Aftermarket gives rise to private label brands

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Updated Jan 24, 2017
James Chenier, vice president of parts sales and marketing for Volvo Trucks; David Danforth, Paccar Parts general manager; Mike Eppes, managing vice president of parts for Rush Enterprises; Carlos Junquera, vice president of North American parts sales for Navistar; Terri Roseman, FleetPride’s director of category management and marketing; Terri Roseman, Hugh Charvat, CEO of AP Exhaust.James Chenier, vice president of parts sales and marketing for Volvo Trucks; David Danforth, Paccar Parts general manager; Mike Eppes, managing vice president of parts for Rush Enterprises; Carlos Junquera, vice president of North American parts sales for Navistar; Terri Roseman, FleetPride’s director of category management and marketing; Terri Roseman, Hugh Charvat, CEO of AP Exhaust.

Fleets are showing preference for high quality parts, giving cost less overall consideration and leading more private labels to enter the replacement parts market, according to a panel discussion held at Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week Monday.

“The three things I’m most looking for, in order, are quality parts, parts availability and good information,” says Roy Svehla, senior manager of fleet maintenance for Republic Services. “My most precious commodity is shop capacity. If I’ve got the truck, the space and the tech, the easy part should be the part [itself]. If I can’t get it, that means I’m losing shop capacity.”

When he visits one of the company’s shop locations, Svehla says the first thing he does is walk to the parts room and remove any “white-box parts.”

“I can’t stress enough the quality of parts,” he adds. “To a guy that has to get trucks on the street, cost is a component of value.”

Hugh Charvat, CEO of AP Exhaust, says private bands are an essential part of the distribution channel going forward but James Chenier, vice president of parts sales and marketing for Volvo Trucks says there is a perception that private brands are simply the value line of parts.

“I don’t think private label always means cheaper,” says Terri Roseman, FleetPride’s director of category management and marketing. “I think it means value. Some of our customers are demanding private label.”

Paccar Parts General Manager David Danforth says customers want to see the full value of the product beyond its sticker price.

“And quality has to be there,” adds Carlos Junquera, vice president of North American parts sales for Navistar.

Danforth adds TRP parts are validated with the supplier, much like OE-genuine products, to ensure that they meet OEM specs and performance.

“There’s nothing saying we can’t take a private brand to the best position in certain cases,” Chenier says, adding the parts’ reliability will be key. “The customer doesn’t buy a brake shoe. He buys a brake job.”

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