Jason Bader

Over the years, I have watched several different management styles.  Some business owners, or senior managers, have their finger in every slice of the pie.  Others have adopted a more passive approach to ownership; even to the point of becoming an absentee owner.  I am not going stick my neck out and say that one approach is right and another is wrong.  Rather, I will gear my comments toward what is sustainable and what is not.  If I could further the point, I would have to include – what is sellable and what is not.

Since I have been teaching and coaching, I have run across several distribution owners looking to hang up the cleats after a long and relatively prosperous career.  They rode the waves and weathered the storms.  Miraculously, they are still standing – a little tattered, but wiser just the same.  Many of them have pulled me aside in confidence asking me if I knew anyone interested in buying a business like theirs.  They have reached the time to cash out and need some help finding a suitor.  While there are suitors out there, the biggest question remains:  is the business ready to sell?

One particular example comes to mind.  For the sake of anonymity, let’s call the owner Dave.  Dave is the owner of a small industrial supply company doing around 5 million annually.  Dave has been in business for over 25 years and continues to be the face of the company to the customers.  He is the lead sales person and the relationships reside with him.  There are other sales people, but none of them have even close to the book of business held by Dave.  At a convention, Dave pulled me aside and asked me if I knew anyone that would be interested in his business.  He was in his late sixties and wanted to be out of the business in a few years.  He and his wife, who had been doing the books all these years, wanted to retire.

I considered Dave a friend and I really wanted to help him find a buyer, but I had to be very honest with him.  The business was not ready to sell.  Could the assets, and a little blue sky for a customer list, be sold?  Sure.  But the compensation would not come close to the blood, sweat and tears spent in 25 years of business function.  He had fallen into the trap that many entrepreneurs wind up in – he was the business.

Regardless of your intentions to sell or stay in the business, every business should be a sellable entity.  By sellable, I mean that the business should be able to function without the owner in a daily operating role.  Here is a little test.  Can you go on vacation for 1 month without any noticeable drop in revenue?  Will you come back to chaos and a mountain of tasks?  If you can leave your post for a month, and the business machine continues to churn, it’s a good bet that you are the owner of a sustainable business.  Have I struck a chord?

The first step in creating a sustainable business is become willing to delegate responsibility.  For self professed control freaks, this is no easy task.  Let’s face it, this is your baby.  It’s hard to let go.  Unfortunately, this type of behavior tends to result in high blood pressure and rides in ambulances.  Delegation means that sometimes tasks will be done differently than you would have done them.  You have to be ok with this.  Remember, the end result is what we are looking for.

Years ago, I read a book on the management philosophy of the US Marine Corps.  What I took away was the concept of managing by the end result.  In one of the examples, the end result was to paint a corridor.  A micro-manager would give the men the paint, brushes and tape.  He would then tell the men where to start, when to use a brush versus a roller and the most effective stroke pattern.  In the end result philosophy, the officer would give the men the paint, brushes and tape.  Then he would explain to them that the corridor needed to be painted.  The end result was the same, but the delegation style was very different.  I guess that it also helps when you can tell team members to drop and give you 20.

Once you have become comfortable with delegation by the end result, the next step is to build a solid bench of talent.  Quit hiring the lowest common denominator into the organization.  Minimum wage and a heartbeat is not going to get you where you want to go.  Since many organizations value the internal promotion philosophy, they need to pay particular attention to the way they attract entry level employees.  I urge companies to develop a recruiting versus hiring mentality.  In recruiting, you sell the candidate on the benefits of working in your organization.  In recruiting, you are going for a higher caliber of candidate so you need to have something to offer.  Monetary compensation is not always the highest priority for upwardly mobile candidates.  Many are more interested in a strong progression.  In order to get into this frame of mind, you might want to take a look at couple of my recent articles:  Are You Hiring or Recruiting New Employees? and Building a Solid Bench of Talent.

Once you have begun the process of upgrading your talent, it is time to work on your management structure.  Some business owners pride themselves on a flat organization meaning that there are few layers of management.  I see this as an excuse to retain control and an inability to let go of the daily operation.  Managers are there to oversee the daily functions of the organization.  As a company matures, the owner should strive for fewer direct reports.  The structure could be defined by functional responsibilities (sales, operations, finance), business unit or territory.  The proper structure will depend on the make up of the entity.  Regardless of the structure, the goal is to allow the owner more time for strategic vision.  Rather than focus on where the company is today, the focus is on where we want to be in the future.

Every team member needs professional development.  Managers are interested in end results.  Leaders are interested in the people that generate those results.  Leadership skills are a critical element to developing a sustainable management team.  Learning how to coach and mentor are not always innate skills.  Sometimes they need be learned.  Although this may sound incredibly self serving, many owners would do themselves a great service by bringing in a business coach for a period of time.  This professional has seen several different operating environments and has less emotional attachment to organization.  They will help you develop the best structure for your organization and keep you accountable to the change.  Without some outside accountability, many business owners slide back to being professional fire fighters.

