Truck Parts & Service 0515 by Richard Street

Cummins Planning Customer Tour | VIPAR debuts online marketplace

Implementing the

‘Master’ plan MAKING THE CASE FOR A MASTER WAREHOUSE MAY 2015 |

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Remanufacturing: A second chance for sales 20

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息2015 Meritor, Inc.

Volume 51 | Number 5 | May 2015

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Cover Story

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Editorial

Editor: Lucas Deal Online Editor: Jason Cannon Equipment Editor: Jack Roberts editorial@truckpartsandservice.com

Design & Production

Art Director: Richard Street Advertising Production Manager: Anne Marie Horton

Implementing the ‘Master’ plan

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Feature 18 Master warehouse design tips 20 Remanufacturing: A second chance for sales 22 The green advantage of reman

Departments 1 2 6 12

Editorial Staff Editorials Industry Focus Tech Updates

26 32 35 36

Marketplace Classified Ads Product Spotlight Advertisers’ Index

ONLINE RESOURCES Visit us online to browse the latest industry news and products, the Buyers’ Guide and industry white papers and technical data at

WWW.TRUCKPARTSANDSERVICE.COM Truck Parts & Service (ISSN 0895-3856) is published monthly by Randall-Reilly, LLC, 3200 Rice Mine Road N.E., Tuscaloosa, AL 35406. Periodicals postage paid at Tuscaloosa, AL and additional offices. Subscriptions: $50 for one year, outside USA add $10. For change of address and other subscription inquiries, please contact: truckparts&service@halldata.com. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM 507.1.5.2); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to Truck Parts & Service 3200 Rice Mine Road N.E., Tuscaloosa, AL 35406.

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Editorial | Lucas Deal

An hour a day By Lucas Deal, Editor lucasdeal@randallreilly.com

ne benefit I have in my position is the ability to attend a lot of conferences. I get to listen to nationally renowned motivational speakers and business consultants. I get to be a fly on the wall at high-level business workshops and training events. I receive advice on selling parts and service, on marketing, on succession planning. You name it. If someone’s offering tips for improving your aftermarket operation, I’m there. And afterward, I try to present that information to you. It’s with that in mind that I relay this recommendation from Bob Greenwood, president and CEO at Automotive Aftermarket E-Learning Centre: “I want you to spend at least two hours per day, uninterrupted, on your business. I want you to really analyze your business and what you do.” An aftermarket veteran who offers business consulting in the automotive and heavy-duty markets, Greenwood made that statement last month at the HDA Truck Pride Annual Meeting. I’m sure some of you were there. For those who weren’t, Greenwood’s statement was received about how you’d expect. The distributors in the audience were completely receptive to his presentation and business advice. They were engaged, and interested in his thoughts for making their business better. But when that two-hour figure came

up … yeah, there was some hesitation. In an industry as fast-paced and hectic as this one, finding just two minutes of silence can be tricky. Two hours seems nearly impossible. It’s with that in mind that I offer a compromise. Can you spare an hour? Maybe you can use that first hour of the day, before the other employees and customers start streaming in? Or maybe you can sneak away as the day winds to a close?

Think about your business. Is there anything you’d like to improve? Step away from the action for a bit and survey the scene. Think about what you just witnessed. “How did we do today? How can we do it better?” I think Greenwood’s advice is sound. Two hours a day might not be feasible at this moment, but the concept of taking time every day to step back and think about the big picture is a great idea. Just think about your business. Is there anything you’d like to improve? Maybe a process you know is flawed, but haven’t

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been able to nail down how to fix it? I’ve got to imagine five hours a week for your thoughts would get you moving in the right direction. Greenwood admits change is difficult. It can take months to build a strategy for improvement and years of implementation before you reap the rewards. He admits that can be discouraging, but says that’s what needs to be done to drive real change and improvement. And Greenwood believes change is absolutely coming to the heavy-duty aftermarket. He cites shifting customer purchasing trends as one area where change is most visible. Customers today don’t just want parts, they want solutions. They want to be able to turn to you the instant they have a problem, and they expect you to immediately respond. If your business isn’t capable of doing that, Greenwood says it doesn’t matter how impressive your product offering is or how low your prices are. That customer isn’t coming back. So take a second to look at your calendar. See what’s on the docket for today and the rest of this week. Do you have an hour free? Do you think it’s worthwhile to spend that time analyzing your business? Greenwood says “history has never been kind to people that want to stay the status quo when there is dramatic change taking place.” If he’s right, it will be an hour well spent.

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Editorial | Jason Cannon

When the truck becomes your customer By Jason Cannon, Online Editor jasoncannon@randallreilly.com

here’s a very real chance in the not-too-distant-future that the way some of your customers look will change. They will get taller, wider and a lot heavier. E-commerce is an increasingly popular option because it allows the customer to order what they need at their convenience, but I think there’s a more convenient method on the horizon. Eventually, trucks will place parts orders themselves. Tractors are already capable of communicating faults to drivers and fleets, but it’s only a matter of time before the truck takes it a couple steps further. The next great wave in truck maintenance will be in prognostics; technology that allows the truck to communicate that a failure event is imminent, but has not yet occurred. Such technology would allow fleets and drivers to have a repair made before the truck actually breaks down and potentially slash downtime down to practically nothing. Or as close to nothing as you can reasonably get. Once prognostic technology arrives on a wide scale and gets refined, I would fully expect the truck to place the order for the needed part without much human interaction. That’s not to say the truck will be reaching out to you directly. But if the truck communicates back to the fleet that it is about to experience a failure of X-part number and can talk to the

software that manages the fleet’s parts inventory — or communicate with the vendor’s software — that’s about a streamlined as you can get. A service ticket could be generated in a matter of seconds, and it wouldn’t require a person to actually touch anything.

