Southern Eagle Distributing, one of the oldest Anheuser-Busch distributors, has purchased two propane autogas-fueled Ford F-650 delivery trucks to reduce emissions and fueling costs.
Wisconsin-based Trudell Holding, known locally as Trudell Trailers, has joined the Vipar Heavy Duty network of distributors as a stockholder.
When asked to name one disrupting force in the truck parts aftermarket all members of a panel of aftermarket executives said technology whether on the vehicle, in the shop or in back office.
Fleets want to have as much choice for parts acquisition as possible, so having a strong independent aftermarket is important.
Action Truck Parts recently moved to a more visual customer experience offering more of a retail approach to parts purchasing.
The Massachusetts state legislature passed the nation's first "Right to Repair" law last summer, but it excluded vehicles over 10,000 pounds. However, in November, state voters overwhelmingly approved a different version of the law, which includes all motor vehicles sold in the state.
It's a rare heavy-duty service shop or parts warehouse/distributor that doesn't use some kind of computer software in its operation. It might be as simple as an accounting package such as QuickBooks, or as complex as a full-featured industry-specific enterprise management package.
Inland Truck Parts is an independent parts and service operation, but it says the quality of its technicians rival that of OE dealers. Its latest commitment to that is a new 15,000-square-foot training facility in Olathe, Kan., a Kansas City suburb.
Consolidation, more proprietary parts and increased competition are squeezing margins for those who sell heavy-duty truck parts. Industry experts are on the record saying that in the future, aftermarket parts distributors need to have service as part of their business if they want to remain profitable.
A fundamental challenge to our industry is our historical over-reliance on each other for insight. We seem to celebrate regurgitating and repackaging what ‘everyone knows’, rather than challenging ourselves to think different.