I would be remiss in not mentioning how an outside board of directors can help drive the owner to be more visionary.  Much like a business coach, the job of the board is to provide some measure of accountability and guidance to the executive team.  Be careful not to load the board with family members, the family accountant, the family attorney and family friends.  Members should be proven business leaders with the ability to give objective feedback.  There is a perception that boards are only for big companies.  This simply isn’t the case.  Every organization, large or small, can use a little outside perspective.

Making modifications to your structure is not an overnight task.  It may take a long time to mentally give up control.  By reviewing this article, my sincere hope is that it gives you pause to think.  Is your management style reactive or proactive?  When was the last time you took a real vacation from the company?  Do you own a business or just a high paying job?  If you need help getting started, or are just looking for a sounding board, remember that I am just an email away.  Good luck.

Jason Bader,
Principal

About the Author:

Jason Bader is the principal of The Distribution Team, a firm that specializes in helping distributors become more profitable through strategic planning and operating efficiencies.  The first 20 years of his career were spent working as a distributor.  Today, he is a regular speaker at industry events and spends most of his time coaching distribution executives through every day challenges.  For more information, call (503) 282-2333 or contact him by e-mail at Jason@Distributionteam.com.  Also visit The Distribution Team’s website at www.thedistributionteam.com.

By now, HDAW’13 in Vegas is a fond memory and you are all now deeply involved in making sure your businesses are successful for 2013.  It seems to take me a few weeks to get back into the business rhythm after HDAW.  HDAW is a marathon and when I return to work, things that have piled up just can’t wait to be done.  But it is all worth it.  After HDAW, I had several hours on my airplane ride home to consider why I find these types of meetings so valuable.

When I first got into this industry in 1970, I was an Engineer for Bendix.  I knew nothing about brakes.  I was a geek from a good engineering school who had good knowledge in fluid dynamics and mechanical systems.  I was never very handy and the most significant mechanic work I did was change the spark plugs wires on my car once.

So when I left Bendix in 1979 to become a heavy duty truck parts distributor, the only thing I really knew was that I knew nothing about the parts I was going to sell or the unique characteristics of being a distributor.  My one saving grace was that I was humble (actually scared) enough to know I was over my head.  Therefore, I would have to look at what others were doing to come up with the best practices for my company.  CFS seemed like the best way to do this.  Every opportunity to attend a meeting with others who knew what they were doing was a learning opportunity for me.  I asked a million questions.  Fortunately for me, this is a very generous industry and others were more than willing to share their recipes for success with me.  I had to pick and choose the best ideas and try to implement them.  I learned that implementing the best practices of others gave me the best chance for success.  I learned about marketing, retailing, core handling, purchasing, pricing, sales administration, warehousing and many other areas of our business that contribute to its profitability.

Finding best practices of others has served me well in my professional life and I suspect that many of you will agree.  When the five finalists for Truck Parts Distributor of the Year were announced at HDAW13, all five are CVSN members.  In fact almost every past winner or nominee is a member of CVSN.  The Boards at both HDATP and VIPAR are made up mostly of CVSN members.  When I am invited to a distributor advisory council from almost any supplier, the attendees are mostly CVSN members.  So if CVSN has most of the best and successful distributors in their membership, why are there not more members?

Since I am one of the beneficiaries of being a member of our industry association, I feel compelled to encourage everyone to follow suit.  As CVSN President, I have with the help of the Board, tried to make it easy to join CVSN.  In fact, there are no dues for the first year.  All that is required is that the distributor meets the requirements and come to the annual meeting called the Aftermarket Distribution Summit.  The cost is only $500. For that, you will have several valuable education sessions, significant time to network with other distributors and suppliers, and a wonderful venue (this year we are in Sonoma in September).  How can you find a better value proposition?

If you own a business, why not do everything you can to make it the best it can be?  How can you be sure you cannot improve your profitability if you do not try to implement something new?  If you do not continue to invest in your business, how do you expect to grow?

My goal is simple.  I want to see this industry get better.  I am tired of seeing charts showing our overall market share even with the OE dealers.  Truck manufacturers force their dealers to attend best practice training meetings called “20 Groups”.  I can’t force you to do anything.  All I can promise you is that if you come to the Summit and introduce yourself to another distributor, you will come away with ideas you have never considered and some will help you.  Let me know if you want me to introduce you and I will do this.  Any of our Board members will be happy to make the introductions.  CVSN is an opportunity you cannot afford to ignore!

Check us out on www.cvsn.org.

