Business View Magazine - September 2015

136 Business View - September 2015 Business View - September 2015 137 ability to access that information.” This move, which gives customers online access to the same kind of transparency they’ll find on a dealership lot, is just the latest expression of Summit’s guiding philosophy of customer satisfaction and employee em- powerment. “We stand for something and we expect all our employees to embrace the brand — really live the brand — because that’s what makes us unique,” Carmichael explains. “On top of that, we believe that giving highly engaged leaders the autonomy, inside our guidelines, to run their businesses and create high-performance teams, is really essential to the suc- cess of our business model.” But ultimately, Carmichael knows that Summit’s suc- cess hinges on an emotional investment: how car- buyers actually feel when they interact with Summit employees. “We sell 22 different brands. It’s someone else’s product, so we can’t make a better Toyota or Nis- san,” he says. “Our product is customer experience. And we understand that if we want to be superior in this industry, that’s where we have to excel.” PREFERRED VENDORS Strategic Source, Inc. – Strategic Source provides companies a unique service that allows them to save time and money while reducing risks associated with supplier management. Started in 1992 by Douglas Austin, Strategic Source has served over 700 compa- nies offering sourcing support, implementation man- agement, and supplier auditing to maximize the lim- ited resources available to them while they focus on growing their business. - www.strategicsource.com Eide Bailly, LLP - www.eidebailly.com automotive automotive