Blog Posts by Stephen Polk

It was my pleasure to co-present the Polk Inventory Efficiency Awards last night at the Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium (GAAS) along with my colleague, Mark Seng. We honored two outstanding aftermarket companies for their process improvements relative to inventory and supply chain efficiency. This year’s Inventory Efficiency Awards competition was one of the closest yet. Over the past eight years, we’ve recognized some truly great companies that have created outstanding results for...

Once again, it was an honor to present the Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards last night at the Automotive News World Congress. This is our 15th year recognizing automotive manufacturers for their superior performance in customer retention, and the energy has never been more electric! We had several repeat winners and even some surprises. For the first time since 1999, Ford Motor Company and Ford Division took top honors by winning in both the "Overall Loyalty to Make" and "Overall Loyalty... Read...

I want to extend my personal congratulations to Tenneco, Inc., winner of the 2010 Polk Inventory Efficiency Award. The Polk Inventory Efficiency Award recognizes and rewards outstanding automotive aftermarket companies for process improvements relative to inventory efficiency. This year’s award was presented at the recent Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium (GAAS). Tenneco, headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois, was honored for the development and implementation of INVision™, its... Read...

It was my honor to present the 14th Annual Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards at the Automotive News World Congress this week. We’ve discovered over the years that the more you know about customer loyalty, and the more you focus on it, the better. And I can tell you first-hand that we’re seeing more and more of our customers taking their loyalty objectives very seriously. Our 2009 Model Year winners are no exception! Every year Polk recognizes automotive manufacturers for their...

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, I've given some thought to all of the things that we at Polk can be thankful for... 10. Our Heritage. My great grandfather founded Polk in 1870. In 1921, my Grandfather ushered in Polk's entrance into the automotive industry. And we haven't looked back. 9. The State of Michigan. Sure times are tough here in Michigan, but there's something about the people and the work ethic in Michigan that keeps us all working hard everyday. This is the Motor City and for...

I am excited to be kicking off this launch of the Polk Blog. Together with many of my Polk colleagues, I welcome the chance to share thoughts and insights and to engage in dialogue on the automotive industry challenges that surround us every day.Our goal is to share perspectives, market analysis and forecasts on the shifts we see in the global automotive marketplace. I have no doubt that the next few years will be turbulent. There will be continuous change in sales trends, lead management...Read...