Tigard, Ore.-Family-owned Landmark Ford has been on the scene since 1979, according to its Web site, and has grown to be the top Ford store in the Northwest in its nearly 30 years of operation, said Bob Kilmer, parts manager at the dealership for 23 years. Landmark is also the largest Saleen dealer in Oregon according to its Web site.
A seasoned parts veteran, Kilmer said he started his automotive parts career in 1973 in Elma, Wash., and spent 10 years at an Olympia, Wash., dealership prior to joining the staff at Landmark.
"This is a great store to be involved with," said Kilmer, a master-certified Ford parts manager and winner of numerous Medallion Parts Manager awards, as well as Ford Power Stroke awards. "It's one big family, and our parts and service staffs are mostly long-term employees." He added that both service and parts get tremendous support from Jim Corliss, the dealer principal.
Kilmer oversees an immense parts operation that has 53 employees, including five outside sales personnel, eight inside phone sales staff, and 10 drivers, he said. "We rank 13th or 14th in the nation in for parts sales, so we're very proud of our group," he said.
Parts are housed in two areas that include 18,000 square feet of space in the parts center, a building separate from the main store and adjacent to the service center, Kilmer said. In addition, a 25,000-square-foot building in Tigard has three full-time staff and houses mainly body, powertrain, and bulk parts, he said, storing an average of 80 engines and transmissions.
A 1,600-square-foot retail space and sales counter is staffed by three parts specialists, Kilmer said. The area houses a variety of products, including an extensive Thule rack display for cars and light trucks, collector cars, specialty products, and even a pet product display, he said.
"That (latter) idea came from my son, who liked to take his dog with him to work, so he looked for things that made his vehicle more pet-friendly. It's amazing how much of those items we sell."
Kilmer said the store has $2.75 million in parts inventory that equates to 36,747 SKUs. "We write about 4,000 (parts) invoices a month and average more than $1 million a month in sales."
More than 65 percent of those sales are wholesale, he said, with retail sales comprising about 5 percent and the remainder for the store's service department. The majority of the wholesale parts are body parts sold to collision centers, he said.
The parts operation has its own system for processing parts, Kilmer said, including designated stockers and pickers. "It works well for us, and we're able to move the parts smoothly, whether for our wholesale customers or our own service department," he said.
Since the service department is open until midnight Monday through Friday, the parts department has the same hours, Kilmer said, as well as on Saturdays during the day. 
"We sell a large number of light- and medium-duty trucks and service a lot of fleets, both business and government agencies," he said. "Many of those are serviced during the evening hours so they don't have down time during the day."
Four parts staffers work on the service department parts counter to handle the needs of the technicians from early morning to midnight, Kilmer said.
"We have a great relationship with our service department and body shop," he said. "Dale (Smith), our service director, and I have a long history together and share similar values. We share pay plans so we look at the big picture and on customer service, and what's best for the store." Smith has been at the store since 1979, he said.
"Our dealer principal is a very ethical person, and we all share that concept, including our service manager, Kurt Sorg," Kilmer said.
"Lloyd Fletcher, who is in his second stint at the store, runs an efficient body shop operation," he said. Located in the main Landmark building, the body shop has nine employees and handles 115 vehicles a month, according to body shop staff.
Kilmer views the parts operations at Landmark with both compassion and philosophically. "We can't keep doing business in the same way we always have, and we can't be complacent," he said. "Service to customers is more than the sale of parts. You have to understand things like returns and getting the right part to our customers.
"Our independent collision customers have insurance company issues, including the DRP programs, and there are efforts under way by many of those shops to alter how insurance companies work with shops. We need to be aware of those issues and work closely with our shop customers," he said.
Landmark has the largest Ford powertrain sales in the Northwest, Kilmer said, but things may change in that realm. "We are also huge in Power Stroke, one of the top 50 dealers in the country, and we'll see more light-truck diesel sales. That affects not only our fleet customers but those we see at the retail counter as well."
"Landmark Ford has been recognized by Ford Motor Co. two years running as a Top 50 Diesel Parts stores in the nation," said Jim Stevens, Northwest Parts sales manager for Blue Diamond Parts LLC/Ford Motor Co. "This year, Landmark sponsored diesel training events for their customers utilizing the Ford Diesel Engine Trailer and Power Stroke trainers."
"The parts business here is very busy and not the same day to day," Kilmer said. "There are plenty of challenges, from personnel issues to inventory control to taking care of the customers. For us, it's a $15 million to $18 million a year business, so it's a big business to manage."
The service department employs about 100 people, including nine service advisers, said Sorg, a 25-year veteran at the store. With 34 service bays, he said the shop produces 3,400 repair orders a month.
"Of our 40 techs, 22 of them Senior Master Ford-Certified technicians, the most in the Northwest, and maybe in the country," Sorg said. All techs have some level of ASE certifications, he said, adding that to be a certified as a Senior Master, techs have to be ASE Master-certified. "We have very little turnover with our techs. Most have been here a long time.
"We use a team system (in the shop) and it works very well for us," he said. There are nine teams, he said, with each team performing all services under the direction of a team leader. While each team member tech is well trained in all service areas, he said each has their own talents and specialties such as a diagnostician or diesel specialist.
"It's a busy place here from early morning until midnight," Sorg said. "We work on a lot of light- and medium-duty trucks every day." He also said that the Fast Lube service operates from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. during the week, and during the day on Saturday.
