Chicago -- For parts distributors, the rubber hits the road when a part is ordered. The path to a sale, however, is drastically changing. Several progressive WDs and jobbers have been able to gain traction with an increasing number of Web- savvy shops, boosting sales without added head count. This and other topics were discussed during the recent Aftermarket eForum, an e-business development symposium focused on supply chain technology.
One of the seminars, Connecting The Dots, featured two parts wholesalers who have successfully implemented e-commerce into their businesses to a point where it accounts for more than a third of their sales. The speakers were Ron Decker of Decker Auto Supply in Fresno, Calif., a distributor that recently marked 40 years in business; and Mandy Aguilar of The Parts House, an ACDelco, Motorcraft, and Automotive Distribution Network (ADN) distributor with 27 locations in Southern Florida, Georgia, and Puerto Rico.
Web sales on the rise
"Automation equals better customer service and more profits," Decker said. "The goal is to meet the needs of your customers and reach 30 percent," he said, adding that good online candidates are shops that spend $5,000 to $10,000 over a month. "They're really heavy on phone calls. It takes a lot of effort from your salesmen.
"We're meeting our goal and getting better service for automated customers," Decker said. "A counterman's job today is getting tougher instead of easier with all the late model electronics. We can increase volume with the same number of people and free up capacity. It reduces pressure on the wholesale parts counter team."
"If we can do this in Puerto Rico, you should be able to do this in Cleveland and Chicago," Aguilar said. Of The Parts Houses' registered users, 80 percent are still using it, which equals more than a third of total sales.
The high water mark for Web sales was 38 percent, Aguilar said, which hasn't dipped below 32 percent in months. "We have experienced a 28 percent reduction in phone traffic."
Marketing and e-commerce
"E-commerce is marketing," Aguilar said, pointing out that his e-commerce brand is known as WebPro 2.0. "The reason we do this is purely marketing," he said. "We believe in branding our customers' service. We want to link our all our marketing back to e-commerce.
"We have been very successful in connecting Web Pro and e-commerce," Aguilar said. "It seems like a no-brainer, but not a lot of people do this. They let them log in through the supplier Web site. We want them to log in through ours.
"We track the stuff, report it, and try to improve upon it constantly," he said. "We do not deduct any bonuses or commissions for Web sales. All our guys support our strategy and have been instrumental in helping build it. They have become experts."
Promotional flyers are still printed and then distributed via mail, he said. "As you know, any flyer you print eventually goes into the trash. But today, every flyer we make, we put it up on the Web site. That flyer will run through the life of the promotion. We strive for continuity. It also helps to keeps the Web site fresh.
"E-commerce is an integral component of our total offering," he said. "It has helped with collections. You become an integral part of their operation and they'll pay. If they don't we'll pull the plug. Once exposed to e-commerce these guys are hooked."
Connectivity is king
"Today's challenge is to find the best method for automated sales," Decker said, "and to give our users more speed and easier connection to Decker Auto Supply. The Web has been a wonderful new way of doing that."
The integration of parts ordering into shop management systems has made online parts ordering easy, Decker said. Early on, he said he sold shop management systems and computer hardware, which proved to be a distraction from his parts business.
"All we want to do is connect with our customers," Decker said. "If you have a guy today that still doesn't have a management system, he's afraid of the computer.
"We still have customers that don't have full management systems," Decker said. I look for ones that do have an estimate program that shows labor time. The better shops today want integration into their management system. They want integration of the parts right on to the work order.
"Mitchell has been the industry leader in doing that," Decker said. "That's been our biggest advantage in the last few months. Get to know your Mitchell rep in your area. He'll call and say, 'Are you doing business with this guy in this area? Why isn't he hooked up?'" Another system that integrates parts ordering well is R.O. Writer, he added.
Price check and availability
Shop personnel ordering parts online today seek speed and accuracy, Decker said. "They want it fast and fewer key strokes; they want better, accurate information, and they also want to see quantity on hand. When they look and see I have 380 of a particular oil filter, it helps them understand you have a lot of inventory."
"In 2007 we hit 6,000 stock checks in an hour," Aguilar said. "In a way we are exposing ourselves out there in front of our customers. It used to happen on the phones and in the field with the salesmen.
"The man-hours involved in replacing this (online stock checks) is not feasible for a company," Aguilar said. "The shortest phone call is 30 seconds. There just isn't enough customer service in that short phone call."
Never stop innovating
"You must continue to look ahead for developing technology," Decker said. "You can't live on what you have today because there will always be something better.
"Have a good relationship with all the software suppliers," Decker said. "You never know when you'll need them."
"We've been a Triad Activant customer for many years," Decker said. "Since then we've grown into all kinds of things.
"I'm involved with a lot of different programs, DST Turbo 2, IAP to run that," Decker said. "There are several systems that need 'A connects' in order to communicate.
"Make sure your catalog and MCL tables are accurate," Decker said. They change the way they are served up. It used to be alphabetical. Now I can make Walker exhaust come up first if I want to. There's a lot more flexibility.
"Ask your customers what's working," Decker said. "What do you need that we're not giving you? If they don't like it, man, they'll tell you. When they get used to a system, they don't want to change. Make sure when you choose a program you're going to stick with it.
"The bulk of our business on e-commerce is the WrenchHead platform," Aguilar said, adding that they offer many flavors. The Parts House offers the AcDelco variety, he said.