MANUFACTURER RELATIONS
NAEDA’s signature priority is manufacturer and industry relations because our members know it’s key to their success. NAEDA believes that open dialogue between dealers, manufacturers, associations, and customers is essential for our industry – and your business – to thrive.
MANUFACTURER RELATIONS
KEY SERVICES
Relationship-Building With Equipment Manufacturers
NAEDA helps maintain a high level of trust and mutual understanding between manufacturers and dealer associations. As part of this, we regularly communicate and meet with OEMs on contractual and policy issues. As we bring issues forward from our dealer members, collaborative discussions lead to balance and fairness in these relationships.
NAEDA has developed a series of key principles that are important to dealers in their relationship with their various suppliers. These principles recognize key areas of the operating environment and are fundamental to the success of an independent dealership. To review the nine key principles CLICK HERE
Listen to our podcasts on the nine key principles (Part 1) and (Part 2)
Industry Affairs Task Force
For more than 25 years, some of NAEDA’s most important work has happened across the table from manufacturer leadership. Those conversations have given dealers a voice in decisions that affect their livelihoods—and helped dealers and manufacturers work through challenges together.
Today, that work has a new face. The Industry Relations Task Force, long known as IRTF, is now Industry Affairs. The new name carries forward a longstanding commitment to dealer advocacy, with expanding manufacturer engagement and a significant new partnership with Associated Equipment Distributors (AED).
The program’s roots reach back to the late 1990s, when concerns over warranty reimbursement, dealer agreements, and business practices brought dealer associations and manufacturers together for more structured discussions. The idea was simple: get the right people in the room, understand the concerns, and work toward solutions before disagreements become larger disputes.
Through NAEDA and its predecessor associations, including the Western Equipment Dealers Association, those conversations developed into regular manufacturer meetings, reviews of proposed dealer agreements, and ongoing work to improve the dealer–manufacturer relationship.
Now, we are building an even stronger voice.
NAEDA is partnering with AED to combine efforts on behalf of the dealers we represent. Bringing these two powerhouse associations together is a major step forward. It combines deep industry experience, established manufacturer relationships, and a broader range of dealer perspectives. For dealers, it means a louder, more coordinated voice. For manufacturers, it creates a stronger partner in understanding challenges and finding practical solutions.
The opportunity is substantial because dealers and manufacturers depend on each other’s success. Better communication and earlier engagement can help both make better decisions, support customers, and build stronger businesses.
Industry Affairs carries that work forward—and it starts with you. Your experience shapes the conversation. Your input helps drive the solution.
OEM CONTRACT REVIEW
Enhancing the dealer-manufacturer relationship is a primary goal of North American Equipment Dealers Association (NAEDA), and our ongoing effort to pursue balanced dealer agreements is essential to this goal. When a manufacturer introduces a new version of a dealer agreement or proposes changes to an existing agreement, NAEDA routinely conducts a legal review of the agreement and works with the manufacturer to address any issues that may be identified. In working with the manufacturer before the agreement is distributed to the dealer network, NAEDA helps to address dealer questions and facilitates the implementation of the agreement.
NAEDA maintains an Industry Relations Fund (IRF) that finances the legal review of dealer agreements. The legal reviews and related discussions with manufacturers provide the following benefits:
- A business-oriented and cooperative approach in addressing issues with manufacturers;
- One voice for the dealer body, fostering productive relationships with manufacturers that encourage discussion and cooperation in negotiating changes to dealer agreements;
- A broad-based knowledge of contract terms used by manufacturers, providing valuable background information for understanding market terms and areas where adjustments may be discussed; and
- Timely information to advise dealers of key issues within the context of limitations imposed on manufacturers by state and provincial dealer protection laws.
Contact us today about completed contract reviews, or to have a review conducted on your new contract.
QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE ADDING A NEW MANUFACTURER
Before acquiring a new manufacturer, it’s essential to understand all the relevant terms. This guide offers a detailed outline of 10 key provisions to consider in a contract, including market share, financials, payment terms, and more.
Download Questions to Ask Before Acquiring a New Manufacturer
FIGHTING FOR WHAT'S RIGHT
The fund that invokes change in the industry
Industry Affairs Task Force relies on voluntary contributions1 from NAEDA dealer members to finance matters that have wide implications within the equipment industry. If you would like to make a contribution, contact NAEDA at (800) 762-5616 or mail your check to:
NAEDA-IRF
PO Box 419264
Kansas City, MO 64141
We appreciate your assistance in supporting this important initiative.
1 Voluntary contributions to the Industry Relations Fund are not deductible as charitable contributions. However, they may be deductible as ordinary and necessary business expenses subject to restrictions due to the Internal Revenue Code.