If each time a part is ordered by the truck and picked by the fleet, and you knew it needed to be replaced, that could practically eliminate rush orders. Tying your software capabilities into this process could really streamline selling. If each time a part is ordered by the truck and is picked by the fleet, and you knew it needed to be replaced, that could practically eliminate out of stock items and rush orders.

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You could simply replenish the parts as they are used. And with prognostics, since the failure event has yet to occur, you could become an increasingly valuable supply resource. The part isn’t needed right away since the truck isn’t sitting on the side of the road. That gives you more time to order the parts you need that you may otherwise not keep on hand, without the significant risk of having a disappointed and inconvenienced customer. If you’re able to embed yourself deeply with the fleet, you could get a clearer picture of what your customers are really dealing with and become a more valuable tool in the repair process. You’re no longer just a vendor. You’re providing backup. You’re part of the team. And if you’re also the one making the repairs, you get a part number and schedule a repair without an angry driver who just pulled in breathing down your neck. You might now have to juggle technician time as aggressively as you do now because you can now actually better manage a downtime event. The shop efficiencies this process could afford your business are practically limitless, and with better efficiencies comes better profits. The transition to this process probably won’t be painless (or free), but I believe it will pay lots of dividends in the end, including a closer relationship with your customer — the truck.

Industry Focus

Dealer News East Manufacturing has named Great Western Leasing & Sales Inc. in Fontana, Calif., as an authorized East dealer. Charlotte-based Advantage Truck Center will build a 44,000-sq. ft. facility in Guilford County, N.C., near Volvo Trucks’ North American headquarters. Rihm Kenworth has opened a new parts and service location in Lake Elmo, Minn.

Truck Enterprises, Inc., has started construction on its new facility in Hagerstown, Md.

TEC Equipment has opened a new 48,000 sq. ft. TEC Trailer location in Portland, Ore.

Ward International Trucks has opened a new facility in Tallahassee, Fla.

Tampa, Fla.-based Messina Truck Center has been named Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America, Inc. North American Dealer of the Year, and North American Parts Dealer of the Year. Jim Reed’s Truck Sales, Cortlandt Manor, N.Y., was named the company’s North American Sales Dealer and Service Dealer of the Year.

Truck Centers, Inc. Tech Wins Detection Award Redline Detection has named Rob McNees of Truck Centers, Inc. (TCI) as the winner of its 2015 Redline Rock Star Performance Award. McNees, a top tier ASE Master Certified heavy-duty truck technician, has worked at Truck Centers, Inc. for 28 years in St. Louis, Mo. He was selected by the Redline Technical Advisory Board as the winner and received more than $4,000 in cash and prizes from Redline Detection. As the proven top technician at TCI, McNees was nominated by manager Jim Pennington for his exceptional mechanical abilities and dedicated hard work. “I am honored to be selected for the 2015 Redline Rock Star Performance Award,” says McNees. “I’m confident the new Redline tools we received as part of my prize will be very helpful in diagnosing intake and exhaust leaks.”

T R U C K PA R T S & S E R V I C E | M a y 2 0 1 5

Cummins Holding Customer Tour Cummins will hold a Redefining Tour this summer to showcase its products and technologies available for customers in the North American truck market. The tour will feature a fleet of Cummins ISX15-powered heavy-duty trucks, and will visit dozens of cities across the United States and Canada. “We are very excited to announce the 2015 Redefining Tour,” says Amy Boerger, vice president, North American engine business at Cummins. “The Cummins powered fleet not only demonstrates our products in a real-world application, it also allows us to bring the product demonstrations and displays directly to our customers – some of whom we don’t have the opportunity to engage with on a regular basis.” During the tour, Cummins says customers will have an opportunity to interact with Cummins experts to learn about current and future products and technologies.

Industry Focus

Truck Trailer & Equipment Adds New Location Truck Trailer & Equipment has opened a new location in Baton Rouge, La. The new location gives the company five locations across Tennessee, Louisiana and Mississippi. Truck Trailer & Equipment has been servicing the commercial vehicle marketplace across the state of Mississippi since 1967. The greater Baton Rouge market area has a strong demand for commercial vehicle products and the customer support to service the increasing demands of the growing port authority network and major highway expansions, along with

the robust agricultural and off-highway businesses, the company says. Truck Trailer & Equipment is owned by the Hollingsworth Group and is a

proud member of HDA Truck Pride. The company’s management team includes David Hollingsworth, president and John Waits, CFO.

Registration Open For Heavy Duty Leadership Course Northwood University and its University of the Aftermarket program has opened registration for its 2015 Heavy Duty Leadership course, July 12-17, 2015, at Northwood’s Midland, Mich. campus. The University of the Aftermarket says the program is a residential executive development program designed for early to mid-career, management-track heavyduty professional in all market segments. The Heavy Duty Leadership experience includes a blend of industry research and market analysis, discussion and debate of new challenges and competitive strategies, individual skills training in team management, leadership roles, strategic thinking and planning, insight into supply-chain solutions and industry trends, as well as engaging presentations by industry leaders.

