Recognizing Outstanding OEM Parts Dealers

With all the challenges to meet the demands for increasing repair speed and accuracy — whether from customers or insurance company KPIs — the role of your OEM dealer parts departments can't be denied. It's those dedicated wholesalers who go the extra mile in ensuring the right parts are delivered on time that FenderBender recognizes each year with the Reader's Choice. This designation is reserved for the best in the collision repair wholesale parts industry.

The parts department is the backbone of the dealership, and high performance is critical to its success, even if the sales or service department often get the accolades. Each year, FenderBender readers are surveyed on who the best, preferred, and most trusted wholesalers are in their market, allowing us to recognize these deserving teams.

Increasing Communication Between Shops and Parts Departments

In this month's special section, learn from industry how enhancing communication across the collision repair OEM wholesale parts ecosystem benefits all participants. Thin margins make profitability challenging, which Collision Advice Owner Mike Anderson says is causing more wholesalers looking to exit the wholesale business. Shops can better work to keep their wholesale partner profitable by, for example, limiting returns and return delays.

“You think you had cycle time challenges during COVID?” Anderson asked. “Well, if more wholesalers leave the business, cycle times will increase. Whether you're a shop or you're an OEM, I think we must stop and say, ‘What am I doing that could be contributing to the demise of a wholesale parts vendor?’ Because that's not good for anybody.”