new contracts are established with retailers over the next 12 months. IMODS (Independent Monitoring of Dealer Standards) will, through a process of self-certification and independent auditing, allow manufacturers to ensure that qualitative and quantitative standards enshrined in dealer contracts are adhered to. This service, which is available across all European markets, will be provided in conjunction with our specialist auditing colleagues at Skipton Building Society. If you would like to receive a short presentation setting out the main features of IMODS please click here.

November also sees the launch of the 2002 GMAP Consulting European Car Distribution Handbook produced in collaboration with HWB International. The handbook is the definitive source of information on car distribution in Europe. It includes data on every manufacturer and brand such as the number of dealer contracts, the number of sales and service outlets and key indicators such as sales per dealer. If you would like further information on the handbook please click here.

Skipton Information Group

The bringing together of GMAP Consulting, Callcredit and EuroDirect at One Park Lane has resulted in the creation of the Skipton Information Group (which also includes Cast Systems based in Cambridge). The Group aims to bring together its various skills, services and products to meet the increasingly sophisticated information requirements of our clients.

We are planning to hold a number of seminars in early 2003 on topics of interest as they relate to the information industry. Jointly promoted by the Skipton Information Group and the Yorkshire Post, the seminars will be held late afternoon at One Park Lane followed by a drinks reception. To obtain further details of the seminar programme please click here.

GMAP Consulting

One Park Lane Leeds LS3 1EP

Tel: 0113 242 4334 Fax: 0113 242 4554

Email: info@gmap.com Web: www.gmap.com