Correction

Sharing technical expertise to take your fleet farther SKF provides more than just premium solutions that improve wheel-end reliability and driver safety. We’re also a resource for the latest technical, product and industry information and training. Delivering valuable knowledge and a broad range of solutions, we take the world’s top fleets farther. Find out how we can do the same for you. Contact your SKF distributor or visit www.vsm.skf.com.

www.skfpartsinfo.tv

The March issue of Truck Parts & Service incorrectly listed Carlos Hungria as the new president and CEO at Bendix. Hungria remains the company’s COO; and Bendix is bringing in another person for its president and CEO role. Truck Parts & Service regrets the error.

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SKF Trucknowledgy

@skfpartsinfo

The Power of Knowledge Engineering ® SKF is a registered trademark of the SKF Group | © SKF Group 2014

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7/24/14 7

9:38 AM

Industry Focus

THIS YEAR’S ACTIVITIES: FREE TRUCK PARKING

• Shuttle bus transportation to convention center • Showers, food vendors and exhibitor demos • RV parking (no hook-ups)

This pavilion will provide products, information, free services and education to assist you on the road to better health. • Free health screenings • Cooking demos • In-cab fitness demos • Healthy food options • Health-related vendors

EDUCATION

• Texas Trucking Association seminars • Partners in Business workshops

RECRUITING PAVILION

• Expanded pavilion with more recruiters • Find your next job • Learn about fleet driver packages

OVERDRIVE’S PRIDE & POLISH • Celebrating their 25th anniversary, Pride & Polish sets the standard for truck beauty contests • Enter your truck to compete at PrideandPolish.com and be part of the National Championship Series • Show trucks from across the country on display

Distributor Of The Year Nomination Period Now Open Truck Parts & Service has opened the nomination period for its 2015 Distributor of the Year award. The Distributor of the Year nomination process is open to the entire trucking industry, and all distributors in the United States and Canada are eligible for the award. Interested parties may nominate up to three distributors at www.dotynominations.com through Friday, June 26, 2015. Once the nomination process is complete, Truck Parts & Service will release its five finalists in July.

GenNext Adds To Website GenNext introduces a new feature to its website, GenNext University. GenNext University is designed to be a central repository of educational content to help develop the skills and abilities of organization members, GenNext says. Current content includes recent webinars with keynote speakers Jim Pancero, David Wheatley and Nancy Friedman.

People In The News

PRIDE & POLISH STAGE

Stage hosting numerous sessions that will excite and educate: • Truckers Got Talent contest • Pride & Polish award presentation

RED EYE RADIO

• Daily meet and greets and celebrity appearances • Live performances at the booth • Prize giveaways and drawings

GenNext University can be found by visiting www.gennexthd.com and clicking on the GenNext University tab and entering the site password. Paid GenNext members have been provided the password to the site via email, and interested parties and unpaid members can receive access by signing up for GenNext.

T R U C K PA R T S & S E R V I C E | M a y 2 0 1 5

Michael Christodoulou is the new president and COO of Walter Surface Technologies. Bill Betts has been named president and COO at Betts Company. Former Christodoulou president Mike Betts remains the company’s CEO and Chairman of the Board. Denise Rondini has joined Marx Group Advisors as vice president and member of the company’s Rondini Advisory Board. Volvo Group has dismissed Olof Persson as its president and chief executive, and plans to hire Scania boss Martin Lundstedt to lead Volvo Trucks. Volvo Financial Services also has appointed

Marcio Pedroso as president of its Americas Region. Henning O. Bruns is the new general manager for the DTNA truck manufacturing plant in Bruns Cleveland, N.C. Double Coin has named Rico Austin as Regional Sales Manager for its Southwest Region, and Bill Telefonow as Regional Sales Manager for its Canada Region. Centric Parts and AP Exhaust Technologies have announced a joint board agreement between the two companies. AP Executive Chairman Vange Proimos will join the Centric Parts Board of Directors, and Centric President and CEO, Dan Lelchuk, will join AP board. MERA has hired Brian Hall as senior director, membership and sales.

It’s trucking’s family reunion

Registration is now open! Register now to see what’s new in the trucking industry’s big family of manufacturers, suppliers, and much more including: • More than 500,000 square feet of equipment, products, and services • Over 50,000 trucking professionals at the show • Over 500 industry-leading exhibitors on the show ﬂoor #GATS #TruckShow

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Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas August 27-29, 2015

Thursday, August 27, Noon – 5:00 p.m. Friday, August 28, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Saturday, August 29, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. REGISTRATION SPONSORED BY

Industry Focus

Truck Parts & Service Calendar Event information can be submitted at: www.truckpartsandservice.com/story-ideas/

May 30-June 2 Heavy Duty Aftermarket Canada Conference, Markham, Ontario Aug. 26-27 Commercial Vehicle Outlook Conference, Dallas Aug. 27-29 Great American Trucking Show, Dallas Sept. 12-16 CVSN Aftermarket Distribution Summit, Newport, R.I. Sept. 21-24 TMC Fall Meeting & SuperTech Competition, Orlando

VIPAR Debuts Online Marketplace VIPAR Heavy Duty has launched VIProParts. com, an online marketplace for buyers to purchase heavy-duty truck parts. The website is a full-featured online store where end users can find the industry’s leading brands of high quality aftermarket products, which are then delivered via the VIPAR Heavy Duty network of participating distributors, the company says. “We’ve designed the site with simple navigation, intuitive menus, and robust product search capabilities to enable buyers to shop and purchase parts easily when it best suits them,” says Jeff Paul, director of marketing for VIPAR Heavy Duty. “The online marketplace is an extension of our philosophy of having the right people, with the rights parts, in the right places to best serve our customers. “In this case it is continuing to provide the high quality components customers demand through the local distributor who adds value through their knowledgeable sales and parts specialists with the ease of purchasing online.”