Mark Karon
CVSN President
Total Truck Parts

Dave Willis

In today’s hectic environment time just might be our most valuable resource. With the tug of family, business, and outside interests deciding on where to allocate our time becomes a matter of “return on investment”. Making time to attend an industry meeting must have a return greater than the cost and time lost. If you are like me much of your 2013 calendar is already filled with business meetings, shows, and family events, so I make sure to mark my September schedule for the Summit.

CVSN’s 2013 Aftermarket Distribution Summit held at the Hyatt Vineyard Creek in Santa Rosa, Sonoma CA from September 15-18 is an industry event all should make time for. CVSN is the premier heavy duty aftermarket association focusing on making our industry and those involved in it better through education in all business functions, industry issues, and political activism.

The Summit in September is a unique event providing Distributors (from different marketing groups), Independents, and Manufacturers with just the right amount of networking, education, industry updates, and private strategic planning sessions (PSP) with suppliers and distributors, all in a setting that is second to none.

First let’s start with the venue. Does it get any better than Sonoma California in September? With the wineries, restaurants, golf courses, and scenery you would be hard pressed to not find something to enjoy. That is why many attendees bring their wives or significant others     

This year CVSN will cover such important topics as the Massachusetts’ Right to Repair Law and how it affects the heavy duty aftermarket.  Unions and how the NLRB is quietly changing the laws regarding our businesses and the consequences of said actions. Obamacare and how it will change our employee’s healthcare now and in the future. These topics and more await you at the Summit.

The Private Strategic Planning sessions are just like mini distributor advisory councils. These sessions are only available to those who attend the Summit and are a wonderful venue to discuss and work out industry issues and problems. Just attending these can be worth the price of admission, but along with all the other things offered make for a very special meeting.

As I stated previously CVSN is an association that focuses on the betterment of our industry thus it has joined with HDDA and AAIA to become more politically active on those issues that affect us such as Right to Repair and Card Check . Those distributors who attend the Summit understand this and through their participation help fund those initiatives critical to our long term survival.

Certainly as I talk with those distributors who prosper their participation in CVSN (previously CFS & NWRA) is critical to their success. Unlike buying groups CVSN gives a distributor the ability to network with those distributors and vendors who are not in their buying group, as well as with those who are. As with a

ny group or organization you get out what you put in.

Please make time on your calendar to attend the Summit in September. Between the educational programs, the PSP’s, the networking, and the fantastic facilities at the Hyatt Vineyard Creek you are sure to walk away with information you can use and memories you can cherish.

Dave Willis
President CRW Parts, Inc. in Baltimore, Maryland

Mark Karon

Being CVSN President is a daunting task.  First, you feel a tremendous sense of responsibility to do the best job you can.  You also soon realize that you will never be able to accomplish all that you wanted.  But the most frustrating part of leading the association is the fact that so many in our industry just do not realize the value of CVSN.

I know I share a love and respect for this industry with those of you who read this.  The industry has been good to us and has provided us with a good income and many happy moments.  It has also created the opportunity to make great friends who I enjoy seeing at every opportunity.  I hope you share the feeling I have of being lucky to be a heavy duty independent distributor.

I need your help to grow our association.  Listed below are just a few of the reasons why distributors need to be a part of CVSN.  I need you to reach out to those distributors in your market and in your group and encourage them to join our association.  A stronger association helps us all, so there is no reason to be selfish and not invite your competitor to join CVSN.

With all the positive reasons for belonging to CVSN, I just cannot seem to find a better way to get the rest of our industry to understand the value, than by those who experience it.  In another article I wrote in this edition of the Insider, I talked about the networking opportunities.  But that is not all there is to being a member of CVSN.  There is the education.  We have at our Summit great education programs set up with the objective of giving the attendees specific take-aways that can be integrated into our current businesses for immediate benefits.

We offer the Profit Planning Survey to members at no extra cost.  This is a valuable tool to help members drill down into their financials to find areas of profit improvement by seeing how they compare with other members of our association.  This is all done in a way that your data is secure and nobody sees any specific data from another member.  All you have to do is submit your year-end financial statement.  For me, this has been a valuable tool to communicate to our bank in these hard times so they are more comfortable with our company and it keeps our interest rates low.

CVSN offer discounts for its members to attend HDAW and the Aftermarket Distribution Summit.  We send out articles written by industry experts on ways to improve your business.  We are also working with other aftermarket associations and entities to coordinate improvements in the way business is done in our industry.

All of the above, along with the opportunity to network with other distributors should be enough to encourage you to join CVSN.  But there is one more important reason that you should consider.  Our industry is facing some serious issues that threaten our future.  First, in their thirst for more revenue, the Government is looking at eliminating LIFO accounting.  This would require you to revalue your inventory annually to reflect the replacement value defined by the price sheets in place on that date.  Never mind the fact that you bought it before the last price sheet increase.  This reevaluation will translate into an increased tax.

