Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/698493
Former dealer launches his own side-by-side company O DES who? It's not uncommon to hear that question when ODES UTVS is mentioned. The Riverside, California, company has remained relatively silent for its first several years, quietly developing side-by-sides, building its dealer network and doubling sales year-over-year since the company was founded in 2010. But ODES is done with its status as an unknown com- pany. As ODES begins releasing its 2017 models, the OEM finally is ready for expansion. ODES recently invited enthu- siast media members to ride the 2017 Dominator X2 and X4 near its Riverside headquarters, and coverage is planned for each of their publications. A September dealer meeting will also include even more new information than has already been shared. HISTORY ODES founder Mike Smith is a former professional ATV racer. After hanging up his boots around the age of 21, Smith started a retail business that blossomed into three powers- ports dealerships in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Then the UTV craze started, and Smith was quick to respond, stocking up his pre-owned facility and carrying new units from a Chinese brand. "When UTVs came out, we were just buying up everything we could from NPA UTV-wise. We were just selling them like crazy," Smith recalled. Despite his success in the UTV market, Smith was con- vinced he could do even better. The parts and service and customer support provided by many OEMs wasn't to Smith's standards, so he decided to launch his own side- by-side brand. "I sold the dealerships and started finding companies that I could connect with that could build the product for us, and found ODES," he said. ODES, based in China, had grown its brand internation- ally, but had a hard time entering the U.S. market. Smith approached ODES with the idea that he would provide the design, specifications, parts and staff for his company's UTVs; all ODES would have to do is build the units at its Shandong, Zibo, China, facility with final assembly done in the U.S., ODES was on board. Smith opened ODES UTVS' headquarters in Riverside, since it's near a port for easy access to UTVs delivered by ships. His company then overtook ODES' original Dominator side-by-side, revamped it to fit the American market and launched it in the U.S. for the 2011 model year. Next, he set to work, building a team of contracted engi- neers to design ODES UTVS' next lineup. After an extended research and development process, ODES released the Raider EPS two-seater UTV, the Dominator X two- and five- seater UTVs and the Assailant two-seater ATV in 2015. With the original Dominator and the new models, ODES has already seen growth. Sales have increased with distribu- tion through about 200 U.S. dealerships and 14 countries worldwide. "We are a growing company and have managed to double our sales every year by developing excellent prod- ucts and by treating every single customer like they matter; because to us, they do," explained Casey Slingerland, director of Sales & Marketing. ODES has about 35 employees in Riverside, while another 350 are building the units in Shandong. Its Riverside head- quarters encompasses 100,000 square feet of office space, unit storage, parts storage and room for assembly. ODES boasts a 97 percent parts fulfillment rate. THE GOLDEN RULE What sets ODES UTVS apart, even more than its prod- ucts, is the company's customer service philosophy, which is rooted in the Golden Rule of "treat others the way you want to be treated." "I don't ever preach that enough, because if you can give people value for their dollar and then you can treat them as you want to be treated and really do take care of them, you're going to have the best customers out there, and we do," Smith said. Those values reverberate throughout the processes at ODES. Denied warranty claims, for example, are always reviewed by vice president Jessica Taylor and Smith, so the two can consider any alternatives available to make the cus- tomer happy. "We pick up the phone, and we call people. We com- municate; that's what we do. We do not deal in absolutes; we give people options when it's going to be a 'No,' and that's just how people want to be treated. Sometimes it takes a dollar out of our pocket, but it's just a new form of business," Smith explained. A tracking system has been put in place to notify Taylor or the appropriate department's manager when emails, voicemails or missed calls haven't been returned, so that each inquiry can be addressed before the end of each business day. Because of this dedication to customer service, the quality of the vehicles and ODES' willingness to look at each warranty claim individually, ODES has never had a product liability lawsuit brought against the company. In fact, ODES' insur- ance company has even been to Riverside to study ODES' customer service processes. "There's a philosophy that we just have imbedded. All the people that work here; they're all in the same mindset. You're not going to meet anybody that's off base. You can ask anybody who works here what do we live by, and they'll all say the Golden Rule. That's what we preach; that's what we hire for, and that's what we do, and we just don't deal in absolutes. We can't." FUTURE Though ODES is just starting to market itself, the com- pany's growth has spurred new developments. At a dealer meeting set for mid-September, ODES plans to unveil more of the 2017 lineup as well as a new Dallas facility. The creation of the Dallas facility was spurred by an increasing number of dealers who prefer ordering pre-assem- bled units, rather than units in crates. "We have so many dealers requesting them assembled at this point because their business is just moving so fast, either our stuff or other things. So the assembly part of the thing is why we're opening another location in Dallas to really help ser- vice the assembly customers," Smith said. "The cost to ship assembled units from California to Georgia, for example, is just astronomical, but from Texas to Georgia, now it's becom- ing more economical for the dealers, and we think that's also going to increase business." ODES will also duplicate its parts warehouse in Dallas, cutting shipping times to the East Coast in half and bringing ODES closer to a 100 percent fulfillment rate. "We can faster support our dealers with parts out of the Dallas location. And if one location has a part, and the other doesn't, we can pull from one or the other. We might have to ship one order out of two places, but at least it's 100 percent filled," Smith said. By September, ODES plans to have the Dallas facility running. Twenty-five positions are currently posted for that location. ODES UTVs is ready to make its mark PAID ADVERTISEMENT American Ingenuity. UTVS Done Right. ODES UTVS is the factory, importer, and distributor of its own products. ODES UTVS is based in Riverside, California. Like all ODES UTVS, the five-seater Dominator X4 comes with a number of stock accessories, including a roof, lockable storage boxes, a windshield, a hitch with a two-inch tow ball, half doors, LED light bars, a rear bumper and 3,500-pound winches on the front and rear of the machine.