FleetPride Completes Acquisition Of Pardo’s Truck Parts FleetPride has acquired the assets of Pardo’s Truck Service Parts Warehouse, Inc. in Kearny, N.J. Earlier this year, FleetPride purchased six other Pardo’s locations in the New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland markets, and secured an option to acquire the Kearny location at a later date. “Adding this Pardo’s location in Kearny to FleetPride’s system represents one more step toward our goal of establishing an integrated network of branches in the northeastern U.S. that are conveniently located for our customers,” said Kevin Peters, CEO at FleetPride. “FleetPride now has 66 branches throughout this strategically important region.”

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Minimizer Announces Anniversary Contest Winners Chris Coplan and A. Beaumont Transport won Minimizer’s 30th Anniversary Sweepstakes, completing a contest that spanned the second half of 2014. Coplan, a cattle farmer from Henry, S.D., won the $15,000 Owner/Operator prize. A. Beaumont Transport, headquartered in Quebec, Canada, won the $15,000 Fleet prize. “Our customers have been incredibly supportive since my dad started the company in 1984,” says Craig Kruckeberg, Minimizer CEO. “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate our 30th anniversary than by giving back to them.”

Retread Tire Association Growing The following companies are the newest members of the Retread Tire Association (RTA): Nol-Tec Systems, Lino Lake, Minn.; New Pride Corporation, Oakland, Calif,; Heavy Duty Tires, LLC, Lake Worth, Fla.; TC Rubber, Inc., Burnsville, Minn,; and Omoigawa Butsuryu Company, Ltd., Japan, Recauchutagem Nortenha, Portugal; Tatko Servis Kaucuk Otomotiv Ticaret, Turkey; Turkey Retreader Association, Turkey. “We continue to be very pleased and gratified at the amount of support our exciting new association continues to receive from retreaders and others in the retread and tire industries,” says Harvey Brodsky, managing director of the Retread Tire Association.

ATD PROGRAMS

SKILLS TO BE A LEADER, KNOWLEDGE TO DO THE JOB TRUCK DEALER ACADEMY: JULY 6

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CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS: AUGUST 3

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ENROLL NOW AT www.nada.org/Academy

800.557.6232 • www.nada.org/Academy

Tech Updates

TIPS FOR REMOVING FROZEN BRAKE DRUMS

ebb Wheel has released a technical bulletin offering advice for removing frozen brake drums. Webb Wheel describes a frozen drum as a drum that has corroded and molded together with hub pilot pads. When removing a drum in this situation, the company says it is important to follow a simple set of instructions to ensure technician safety and minimal component damage. Webb Wheel describes its steps as follows: Apply corrosion penetrant between the drum and hub mating surfaces.

SAFETY RECALLS Blue Bird is recalling certain model year 20132016 All American A3FE, A3RE, T3FE, T3RE, and D3RE school buses manufactured June 28, 2012, to Sept. 25, 2014, and 2013-2016 Vision BBCV school buses manufactured June 9, 2012, to Sept. 30, 2014. Incorrect fasteners may have been used to secure the seat gusset reinforcement to the side wall resulting in the seat belts being improperly anchored. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 210, “Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages.” If the seat belts are improperly anchored, there is an increased risk of occupant injury in the event of a crash. Daimler Trucks North America is recalling certain model year 2015 Freightliner Cascadia, Business Class M2, 108SD, 114SD, 122SD, Coronado, Western Star 4700, and Western Star 4900 trucks manufactured Oct. 6, 2014, to Feb. 16, 2015, and equipped with Haldex Life Seal brake chambers. The affected vehicles may experience brake drag due to an improperly seated diaphragm in the brake chamber. While traveling at highway speeds, brake drag may cause loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash. DTNA is recalling certain model year 20142015 Western Star 4700, 4900, 5700, and 6900 trucks manufactured from July 23, 2013, through Dec. 4, 2014, and equipped with certain Kidde disposable handheld fire extinguishers. These fire extinguishers may not fully discharge as designed when the lever is repeatedly pressed and released. In the event of a fire, if the fire

Allow enough time for release of frozen joint. Use the proper tool to remove the brake drum (there are many devices available designed to remove brake drums, such as jaws, clamps and drum pullers). While this removal process can be more costly up front, Webb Wheel says the added cost to acquire the appropriate tool for removing stubborn brake drums will save money in the long run. The company also notes any drum that has been impacted in order to “break it loose” during removal should be replaced with a new Webb drum.

