Continued from Cover
Serve Through Pandemic Roland Chartier. “Then we extended credit from net 30 to net 60 for our large customers. “The only change we made to our delivery service was to give all drivers face masks, gloves and supplies to sanitize their vans. Customers were no longer required to sign for delivered parts. The drivers asked for names and noted them on the route/ delivery sheets. We had some of our larger accounts order large stock orders just in case the supply chain was interrupted,” Chartier continued. “When other dealers cut staff or service to customers, we would have our outside sales people work those areas extra hard calling shops and letting them know we were servicing the area. We were able to pick up a few new shops with this tactic. It was hard work and a little luck.” In March, April and May, was your wholesale mechanical business (primarily mechanical repair parts sold to tune-up shops, brake shops and general repair shops) up or down and by what percent? Once again, all except three dealers noted their wholesale mechanical business was down. The smallest decline was 5% and the largest 80%, with an average decline of 39%. One of the three “up” dealers was, again, Richmond Ford Lincoln. The other two were unavailable for comment. Have you had to furlough any parts department personnel and if so, who? Sixty-six percent of respondents said they had to furlough at least one person in their parts department. Some had to let multiple people go. This included 13% who furloughed road sales people and 31% who furloughed stock clerks. Those hit the hardest were delivery drivers, with a 47% furlough rate, and counter people, with a 53% furlough rate; 38% of respondents dismissed both a driver and a counter person. One parts manager noted they cut hours but kept the same number of drivers. Have you altered your parts delivery service and if so, how? This was fairly evenly divided, with 49% saying yes and 51% say-
ing no. Fortunately, for body shops, none of our respondents said they completely stopped delivering. Seventy-eight percent of those who made a change chose to limit the number of delivery runs made per day. A few chose to limit deliveries only to select accounts, one limited delivery by mileage and one limited delivery by dollar value of the order. One VW dealer in northern California noted, “We were allotted one
extra time? Parts department personnel have been using the time to clean up their physical department, check bin counts to ensure inventory accuracy, painting, erecting new shelves and general reorganizing. Some used the time for training. Some updated account information. And some parts managers said with furloughed employees, there was no free time—those that remained were just as busy as before.
“We took our outside salespeople off the road and had them working the phones five or six hours a day contacting customers to see who was open and who was not and if there was anything we could do to help them out,” — Roland Chartier driver and told to make do.” Several dealers said customers were picking up parts at the dealerships in lieu of a reduced delivery capacity. Some dealers used Uber or a taxi service. How have your customers responded to changes in delivery policies? Overall, respondents noted shops understood the situation and were very accepting that business changes were necessary at the dealer level. One Honda parts manager said that because the shops were operating at reduced capacity, they did not deliver after 2 p.m., and most shops seemed to be OK with that. A parts manager at a California Acura dealer said the shops were just happy the dealership was still open and they were able to pick up parts as needed. How much trouble have you had getting parts from your primary OE brand during the height of the pandemic? Respondents said those OEs with the best fill rate during this time were, in no particular order, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz and BMW. However, the degree to which other OEs may have had trouble fulfilling dealer orders may or may not have been caused by the pandemic. Civil unrest or other factors outside the control of the OE may have played a factor. Also, parts manager answers may have been influenced by a particular order or two or a particular part or type of part that may have been temporarily unavailable. Assuming your business has been slow, how have you used the
Already, people have started driving again and business have started reopening. In view of the events of the past few months, how do you view the future of your parts dept? ▪ 33% said: “It will return to its pre-virus levels but will take several months. I expect to rehire my furloughed people eventually.” ▪ 27% said: “I plan to retain some of
the changes we made during the pandemic and there will be a ‘new normal.’” ▪ 22% said: “My parts business has changed little over the past few months. I expect to continue on business as usual.” ▪ 18% said: “It will return to its pre-virus levels in a fairly short amount of time. I expect to rehire my furloughed people fairly soon.” One GM dealer in Michigan said, “We are already back to normal. All employees have already returned.” Do you foresee any long-term negative effects from the pandemic and if so, what? Twenty-seven percent of respondents said yes, while 73% said no. Several of those that said yes said it will take a long time for people who have been out of work to recover. A parts manager at a West Coast Mercedes-Bens dealer noted, “I think this will be an ongoing, seasonal issue for a few seasons/years. The collision business will take on the majority of the decline each time.” See Serve Through Pandemic, Page 34
Your Trusted Source for Mercedes-Benz and Sprinter Parts in the Upper Midwest • Only Mercedes-Benz Parts Pro Approved Dealer in the 5 State Area • Highly Knowledgeable and Dedicated Wholesale Parts Staff Ready to Help You • Free Daily Deliveries and Same Day Hot Shot Deliveries in the Metro Area • Extensive Inventory of Genuine OEM Mercedes-Benz and Sprinter Parts Updated Daily • Compe ve Pricing and Discounts Always
WHOLESALE HOTLINE
866-821-6014 PARTS DIRECT
952-512-6555 HOURS
Sears Imported Autos
13500 Wayzata Blvd. Minnetonka, MN 55305 952-512-6623 24 Hour Parts Fax www.searsimports.com
mbparts@searsimports.com
M-F 7:00am - 6:00pm Sat 8:00am - 4:00pm
30 AUGUST 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com
Midwest_Issue_0820.indd 30
7/20/2020 5:56:50 PM