Another threat to our industry is the fact that the current administration is trying to change the labor laws to make unions easier to form in small businesses.  Imagine having to deal with a union negotiation for setting your company pay scales.

Finally, there is the access to information.  If you think this does not affect you, you are being naïve.  Those of us who have shops have seen double digit increases in business as customers outsource their vehicle repairs.  That is resulting in lower parts sales to fleets.  Our shops are finding it increasingly difficult to get the necessary information to both fix the truck and reset the computers after it is fixed.

To address these threats and those not even invented yet, we need a strong association to have a loud voice.  Politicians listen to loud voices and ignore small voices.  If you care about the industry that supports you, please join us so we can add your voice to ours and make sure the politicians understand which regulations will hurt our industry. Refer membership prospects to the membership tabs on our web site, www.cvsn.org.  Ask every distributor you know to also join us.  A rising tide lifts all boats.  Make a contribution to our membership growth objectives and reach out.  I thank you in advance for your efforts.

Marc Karon
President, Total Truck Parts

Steve Hansen- Minimizer Sales Manager

Headquartered in Blooming Prairie, Minnesota, USA, Minimizer manufactures poly truck fenders, poly toolboxes, customized mud flaps, and bracket kits. Family owned and operated for nearly three generations, Minimizer’s parent company Spray Control Systems, Inc., was founded in 1983 by Dick Kruckeberg. Dick was a truck driver and was consistently disappointed with his metal fenders bending, cracking and breaking. He invented his own solution: The Minimizer poly fender.

Now, 27 years later, Minimizer has over 50 employees, and goes to market via an international distribution network making Minimizer products available locally on a national level throughout North America.

The product and the Minimizer lifetime guarantee are the foundation of our success. Minimizer fenders never need paint, never fade, never rust, never crack and never need polishing. They are “Tested and Tortured” before they go on your truck to make sure they can withstand any challenge.

Minimizer continues to grow our core fender product line and is expanding into new materials such as chrome poly and new markets such as military applications. The Company has experienced significant growth over the past decade as a result of investments in marketing and sales, new equipment, research and development enhancements and a new corporate campus.

Much of our sales are via independent distributors. They are the lifeblood of Minimizer and we view the relationship as a partnership. We recognize independent distributors enjoy a unique flexibility allowing them to sell to all heavy-duty customers with a much broader product mix. And because of the high level of service provided by independent distributors, customers and fleets have a much better buying experience.

Critical strategies for success with our independent distributors are communication, training and sales support. Minimizer’s goal is closer integration with distributors for improved training, product support and the resulting sales increases. We want to do more fleet calls and onsite training with distributors.

Training has always been a central focus of the Minimizer sales process. The company consistently leverages the most up-to-date technology for increased and improved training. Sales meetings occur in a room with the words “Training, Training, Training” stenciled on the wall. Minimizer is unique in that we don’t use manufacturer representatives. With the exception of our Canadian territory manager, all of our sales representatives are based at our Minnesota headquarters. This provides us with unique control and consistency with our sales channel execution. Our 9 territories each have a manger that visits distributors monthly for training purposes. When not traveling with distributors our sales managers leverage webinars for remote training.

Minimizer is also focused on lead generation for our distributor network. We aggressively market to the end user, spending over $1 million annually attending tradeshows, advertising in trade publications, sponsoring industry functions and utilizing a state-of-the-art website. The leads generated are sent directly to distributors to close the loop on the sale.

The distributor relationship is so critical to Minimizer that we sign a partnership promise with all distributors. It’s a written agreement ensuring what each party will provide – leads, marketing support, custom sales sheets, training, and a long-term partnership. To this end… we also attend the CVSN Summit each year. This Summit provides a productive meeting venue and allows for face-time with our important customers in both a business and a casual setting. We always garner new partnerships and new business at CVSN.

CVSN also provides valuable private strategic planning sessions and round table discussions where we receive valuable feedback from industry leaders. We believe this past show was the most important meeting this year in the heavy-duty aftermarket industry. CVSN is a terrific investment for the future of our business.

As we move forward we are committed to providing innovative products manufactured to the highest standards so you, our valued distributor, can confidently go to market and win business.

For more information or to contact Steve Hansen directly please call (800) 248-3855, email him at steve@minimizer.com or visit www.minimizer.com.

Dave Olsen - CEO of Transaxle

TransAxle LLC is proud to be the largest East Coast provider of remanufactured drivetrain components to the commercial fleet and industrial markets.  The company was started in 1978 by Warren and Howard Klein and was sold in 2006 to Graham Partners, a private equity group out of Philadelphia PA.  TransAxle is a drivetrain specialist.  We have 275 dedicated employees, 22 branches from Bangor ME to Greenville, SC., and 4 remanufacturing facilities, including one dedicated Allison transmission facility that sells exclusively to the wholesale markets under the brand “TRC”.