The following are safety recalls issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

extinguisher does not work correctly, there is an increased risk of injury to the truck occupants. Mack Trucks is recalling certain model year 2012-2015 CXU trucks manufactured Feb. 4, 2011, to Dec. 23, 2014, and equipped with an air release fifth wheel latch. The affected vehicles have a switch to release the fifth wheel latch that may inadvertently be pushed and cause the trailer to unintentionally disconnect from the tractor after the parking brake has been released. An inadvertent decoupling of the trailer from the tractor may increase the risk of a crash. Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 FEC72 vehicles manufactured Nov. 8, 2013, to Jan. 28, 2014, and 2012-2015 FEC92 vehicles manufactured April 22, 2011, to Feb. 1, 2014. On the affected vehicles, the lower engine timing chain bolt may have been insufficiently tightened during assembly. A timing chain bolt that was not properly tightened may result in an engine oil leak, possibly causing the engine to seize, increasing the risk of a crash. Motor Coach Industries (MCI) is recalling certain model year 2007-2010 MCI E4500 and J4500 motor coaches manufactured Nov. 21, 2006, to August 27, 2009, and equipped with certain Recaro Automotive Seating Ergo M bus driver seats. The affected seats were manufactured in a way that the tether bar may push into the retractor panel door and potentially interfere with the seat belt locking mechanism. If the seat belt locking mechanism does not function

T R U C K PA R T S & S E R V I C E | M a y 2 0 1 5

as intended, the bus driver may not be properly restrained, increasing the risk of personal injury in the event of a crash. Navistar is recalling certain model year 20152016 International 9900, DuraStar, LoneStar, PayStar, ProStar, WorkStar and 2015 International TranStar and IC Bus CE vehicles equipped with a Haldex air braking system. The affected brake actuators may have been manufactured with an incomplete attachment of the internal rubber diaphragm to the actuation mechanism. This could cause dragging or overheated brakes. If the brakes drag and overheat there is an increased risk of a wheel end fire. Navistar is recalling certain model year 20152016 IC RE school buses manufactured Nov. 4, 2014, to Dec. 23, 2014. In the affected vehicles, the air brake hose for the front wheel service brakes may contact the tires when the steering is fully turned. Contact with the tire may result in hose abrasion, resulting in an air leak, causing the vehicle to pull to one side when braking and/ or requiring extra distance to stop the school bus. Either condition may increase the risk of a crash. Paccar is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Kenworth T680 and T880 trucks manufactured Nov. 17, 2014, to Jan. 5, 2015. The affected vehicles are equipped with Meritor MT-40-14X rear drive axles that may circulate an inadequate amount of lubricant to the wheel end hub assembly. Without adequate lubrication to the wheel end hub assembly, the bearings may fail prematurely, increasing the risk of a wheel-end fire or crash.

DRIVE ON. With Genuine Eaton® aftermarket products. EATON FACTORY REMAN

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FLEX REMAN TRANSMISSION More Uptime. Fewer Part Numbers. With the FLEX Reman, 10 part numbers cover 80% of the market need. It features a best-in-class fully transferable 2-year/unlimited mile warranty. visit roadranger.com/aftermarket

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Eaton Advantage Series™ Clutch Roadranger-Approved Lubricant

3-Year/Unlimited-Mile Transmission Warranty* *Applies to applications only in the U.S. & Canada. Please refer to the Roadranger Warranty Guide (TCWY0900) for the latest warranty time and mileage offerings.

SOLO ADVANTAGE™ SELF-ADJUSTING CLUTCH The Solo Advantage Self-Adjusting Clutch features exclusive technology that keeps the clutch in constant adjustment. It also features spring-loaded cams that adjust for proper clearance with every disengagement. If your truck has hydraulic linkage, Solo is the only way to go. If you replace a truck with hydraulic linkage with anything other than a Solo Advantage, it is difficult for the driver to detect the need for adjustment. A clutch operating out of adjustment creates excess heat and friction, which diminish clutch life. If unaddressed, this results in damage to the clutch and hydraulic release system components. visit roadranger.com/clutch ©2015 Eaton. All rights reserved.

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EATON’S FULL PORTFOLIO OF CLUTCHES– TIERED TO MEET A RANGE OF NEEDS FOR PERFORMANCE, PROTECTION AND VALUE. Best: Easy Pedal Advantage™ Manual Adjusting Clutch

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Industry-leading vibration dampening along with Eaton proprietary friction material to protect the driveline and extend service life. Advantage Series release bearing extends lube interval to 50k in linehaul applications.

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By Lucas Deal, Editor lucasdeal@randallreilly.com

