INDUSTRY NEWSACDelco National Convention:
Moving Forward in '07 LAS VEGAS - "Within ACDelco, one thing we want to focus on as we go forward is the idea of partnership, of recognizing there are certain things we should be doing and there are certain things our distributors are good at doing," explains Paul Johnson, general director of the Global Independent Aftermarket for GM Service and Parts Operations (SPO). "We need to get them the right brand, the right proposition, the right parts. We need to get them as much market intelligence as we can." During ACDelco's 2006 National Convention, held Oct. 26 through 29, its warehouse distributor and Total Service Support (TSS) customers learned about the supplier's upcoming initiatives, which include listening to those who are in the warehouse or under the hood every day. "One thing we are doing with our distributors is a better job of listening to them - to hearing what they have to say and taking it, internally, very seriously," evidenced by the supplier's WD, jobber and technician councils, Johnson says. Last July, Johnson was put in charge of global responsibility for GM's Independent Aftermarket (IAM) efforts across the United States, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. The purpose of this global initiative, according to Johnson, is to create a better proposition for ACDelco suppliers and customers. "What we have now is ACDelco independent aftermarket businesses, each building up on their own, all over the world," notes Johnson. "We've started a transition phase to try to transition from 30 or so independent or reasonably independent organizations around the world into more of a singular global channel." ACDelco believes that getting the right product at the right margin, and minimizing the number of people who must decide the brand proposition, can maybe save some costs that could be passed along to distributors. "That is part of the global effort, and that's going to be good news for distributors and for their end customers because that should work its way into a more cost-competitive proposition for them," Johnson adds. What distributors will get in terms of product and proposition, he says, will be at a competitive price because of ACDelco's size and scale. "It's going to take a little time to turn that into meaningful examples for them. But over time, the ultimate proposition is going to be much better than what it would have been had we continued in status quo," Johnson says.Building the brand Moving into 2007, Duane Miller, executive director, Field Operations for GM Service and Parts Operations (SPO), says ACDelco is determined to "wow" the person putting the parts on the car. "Our strategy is a strong brand, high-quality product and effective distribution," he says. In addition to introducing more than 10,000 new parts in 2006 across its 36 product lines, ACDelco is also now offering additional benefits for members of its Alliance Jobber program, which apply to both current program members and to independent jobbers who join. Beginning in 2007, program members will accrue a marketing allowance - based on their ACDelco product purchases - to be used to directly promote and advertise their ACDelco offerings to their customers. In addition, ACDelco has expanded its e-business solutions to the aftermarket, including its Web Integrated Service Environment (WISE) and WISE Internet Parts (WIP), a Web-based application that lets ACDelco customers check inventory and order parts online anytime from WISE-enabled ACDelco warehouse distributors. The supplier is running an ongoing promotion to support its e-business initiatives: WIP users who purchase $3,000 in ACDelco products within a calendar month will receive GM Electronic Service Information (eSi) the following month at no additional charge. The 2006 ACDelco National Convention featured sales meetings with both WD and TSS accounts, Dedicated Distribution Group (DDG) Committee meetings, TSS and WD training sessions and the supplier's Technician of the Millennium IV competition.
Moving Forward in '07 LAS VEGAS - "Within ACDelco, one thing we want to focus on as we go forward is the idea of partnership, of recognizing there are certain things we should be doing and there are certain things our distributors are good at doing," explains Paul Johnson, general director of the Global Independent Aftermarket for GM Service and Parts Operations (SPO). "We need to get them the right brand, the right proposition, the right parts. We need to get them as much market intelligence as we can." During ACDelco's 2006 National Convention, held Oct. 26 through 29, its warehouse distributor and Total Service Support (TSS) customers learned about the supplier's upcoming initiatives, which include listening to those who are in the warehouse or under the hood every day. "One thing we are doing with our distributors is a better job of listening to them - to hearing what they have to say and taking it, internally, very seriously," evidenced by the supplier's WD, jobber and technician councils, Johnson says. Last July, Johnson was put in charge of global responsibility for GM's Independent Aftermarket (IAM) efforts across the United States, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. The purpose of this global initiative, according to Johnson, is to create a better proposition for ACDelco suppliers and customers. "What we have now is ACDelco independent aftermarket businesses, each building up on their own, all over the world," notes Johnson. "We've started a transition phase to try to transition from 30 or so independent or reasonably independent organizations around the world into more of a singular global channel." ACDelco believes that getting the right product at the right margin, and minimizing the number of people who must decide the brand proposition, can maybe save some costs that could be passed along to distributors. "That is part of the global effort, and that's going to be good news for distributors and for their end customers because that should work its way into a more cost-competitive proposition for them," Johnson adds. What distributors will get in terms of product and proposition, he says, will be at a competitive price because of ACDelco's size and scale. "It's going to take a little time to turn that into meaningful examples for them. But over time, the ultimate proposition is going to be much better than what it would have been had we continued in status quo," Johnson says.Building the brand Moving into 2007, Duane Miller, executive director, Field Operations for GM Service and Parts Operations (SPO), says ACDelco is determined to "wow" the person putting the parts on the car. "Our strategy is a strong brand, high-quality product and effective distribution," he says. In addition to introducing more than 10,000 new parts in 2006 across its 36 product lines, ACDelco is also now offering additional benefits for members of its Alliance Jobber program, which apply to both current program members and to independent jobbers who join. Beginning in 2007, program members will accrue a marketing allowance - based on their ACDelco product purchases - to be used to directly promote and advertise their ACDelco offerings to their customers. In addition, ACDelco has expanded its e-business solutions to the aftermarket, including its Web Integrated Service Environment (WISE) and WISE Internet Parts (WIP), a Web-based application that lets ACDelco customers check inventory and order parts online anytime from WISE-enabled ACDelco warehouse distributors. The supplier is running an ongoing promotion to support its e-business initiatives: WIP users who purchase $3,000 in ACDelco products within a calendar month will receive GM Electronic Service Information (eSi) the following month at no additional charge. The 2006 ACDelco National Convention featured sales meetings with both WD and TSS accounts, Dedicated Distribution Group (DDG) Committee meetings, TSS and WD training sessions and the supplier's Technician of the Millennium IV competition.