In addition to our retail and remanufacturing operations, TransAxle has vehicle repair facilities in fourteen of our locations.  Growing this business segment is a key strategy for the company.  TransAxle plans to grow this segment of our business by utilizing the talents and experience of our strong management team, many of whom have decades of experience in the industry. Utilizing this pool of talent and experience, we plan to continue our growth in this segment by adding locations and product lines to our current offerings.  Growth is made possible by empowering people in leadership positions; we find this to be especially true for our branch managers that have full P&L responsibility for their operations.

We see three major challenges facing our company.  First, evolution in product design and integration of electronics into drivetrains will continue to make training and education a major objective for our people.  To address this challenge, we host weekly webinars for our 22 branch location management teams and 35 sales people which focus on product, market and training activities. We also believe that training our customers is a value that separates us from our competitors.  We have a goal for 2011 to train 3000 customers and we will surpass that goal.  We utilize our own team of employees for all training classes. This allows Transaxle to utilize the vast experience of our employees while reinforcing the depth of knowledge we possess to our customers. Examples of training topics would include Allison transmission diagnostics, drivetrain troubleshooting and installation, and CSA initiatives.

The second challenge will be recruitment of experienced and motivated people in our industry.  We have a robust recruiting effort in place at all times and are working with colleges and technical schools to support the effort to recruit candidates into our industry.  Additionally, we strive to find people within our company that express the interest in growing – we embrace these people and push them to stretch and progress.

Lastly, we see the access to information that is being strategically withheld by the original equipment (OE) manufacturers as a continuing challenge in both the remanufacturing business and the vehicle repair segment.  Active participation in support of the Right to Repair Act is an integral part of our strategy to ensure vehicle owners retain the repair options they demand.

Information sharing is a critical part of any successful organization.  At TransAxle, we have a fully integrated ERP system – Navision – which connects our suppliers, our customers and TransAxle.  In addition, we have used sales force automation for several years with our sales force creating an enormous database of customers, activity, etc.

Our membership in HDA Truck Pride is a key component of our growth strategy.  It allows us to grow our product line offering.   Besides the rebates, the group assists in managing the supplier relationships which frees up time for us to focus on our customers.  These groups will evolve and offer additional value added services related to reaching our customers and service providers.

We also believe that the work of CVSN is very important.  We believe that it is important to become involved in the industry that has treated us so well.  CVSN is emerging as the major non-competitive voice of the independent channel.  However, the competing distribution channels have a more robust lobbying effort through NADA etc. CVSN must grow and stay focused on its mission to support all independents and get more distributors to recognize the importance of their support.  The recent CVSN meeting with law makers in Washington D.C. is a step in the right direction.

Editors note:      Dave Olsen, CEO of Transaxle asked that I include the following in his company profile:

Having grown up in the heavy truck parts business, I’ve had the pleasure of working for two of the biggest and best supporters of the independent aftermarket – Bendix and Meritor.  While working for both, I can honestly say that I had a strong attraction to the independent channel.  Principally, this was due to the ability to forge friendships and partnerships that could stand the test of time.  The industry has changed greatly with roll up’s, national players, consolidation of the OE’s and our supply base.  However, this strength – the ability to forge partnerships – has not changed in much of the independent channel.  Now that I’m on the distributor side of the fence, I see and feel this even more.  Frankly, I’m kicking myself for not taking this leap 20 years ago.  With the help of the best team in the industry, at TransAxle, I look forward to moving our business and the independent channel in total into the next decade.

Dave Willis – President, CRW Parts & CVSN Treasurer

In two short months CRW Parts Inc will be celebrating its 50^th anniversary, but if you consider it a continuation of R W Norris and Sons (as many of our suppliers do) we have been around since 1850. While many would consider this pretty impressive it is not unusual in our industry. Pioneer Rim and Wheel and Midwest Wheel both recently celebrated their 100^th birthdays while Six Robblees will be 100 years old in 2013.

What do these companies all have in common besides good people, a little luck, and a strong commitment to our industry?  CVSN!

In the frenetic fast paced world we live in today, many business owners (big and small) think belonging to a buying/marketing group is all they need to steer them on the road to success. They believe belonging to an association is an expense they cannot afford, either monetarily, or from a time commitment standpoint.

I would argue belonging to an association, more specifically, CVSN, is an investment a heavy duty parts distributor cannot afford to miss.

CVSN is an association formed in 2006 through a merger of Council of Fleet Specialists (CFS) and National Wheel and Rim Association (NWRA). This merger formed the largest association of independent truck parts and service distributors in the transportation industry. Countries represented within the membership are the United States, Canada, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.

But what, you ask, can CVSN offer that cannot be covered in a buying group?