Cover Story

Implementing the

‘Master’ plan 14

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Cover Story

Making a case for adding a master warehouse to a distribution business

here’s nothing worse than discovering you don’t have a place to store something you need. It can happen to anyone, but when it happens in the aftermarket it’s more than just a point of frustration. It can negatively impact a business. Master warehouses are one option for distributors working to eliminate this problem. Built as standalone parts distribution centers (PDC) with no retail component, master warehouses give distributors the ability to stock large reserves of the products they carry in their stores in a location that is both close and easily accessible. They provide distributors space they so desperately need. But the advantages of master warehouses aren’t limited solely to the number of shelves. There are several other advantages that make master warehouse facilities a sound investment for an aftermarket operation. Arguably the biggest selling points are found on the bottom line. A master warehouse requires an upfront investment, but that expense can be recouped over time. Master warehouses save distributors a small fortune in inventory purchasing expenses. There are two reasons for this. – Don Devany, senior vice president at Betts Company Don Devany, senior vice president at Betts Company, says one reason is a master warehouse offers a distributor the space necessary to buy in bulk. Many aftermarket suppliers offer discounted rates to customers willing to purchase an entire truckload of products (or product categories) at one time. Space constraints mean bulk orders are nearly impossible for most distributors’ retail stores. But with a master warehouse functioning as an intermediary, a distributor can suddenly take advantage of bulk purchase rates. Such is the case at Betts Truck Parts, where Devany says the company routes bulk purchases through its Fresno, Calif. warehouse distribution center. High-volume items are received as bulk orders, broken down and redistributed to each of the company’s eight locations, while slower moving parts are stored in the PDC until necessary. “[Our PDC] allows us to maximize our purchasing power and pass on the most competitive prices to our customers,” Devany says. He adds another benefit of bulk ordering is the positive impact it has on freight rates,

[Our PDC] allows us to maximize our purchasing power and pass on the most competitive prices to our customers.

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Cover Story both into and out of a warehouse facility. Aftermarket suppliers also sometimes offer discounted and/or pre-paid freight rates on stock orders. Betts Truck Parts likes to take advantage of those rates and ship inventory directly to a location, but Devany says that’s not always possible. In situations where one location lacks the space or need to accept such a shipment, the order is sent to Fresno. “Our philosophy is to store large quantities and ship small quantities,” Devany says. “If we can get pre-paid rates to ship a stock order we’ll do that, but when we can’t we are fortunate to have the PDC as another option. “We believe it’s more affordable to make the bulk buy and then distribute the necessary quantities to our locations through the PDC.” FleetPride, which typically orders in bulk to its five regional distribution centers, says minor discounts on freight start adding up quickly when purchasing volumes are high. The benefit to slow-moving items isn’t something to be overlooked, either. Over time it can be cheaper to purchase a product in bulk and store surplus

FleetPride has regional distribution centers in Grapevine, Texas, Bolingbrook, Ill., North Haven, Conn., Lawrenceville, Ga., and Visalia, Calif., that serve its more than 260 branch locations.

than to pay elevated freight rates to rush order one component whenever it is needed. The other warehouse-related freight advantage comes in the replenishment of retail facilities. Routing all product orders to a warehouse distribution center allows

Betts Truck Parts has a master warehouse in Fresno, Calif., that allows the distributor to congregate parts for stock orders together into single shipments, greatly reducing its overall freight costs.

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an aftermarket business to combine a location’s stock order into one shipping event, rather than a series of deliveries to the location from each supplier. “We can put everything a location needs on one truck,” Devany says. That’s an advantage suppliers have keyed on as well, says Doug Sunkel, executive director for Cummins Global Logistics. Cummins operates North American master warehouses for its engine (Memphis) and filtration (Walton, Ky.) business, but also has eight regional warehouse locations throughout the continent stocked with both parts categories. Sunkel says those locations and their distribution centers are able to mix and match several product orders at once to fill a truck and take advantage of peak shipping rates. “That’s the whole purpose of the flow of the network,” he says. “To allow each level of distribution or dealer to order only what they need in the quantity they need.” These freight expense advantages also

Cover Story

That’s the whole purpose of the flow of the network. To allow each level of distribution or dealer to order only what they need in the quantity they need. – Doug Sunkel, executive director for Cummins Global Logistics

come in handy when rush orders appear, says John Devany, Betts Truck Parts sales manager. It’s much more affordable for Betts Truck Parts to rush order a product from its Fresno location than from a supplier’s warehouse, which could be anywhere in North America. “With Fresno, we’re able to fill our pipeline and respond quicker to those rush scenarios,” he says. “We can react overnight and get any product back in our store the next day.” The financial benefits of a master warehouse also can become a springboard to other sales opportunities, says Jeff Sandt, vice president of product development at HDA Truck Pride. Sandt and Shawn Shumaker, vice president of program management, work together to stock and manage HDA Truck Pride’s CV Logistics warehouse. Shumaker says CV Logistics is a 20,000 sq. ft. facility in St. Louis that operates solely as a source for HDA Truck Pride members interested in bolstering their product offering. But unlike a warehouse owned by an individual member, which would be filled with products a member already carries, the duo says their facility offers what members are missing. In short, CV Logistics stocks what distributors don’t have — either intentionally or unintentionally — and offers them at cost and at quantity levels that work in each member’s business, Sandt says. “CV Logistics provides product for our members in a relatively noncompetitive environment for our vendor partners,” says Bill Burns, COO at HDA Truck Pride. Sandt says shop supplies, vehicle

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Cover Story accessories, tools and counter impulse items are some of CV Logistics’ topselling products. “We try to get our members to look outside the box and look at different types of products that they can sell and provide to their customer base,” adds Shumaker. The warehouse has been a welcome resource for Dan Bond, president at A-1 Truck Parts. “I’m very limited in the space I have in my location’s warehouse,” Bond says. “[CV Logistics] helps me and allows me to not be out of those popular numbers. “I’ll sometimes make the same order three or four times a week and within 24 hours the shipment is coming back to me.”

