"Communication is the key, plain and simple," said Lewis Toyota Parts Manager Ryan Branam about the Midwest Parts Group -- a multi-dealer parts delivery team. "When there is an issue, or something comes up, it is how fast you respond to it and how you take care of it."
With the addition of two dealers -- John North Nissan in Emporia, Kan., and Jack Miller Kia/Isuzu/Subaru in North Kansas City, Mo.-the Midwest Parts Group can now offer more than 20 nameplates to its customers.
Starting in December 2006, Branam said, the Midwest Parts Group has seen consistent growth in both dealer participation and customer base.
The group has nine delivery drivers -- one representing each dealer involved--making deliveries each day in nine areas.
Monday through Friday morning, the drivers meet at a central warehouse in Topeka to organize and get the right parts on the proper trucks, Branam said.
"Our customers know that all their parts are going to show up on the same truck," he said. "They don't have to wonder when they are going to be getting their parts. It is a little easier for them to gauge their work schedule that way."
The drivers run the same routes every day, so they really get to know the customers on a personal level, said Joseph Boucher, parts manager at Noller Lincoln/Mercury/Mazda/ Hyundai.
"Our drivers really set us apart," Boucher said. "We have drivers that really care about the customers, and the parts themselves."
The group also hired an outside salesman, Roger Battin, who focuses on finding new customers and new dealerships, Boucher said.
"Roger is very good at his job and he has the ability to talk with customers and relate to them," he said. "He truly cares for the customers and takes everything to heart with that. I think we have one of the best outside salesmen. He goes over and beyond for customer satisfaction."
The group consists of Car City Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge/Sprinter, Ed Bozarth Chevrolet, Ed Bozarth Saturn, Sunflower Motors, John North Nissan, Noller Lincoln/Mercury/Mazda/Hyundai, Sharp Honda, Jack Miller Kia/Isuzu/Subaru, Lewis Toyota/Scion, and Laird Noller Ford. Boucher added that all nine dealers are equal partners.
As one of the newest to join the group, Dennis Faltermeier, parts manager at Jack Miller Kia/Isuzu/Subaru, said that working with the Midwest Parts Group allowed him to deliver parts where he previously couldn't get to.
"I can't go all the way to Wichita or Manhattan on my own," Faltermeier said. "This way it is possible, and I can now go as far away as Nebraska."
"For what we do, it is a benefit to the dealership and the customer because we are able to go into nine different areas at the same time with a large amount of manpower," Branam said. "Everybody is working together to get the customer taken care of."
"One dealership couldn't do it alone because the overhead would be so large," he said. "We have parts going into Nebraska at the same time they are going to Wichita, Kansas City, St. Joseph and out west towards Junction City, and most of these places are getting their parts before lunch, and there is no way you could do that on your own."