First and foremost is the chance to meet, talk with, and share ideas with the best and brightest in our industry. If all I did was attend VIPAR I would not get to see, and pick the brains of, Dave Scheer (Inland Truck Parts), Andy Robblee ( Six Robblees), Mike Callison and John Minor (Midwest Wheel), and Marc Karon (Total Truck Parts) just to name a few. I would also miss out on seeing and talking with the vendors who are not a part of my marketing group. All of these people and companies are committed to making our industry better by sharing their knowledge and expertise with those willing to listen. No matter how much our industry changes it’s still about the relationships we build with our customers, suppliers, and fellow distributors.

Because CVSN is an association formed for the betterment of our industry, EDUCATION plays a vital role in our meetings. Topics covered over the last few years are; Technology, Legislative Issues, Sales & Marketing, Purchasing, Labor Issues, Finance, Economy, Leadership/Management, and Health Care  just to name a few. I have heard Richard Spitzke, CEO of Fort Garry Industries, say on numerous occasions that the information gleaned from these association meetings have been vital to the success of his business. Coming from Richard that is a pretty strong affirmation of the value these meetings provide its members.

CVSN, through its relationship with AAIA, is becoming a more active advocate, regarding the legislative issues facing our companies today. Issues such as Card Check, Obama Care, CSA, Right to Repair, and the rescinding of LIFO all need our attention and voice on Capitol Hill. If we do not fight our own battles no one else will.

The stature that CVSN is gaining in the industry is also very evident in the fact that CVSN is a one-third owner of the best all-industry event held each January, the Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week.   If you have not attended this event yet, you are missing one of the best events in our industry for the independent distributor.  I encourage you to attend this January 23-26 at the Mirage in Vegas.

Over the years I have met many wonderful people in the heavy duty market place and they all seem to have one thing in common. They are willing to give of themselves, without pay, to improve the industry we operate in. CVSN may be a luxury to some, but it is a luxury CRW can’t afford to live without!

Mike Betts – CEO Betts Spring Company

HDAW ’12 is going to be something special. With a great theme: “Corporate Culture: The Foundation for Success” this year’s independent distributor conference will provide the attendees with an information and education program that promises to be both profound and reflective. The opening general session and four individual education sessions are designed to hit home. This is based on the fact that the “Culture” in your business is your key to success!

Let’s not kid ourselves, our industry is “graying” and the need for succession planning and a new generation of leaders has never been more important. We are hopeful that every CEO will bring their next generation of learners and leaders to this year’s event.

Most people attend events, such as concerts, plays or business conferences with a single goal in mind, to feel enriched and energized. HDAW 2012 has been planned and constructed to be more than just an enrichment experience. The educational sessions will focus on the importance of excellence in the culture of your business and the enormity of it as an integral part of your company’s DNA.

Several of the HDAW 12 speakers and sessions will drill-down on the conference theme and deliver real life stories and examples on what makes some businesses the best and why the best thrive and succeed.

Robert Richman of Zappos Insights is our conference-opening speaker and will set the stage for discussion of the overall theme for HDAW ’12. The audience will find out that there is good reason Zappos was voted #1 in the American Choice Awards for the best customer service in the world. Robert will describe and you will learn what makes the culture at Zappos unique and what is important to the “Y” generation and how the real world work environment has changed from years past.

We are also very pleased that Gov. Bill Graves, President and CEO of the American Trucking Association (ATA) will be a featured speaker. Bill has been involved in our industry his entire life. For almost 70 years, he and members of his family have operated trucking companies. Among the outstanding combination of attributes Bill Graves brings to his role are his ability to create public policy, his administrative experience, political skills, and a life-long knowledge of the motor-carrier industry. Gov. Graves will bring the audience up to date with the most pressing issues impacting our industry and the nation’s fleets today.

Business consultant Edgar Papke states “Effectively leading and leveraging an organization’s culture is one of the key challenges for all business leaders”. Papke will provide a proven framework for better understanding and leading organizational cultures. You will come away better able to assess the culture in your business. Is your culture and business strategy in alignment? Does your business create an environment where higher levels of performance are the norm? Do all those on your team know the vision of your business?

Todd Cohen will package all the education sessions and bring everything full circle. What makes a sale and why do people buy from you! You will learn how to obtain outstanding sales results and how to build a high performance sales team. Do you have a sales team or a sales culture? Come and learn the difference!

Annette Sandberg, CEO of Transafe Consulting held the top position as Administrator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) during the previous administration. Annette will share with the audience step by step examples on what the distributor can and needs to do to help their fleet customers be successful in managing CSA requirements, or BASICs. The audience will learn how your business and your people can assist fleets with the compliance issues in the CSA rules; and how to capitalize on it.