I’m very limited in the space I have in my location’s warehouse. [CV Logistics] helps me and allows me to not be out of those popular numbers. – Dan Bond, president at A-1 Truck Parts

And the flexibility master warehouses offer distributors in trying new product lines isn’t limited to chrome accessories and wiper blades. Distributors also can

Cummins has facilities in Memphis (above) and Fort Walton, Ky., that distribute all of the company’s engine and filtration products.

use master warehouses to run trials of hard parts as well. FleetPride says its corporate method for adding new products lines is to stock small quantities in its distribution centers while its locations market the new component, and then add units at the retail and warehouse locations as sales begin to rise. This ensures the point-of-contact locations aren’t forced to take on more than they can sell, or stock, and allows the company to have a healthy product reserve if the product is an immediate hit. That latter point is incredibly important, because Bond says free space in the average independent distributor location is limited. Don Devany says Betts Truck Parts builds inventory at each of its locations based on the sales and customer makeup at each store. Major product lines and categories are available at each facility, he says, but volume is not always the same. The same is true at FleetPride. The company says it is establishing

core product assortments at all of its locations, but the availability of specialty, rare or legacy parts varies at each facility. This ensures each location can meet the different needs of local, regional and national customers, the company says. Distribution centers also give stores a safety valve when an inventory becomes askew. Don Devany cites Betts’ policy allowing locations to return product back to its Fresno facility when necessary. And a maximized inventory means maximized sales opportunities. “It really helps keep [store inventory] fresh and keeps our inside and outside counter people aggressive,” he says. Cummins has a similar agreement between its master and regional warehouse locations, Sunkel says. “The purpose of our regional facilities is to maximize the availability of parts in close proximity to our customers,” he says. “If one of those locations somehow acquires additional inventory we advise them to return it so they can maintain a much healthier mix of products.”

Things to consider when designing a master warehouse TriFactor Distribution Solutions has produced a white paper offering tips for designing and building a parts distribution center. The company says three keys to success include: Expansive Storage Medium: Ensure your facility has the space to store not only high-moving products, but also slower-paced items you may only turn a few times a year.

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Efficient Order Picking: Group SKUs and product categories together to allow efficient order picking. Train employees on the best methods to move through the location. Scalability and Flexibility: Save open space for product expansion. A master warehouse can fill up just as fast as a retail facility if it is designed without considering future business growth.

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By Lucas Deal, Editor lucasdeal@randallreilly.com

Service Bay

A second life

Remanufacturing gaining market share as green initiatives trickle into the aftermarket

emanufacturing has served a purpose in the heavy-duty aftermarket for a long time. But after decades of being categorized with rebuilt and repaired components as the modest, low-cost option in the aftermarket parts food chain, remanufacturing recently has been invigorated. Suppliers have zeroed in on the process as a way to offer high-quality, proven and environmentally friendly products at competitive prices, which has helped vehicle owners realize the value that can be found by thinking outside of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;OE genuineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; box. This transitionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s impact on the aftermarket has been substantial.

MacKay & Company research indicates factory remanufactured parts accounted for 18 percent of all U.S. aftermarket sales in 2014. Combined with localized remanufacturing and rebuilding sales, that number jumps to 32 percent, and is nearly ten percent higher than the market share those same categories totaled three decades ago. In addition, Federal legislation promoting the use of remanufactured products for government fleet vehicles now exists in both houses of Congress, and public support for recycling, remanufacturing and other green practices is at an all-time high. The aftermarket has been hit by a green

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wave, and with it, a great sales opporunity. Distributors looking to profit from the green revolution entering the trucking industry today require an ability to promote the value of remanufactured products, as well as the management skills to source the cores necessary for the industry to exist.

Marketing the value of remanufacturing Quality control is the biggest selling point for remanufactured products in the heavy-duty aftermarket today, says Henry Foxx, director of remanufactured products at Bendix. Remanufacturing does not equal

Service Bay

Fitzgerald Glider Kits use Eaton remanufactured transmissions (shown in the foreground) in assembly of its popular gliders.

rebuilt, and Foxx says most reman components available from OEs today are tested against the same quality standards as their new aftermarket counterparts. “We are able to replicate [our OE] process for our remanufacturing,” he says. “We know all of the quality checks that must be done and have standards built in place to ensure that quality is built into our remanufactured products.” “We don’t have two sets of standards,” adds David E. Kish, director of quality and reliability, remanufacturing at Allison Transmission. “We know the specs for a brand new Allison transmission and we make sure our [reman product] is going to perform up that standard.”

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Those quality checks start with cores. Foxx says any core that returns to the Bendix assembly line is treated the same as unused raw material. The same is true at Meritor, says Tim Bauer, the company’s director of remanufacturing. Bauer says all cores returned to Meritor immediately undergo a visual inspection and several performance tests. Passing cores are then cleaned and returned to their original state, where they are again tested for shape and strength before officially entering the remanufacturing line. “We spend a lot of time looking at cores when they come back to us,” he says.

