Porsche 2011 Annual Report Download - page 79

And Porsche's models lead the popularity
rankings of sports car drivers in particular. In
Sportauto magazine's survey of readers, Porsche
was rated first in 7 out of 15 vehicle categories.
Indeed, the 911 Carrera GTS convertible, the Turbo S
convertible as well as the GT3 and GT3 RS coupés
received up to three times as many votes as the
runner-up in each case. The models Cayman R,
Boxster S and Panamera Turbo also received top
marks.
In addition to providing outstanding care for
existing customers, Porsche has been very success-
ful in acquiring new customers and sparking their
enthusiasm for the Porsche brand. In-house studies
confirm in detail that Porsche boasts an excellent
customer perception that has improved again in the
past year, not only in established markets like the
USA or Germany, but also in the markets of the future
such as China or the United Arab Emirates.
Sales structure of the Volkswagen group
The independence of the brands is backed by
the Volkswagen group’s multibrand structure. Volks-
wagen reorganized the board of management sales
function with the aim of optimizing the group’s cross-
brand sales activities. This is a fundamental precondi-
tion for steadily increasing volume and market share,
for lifting earnings contributions and sales efficiency,
and for optimizing costs at the same time.
In 2011, Volkswagen pressed forward with
the integration of dealers into its IT system in order to
leverage synergies and improve the exchange of
information between them and with the group's who-
lesale operations. A close working relationship with
dealers and their profitability are a focus of the distri-
bution network strategy. The Volkswagen group di-
rects its wholesale business in over 20 markets
through companies belonging to the group. This is
supported by a new central department that directs
the national sales companies. It is tasked with in-
creasing the transparency of sales activities, improv-
ing cost management and integrating the activities of
the brands more closely, in order to better leverage
synergies. This enables the best practice approaches
of individual companies to be transferred to the other
wholesale companies quickly and efficiently. The
central department will be instrumental in helping the
Volkswagen group achieve the goals laid down in its
Strategy 2018.
Sales capability in the group was further ex-
panded with the acquisition of the trading business of
Porsche Holding Salzburg on 1 March 2011. As an
international trading business, the company operates
in twelve countries as a wholesaler and in 20 coun-
tries as a retailer. It is characterized by outstanding
professionalism along with an impressive track record
of earnings and growth. Volkswagen plans to leverage
these core competencies more intensively in the
future with the goal of making its own trading activi-
ties more efficient and powerful, and maximizing
synergies. It will also help Volkswagen better integrate
the needs of the dealers and its customers into its
strategy and align its activities with them. Porsche
Holding Salzburg also has outstanding IT capability in
the area of trading. The intention is to use this to
advance the establishment of an integrated systems
environment from the manufacturer through wholesal-
ers down to retail dealers.
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