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Some Things to Consider in Your Business Planning
By Deborah Lockridge, Editor
In the heavy-duty distribution business, a long-term plan is about 18 months, according to a survey done in advance of Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week '09. If that describes your operation, however, you might want to rethink your strategy.
"I don't disagree that anyone who says they can tell you what's going to happen two years from now is fooling themselves," said Bill Wade of Wade & Partners, opening up a panel discussion on business planning during HDAW earlier this year. Nevertheless, he said, it's still important to look out beyond the upcoming year.
"The best thing to come out of a business plan is the process - involving the people in your company to talk about the business and about the future."
In addition to the people in your company, Wade said, it's important to spend time looking at what customers need, what customers want, and how you can better give them what they need.
A panel consisting of one supplier representative and two distributors discussed various topics involved in planning....
Eight Steps to Success
By Gene Ely, Contributing Editor
It's the question on everyone's mind: "What's the best heavy-duty truck parts and service strategy for our company to take during these interesting times?"
You could select the rewind button and pull back into survival mode. Or, you could hit the pause button, taking a "wait-and-see" attitude on the sidelines. Or you could push the play button and move forward to engage your customers with innovative solutions.
Before making any business decision under any circumstances, you need a good, comprehensive marketing roadmap to keep from heading off in an uncertain direction - a marketing plan.....
Spare Parts
By Tom Berg, Senior Editor
For years, savvy fleet managers have been able to predict how long parts and components will last based on experience, and scheduled maintenance and replacement accordingly.
But several factors make it increasingly difficult for managers, mechanics and parts specialists to predict when various components and accessories on trucks will fail. Among them:
* The trend toward vertical integration. Truck original equipment manufacturers have more to say about what goes into their vehicles, and they make many choices based on agreements with suppliers that can change year to year. So specs lists also change, leaving fleet managers with little experience with those parts on which to build predictions.
* High underhood heat. Greater rates of heat rejection from modern diesels result in more radiated heat in engine compartments. Fleet managers say that heat has caused parts to fail sooner than in the past, but there are seldom any patterns from which to plan. Included are belts, hoses, turbochargers, alternators, starters, fan clutches and idler pulleys. Suppliers have changed materials and taken other steps to compensate, but not always successfully.....
Great Customer Service
By Deborah Lockridge, Editor
What do your customers value? A survey of HDAW attendees said availability/delivery of a product was the top thing, followed by the product knowledge of your sales staff, and third by customer service/ease of doing business. Price was number five on the list.
"Every survey I've ever been part of, price was four or five on the list," said Harry J. Howard, CEO of How2Consultants, which provides business consulting to the industry. "But it's the first place sales people tend to go when they're faced with objection - unfortunately."
You need a balance between price and value, Howard said. A big part of value is customer service. And everyone, Howard said, is responsible for customer service - not just management, not just the counter people. Even the building maintenance guy, because a poorly maintained facility affects the customers' view of customer service.....
Building a Better Salesperson
By Steve Rose, Guest Contributor
The commercial vehicle industry is facing one of its most difficult periods in decades, thanks to economic and EPA regulatory issues. In face, analysts have described the current state of the industry as the worst since the 1970s. And fleets are calling on their parts and service providers to share in the pain.
Many suppliers and distributors are being told that if they cannot, or will not, offer bigger discounts, their business will be at risk. Today that threat is very real, particularly with so many low-cost producers in China and India seeking to grow their share of the U.S. market.
The current situation presents a host of challenges, particularly for the distributor and dealer sales rep, but they are challenges that can be overcome. What is required is a fundamentally different sales approach and set of skills.....
Putting a Price on Value
By Jim Park, Contributing Editor
Twenty-eight bucks for a windshield wiper? I was driving through Maine on one of those oppressive gray days when moisture permeated the air. Not quite rain, but too wet to leave the wipers off and not wet enough to flush the crud from the glass - which was streaking unrepentantly. Concluding there was no time like the present to replace my year-old wipers, I stopped into a down-at-the-heels auto parts shop in Skowhegan.
The guidebook at the wiper display was missing, and not knowing what size wiper I needed, I approached the counter and asked the parts guy if he had a pair of wipers for an '04 Jetta. He punched something into his computer, waited, and then said, "I have a Bosch wiper ... it's $28."
I had paid $12 per for my current set. "No, thanks," I said. "Don't need 'em that badly." Truth is, I did need new wipers. I had cash in my pocket and I was ready to buy, but I wasn't expecting premium pricing from a little joint like that.
The shop owner, who was probably out back working on someone's transmission when I entered the store, missed a terrific opportunity that day to sell me a set of wipers....
MEMA Financial Services - Because no news isn't always good news
In this uncertain economic and financial environment, you may want to keep your company's finances and credit information to yourself. But when manufacturers and vendors are looking at their partners and customers, many times no information is worse than getting the full story.
Dan Pike, vice president and general manager of the Motor and Equipment Manufacturers' Financial Services Group, or MFSG, says communication between distributors and their vendor partners isn't always as good as it should be. He says his company can help.....
Getting To Know You - Everyone wants to know why fleets buy, but the reasons behind those decisions can be as individual as the people who make them
With slowing freight volumes and high fuel costs squeezing fleet profits, your customers may be looking to trim costs wherever they can, including in their parts purchases. Yet price, while it is an issue, is actually not the most important factor in most cases.
"Regardless of what part the fleet is seeking to obtain and regardless of which channel of distribution the fleet is utilizing, product quality is driving the purchase decision," explains Molly MacKay Zacker, operations manager for MacKay & Co., which tracks replacement demand for parts and components used on Class 6-8 vehicles based on thousands of surveys. "Still important, but notably further down the list of factors, are warranty coverage and immediate availability. Past experience is rated fourth. Price is not a deciding factor and is, in fact, dead last.....
Partnerships Key During Challenging Times
Guest column by Joe McAleese
Relationships - whether among family members, friends, colleagues, or business associates - enrich our life experiences. And they are never more needed, more appreciated, or more important than during challenging times.
To members of the dynamic commercial vehicle industry, economic and business cycles are almost second nature. We've managed through them before, and it's up to us to determine how to adapt and to flourish through these periods today and in the future. Today, our economic challenges are formidable. Whether at the gas pump or on the pages of the latest financial reports, the ripple effect from spiraling commodity, energy, and transportation expenses is obvious.....
Network Your Way To Success
Guest column by Marc Karon
I had a call recently from a young distributor looking for a part. I had met him at Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week this year. After taking care of his part need, we discussed the upcoming HDAW '09 event. He told me he was uncertain whether he would attend because of the economic conditions and the impact on his business. At the time, I wasn't quite sure what to say, so I wished him well and hoped things would improve.....
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