“Even the cores that fail, we drill down and try to determine why it failed, and if there’s something we can do to ensure that doesn’t happen again to any others.” The assembly strategies found in the OE arena offer another selling point for remanufactured components. The reman components available in the market today only fall into said category because a core is used in place of more expensive raw materials, says Bauer. The friction material and kitting assembly components that accompany a remanufactured brake shoe, for example, are all new. Bauer adds that those new components only further enhance the

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performance of the remanufactured shoe, since they also are required to meet new manufacturing standards. And all of these quality standards are further confirmed with end of the line testing. Every remanufactured transmission Eaton produces must pass tests identical to what are performed on new products, says Bill Fouch, the company’s NAFTA aftermarket marketing manager, transmissions. “Quality standards are of upmost importance to us,” he says. “We want customers to get what they are paying for.” Fouch adds meeting those OE standards is more than just lip service. A remanufactured part backed by a well-respected OE brand name is a powerful chip in the face of customer skepticism, he says. “When quality is what you’re going

to hang your brand on it has to be there for everything. Just because a product is remanufactured doesn’t mean you can deliver something that’s going to fall apart,” he says. Sam Tuley agrees. The BorgWarner regional sales manager says his company’s reman and new turbochargers are nearly indistinguishable in both appearance and performance. “We are always cognizant of our brand, and that everything we remanufacture must be of the highest quality to live up to that,” he says. Another key selling point for reman in today’s market is price. The most rigorously tested, OE-equivalent reman products are comparable in price to all-makes aftermarket alternatives, and are significantly less expensive than premium aftermarket product lines. For vehicle owners facing increasing

Remanufacturing is more than a hard parts enterprise. A tire casing can be stripped and retreaded for multiple uses as well.

costs in other areas, reman is a welcome respite. “I think the value proposition for reman is very strong,” says Gene Damron,

The green advantage of reman Remanufacturing is an incredibly green process, but when it comes to aftermarket sales, the environmental benefit is still an afterthought for most customers. “I think reman is gaining marketshare because many vehicle owners see the products as a costefficient alternative and functionally-equivalent to new,” says Gene Damron, general manager for Global Parts Network (GPN), LLC. But the fact that reman products are so environmentally friendly is a bonus, since the global push toward reman, recycling, and other environmentally-conscious production options isn’t going away. “The population is getting greener and greener every day,” says David E. Kish, director of quality and reliability, remanufacturing at Allison Transmission. “That’s not going to change.” And reman’s green benefits are unquestionable. “[Manufacturing] a new medium truck tire

Remanufacturing also offers great environmental advantages. Retreading, for example, requires twothirds less oil than the production of a new tire. requires 22 gallons of oil. It takes only seven gallons of oil to retread a truck tire,” says Todd Labbe, general manager, retread at Goodyear. “Millions of

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truck tires that would end up in landfills or scrap tire piles continue to deliver excellent performance for many more miles, thanks to retreading.”

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general manager for Global Parts Network (GPN), LLC, a division of VIPAR Heavy Duty. “It is definitely gaining support in the market, and there was a time where that was not the case.” Reman allows vehicle owners to get the most bang for their buck, says Todd Labbe, general manager, retread at Goodyear. “In today’s competitive marketplace, retreads continue to be a viable alternative for cost-conscious fleets and owneroperators.”

magic happens,” says Bauer. “You can sell a lot of parts but if you don’t do that well you can get flipped from a total cost standpoint.” Tuley says BorgWarner uses a grading scale, available to all distributors, to reimburse its distributors for cores. He says this transparency minimizes conflicts over core analysis and values. “When the core criteria is followed customers don’t have any problems,” he says. And when combined with a sales force willing to sell reman, Brake shoes are the most popular remanufactured parts in today’s Core management all the pieces are in place for an aftermarket. Becoming a successful remanuaftermarket distributor to thrive. factured parts distributor also requires cores to a manufacturing facility force the The green wave may have reached the an ability to manage the cores that drive remanufacturer to waste time inspecting heavy-duty aftermarket later than other reman production. cores of no value. They also negatively industries, but now that it is here suppliThe industry does not exist without impact their own profitability by paying ers don’t expect any slowdown. them. a core deposit to a customer who doesn’t So long as average vehicle age and new Damron says the GPN’s Coman deserve one; and are unable to recoup the vehicle costs remain high, reman will Centers rely on VIPAR Heavy Duty’s losses when the remanufacturer deems the continue to occupy a sweet spot in the nationwide distributor base to source core ultimately worthless. aftermarket, Foxx says. the majority of cores used in its remanuFortunately, as the reman revolution “I think customers may initially be facturing operation. Damron says the continues, more and more aftermarket willing to try [reman] because of the group has produced literature to help businesses are seeing the light, says Paul price point, but when they see how well instruct each member on how to better Reynolds, product consultant at Karmak. these products perform and the value track cores as they move through their “I think people are becoming increasthey offer … I think that’s only going to facilities, as well as inspection tips for ingly more conscious of that fact,” he grow interest.” analyzing returned cores. says. “I can remember years ago we’d Adds Reynolds, “[Reman] offers a The latter is important for two reasons. go into a place and they’d say ‘We don’t good, quality product as a low-cost alterDistributors who return unusable track cores.’ They weren’t even attemptnative. That’s a great option to sell.” ing to capitalize on that. “That’s changed over the years. [Aftermarket businesses] know now that if they do that well they can make a profit on that” in addition to the part sales. Reynolds says Karmak has options in its business management software to help businesses manage core inventory, complete with notifications for when to expect core returns, how many to expect, and from whom. Core management is incredibly important to the Today’s OE remanufacturers test their reman success of a heavy-duty reman program. “Core management is where all the products up to their new product standards.

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