Don Reimondo CEO of HDA Truck Pride will be the moderator of an industry executive panel discussion, consisting of an excellent cross section of the major elements of the North American aftermarket. Each panelist will address how the distributor is performing in today’s marketplace and what they can do to compete and grow their business and offer possible strategies for distributors to “Win in the Future”.

The panelists are: Don Nugent, of US Transport with the fleet’s perspective. Robyn Spitzke, of Fort Garry Industries will be the voice of the independent distributor. Kyle Treadway, of Kenworth Sales and current chairman of the American Truck Dealers (ATD) will speak from an OEM dealer’s perspective. John Wensel, of Wensel’s Truck Centers will present a truck repair and service center point of view.

The panelists will describe what makes each of their cultures a valuable asset to their business and how their culture ultimately reflects upon and defines their success. Prior to HDAW, we will survey the attendees for questions to ask the panel. Please feel free to email any questions in advance of HDAW 2012 to Sue Kalish at sue.kalish@aftermarket.org so we can be sure you are heard and get answers!

With several networking events, such as meals, breaks and receptions, HDAW offers industry leaders multiple opportunities to connect. Couple that with a world class product expo, one on one meetings and all that goes with Las Vegas and HDAW ’12 promises to be the event of the year for the independent heavy duty aftermarket.

Join us at HDAW 2012 go to our website at www.hdaw.org and register today!

Mark Karol - President CVSN / Total Truck Parts

Imagine a time when the DOT official will hook into a connector on the truck and read all the fault codes to determine potential infractions, and your current customers can no longer buy from you because both you and they lack the necessary tools to complete the repair on the truck.  Customers will be forced back to the dealer.  Imagine a time when your company employees decide to belong to a union because the regulations dealing with the formation of unions prevent you from even offering a counter argument.  If that is not scary enough, think of the financial impact on your business if the government reevaluates inventory in a way that results in a write-up of the value.  Imagine coming to work one day and seeing an IRS notice that states you owe an additional amount of taxes in the hundreds of thousands.

This is not an unknown John Lennon song or some speaker preaching gloom and doom.  Each of these scenarios is actually a bill or a regulation that is being proposed in Congress today.  It was precisely the reason that CVSN held their annual Aftermarket Distribution Summit this past week in Washington D.C.  CVSN is our main industry association that is primarily focused on the future of our industry and the success of its participants.  The marketing groups are also very important, but they primarily are focused on the financial rewards that keep our companies running.  To be successful in the future, we need both the Marketing Group and the CVSN Association to be strong and viable.

This year’s Summit was a big success.  Our education programs were some of the best we have ever had.  The meeting was opened with Richard Schien receiving the President’s award for his contributions in the area of technology.  Karmak was the first computer system designed specifically for our industry.  Former Governor Robert Ehrlich, Jr. gave us a detailed look at the current political environment and his expectations for the future.

Our first education session was sponsored by HDX/Datalliance.  It was titled “helping Your Customers with Tools and Technology”.  The premise for this session was that technology and information was not only an issue for the repair shops.  Small fleets and parts only distributors will face increasing challenges to become knowledgeable and capable in diagnosing and repairing trucks.  There is also a marketing opportunity to sell the equipment to our fleet customers.  The three speakers, Tom Kotenko from NEXIQ, Dave Constantino from Michell 1, and Christopher Edd from Motor and Fleetcross gave both enlightening talks and demonstrations of their hardware and software.

There were several discussions about CSA2010.  Bert Mayo from the Lockton Company serves as a consultant for many of the top fleets and gave us a better understanding on how fleet owners are changing their maintenance procedures to accommodate this new law.  He also recommended some practices we can do at the distributor level to increase awareness at our customers and become more valuable to them.  Anne Ferro, the Administrator for FMCSA explained the motivation and direction of the new law and agreed to consider aftermarket distributors in the discussion about future rulemaking.

Jim Camp, trains people how to become better negotiators and wrote “Start with No”.  He gave out copies of his book which should be used to train our sales people to become better at negotiating sales with customers.  Gene Marks gave a very good analysis explaining what is coming in the economy and what will likely affect our profits in months and years ahead.  Our final education session was with Dr. Bob Nelson.  Dr. Nelson has written several books on using recognition as a reward.  This was for me, one of the best sessions because it is easy to implement and leads to a better and more productive working environment.

Besides education programs, we had private strategic planning sessions (PSP’s) with nine suppliers.  These are like mini-DAC meetings and allow distributors to discuss issues as a group with a given supplier.  We also had several networking opportunities giving attendees a chance to meet with suppliers and fellow distributors in a comfortable setting where ideas can be exchanged and strategic alliances can be reinforced.

All of the above was wonderful and well worth the time and expense.  But the best part for me, was the legislative summit that was put on with the help of AAIA.  This was a unique opportunity to visit with congressmen, senators and legislative staffers in their offices to present specific issues that affect our industry.  Walking the halls of Congress and pitching our issues was both exciting and humbling.  It was a long day and we were tired in the end, but we actually moved a few legislators to our causes.  Some of what I wrote in this first paragraph may not happen, mainly because we were able to clarify the issues and their impact to our officials.

But work still needs to be done.  Although we had a record attendance, we still only had a small percentage of the overall industry.  Do you really think it is wise to sit back and allow your businesses to be hurt by bad legislation?  Do you want to tell any of your employees that they are laid off because you could not spend a thousand dollars and give up three days of your time?  How are you going to be able to compete if you do not have the latest information and ideas?

The problem we face as an industry is that we underestimate the efforts that are being expended to put us out of business.  When OEM’s go to Washington to talk to Congress, nobody sits on the sideline.  When the OEM’s want to educate their dealers, it is mandatory.  Being independent, as we are, is a wonderful freedom we enjoy, but independence does not eliminate the need for responsibility.  We need to present a strong united front to beat back the challenges in our industry.

If you are unsure of the value of becoming a member of CVSN, I suggest you come to our next Summit, which will be in Niagra Falls on September 16^th through the 19^th.  We have a limited number of guest invitations which will give you the opportunity to attend the function before joining the association.  If you want to come, please contact Angelo Volpe at www.cvsn.org.

Mark Karol - Total Truck Parts

I have had the honor of being your President for just a few weeks and I have had two revelations.  First, never forget how many years you have been married.  For those who attended our meeting in Washington D.C., there needs to be no further explanation.  My second revelation is that there is never enough time to do all the things that I want to do.

Our meeting in Washington exceeded my expectations.  The suppliers who support us with their sponsorships and attendance to the Summit did a great job with the PSP training, and the networking sessions for those distributors that attended were productive.  It was a unique thrill to roam the halls of Congress educating Congressmen and legislative assistants on the issues that threaten our industry.  Some of you may not be aware that the Right to Repair is not the only issue facing us in the future.  New proposed union rules, issued by the NLRB, could result in each of us having to deal with union shops.  In addition, the continuing effort to find ways to pay for government programs may lead to the elimination of LIFO accounting rules.  This could place each of us who use this accounting rule, to pay a lot more in taxes.

Our association gets stronger each year and we have to be thankful for the good leaders that preceded me.  But we also have significant challenges.  I believe they fall into two areas.  First, CVSN has to better define its role in the industry.  Our goal should be to represent the independent heavy duty distributor, his/her interests, and our industry.  However, the majority of our industry participants do not seem to believe this objective has enough value to justify joining the effort.  That leads to our second goal which is to increase our value proposition and grow our membership.

In the past, bringing the industry together was much easier.  First, there was no HDAW, so one-on-one meetings were the exclusive purview of CFS and NWRA.  Marketing groups were in their early stages and usually consisted of a business meeting.  Suppliers were also more inclined to participate in many meetings in an industry that was disjointed.  Things are different today.   Many distributors do not feel that they need an industry association.  They get what they believe they need from their marketing groups.  Others falsely believe that HDAW acts as an association and will address their industry requirements.

While each of these does provide a valuable resource for the heavy duty distributor, neither represents a universal voice.  That is what only an association can do.  CVSN is the universal voice of our industry.  When issues challenge the existence of our industry, it is CVSN that will fight for the whole industry.  Several years ago, the original equipment manufacturers were able to get legislation introduced in Congress to restrict vehicle owners from using anything other than original equipment parts for a period of ten years after the vehicle was built.  CFS, the industry association at the time fought a huge fight with the help of its members.  CFS had a strong membership at the time because it was the only group that offered one-on-one meetings with suppliers.  We were able to convince Congress along with other allies in the battle to not pass this legislation that would have killed our companies.

Our battles are not over.  Competitors are aways looking at ways to create a beneficial environment for them at our expense.  In addition, the government is always looking to create regulations and many of them just cost us more money.  I understand as much as anyone that the business owners are under a lot of stress these days.  Time is a precious resource and none of us can afford to waste it with one more meeting and a small addition cost of joining the association.  But I believe it is a good business decision.  A strong association has a strong voice.  Suppliers who see us as disjointed and uncommitted will factor this into their marketing strategies.  Competitors will view us as weak and not be as encouraged to find more amicable solutions for our industry segment.  The effect on you will be more costly that joining, but by then, it will be too late.

I could try to argue that you owe something to the industry that supports you.  I could present a good case that if you sit on the sidelines, you will one day wish you had chosen to become more involved.  But I do not think either argument will get my fellow distributors to join CVSN.  So my job is to show you the benefits and economic justification of your membership.  Even though there is not enough time, I will focus on the main goal of increasing support and membership in CVSN throughout my Presidency.