Ferguson emphasized the importance of uptime to the customer, building effective relationships and trust with both suppliers and customers, the need for providers to understand telematics, and the impact on training and technology for the independent aftermarket to stay competitive.
Ferguson said that distributors need to better understand where to invest their time and money for potential growth, such as ongoing service and truck engine software training to increase their relevant offerings to their customers.
He also offered suggestions on areas where distributors should focus to stay competitive, such as investing in effective Customer Relationship Management tools, joining nationwide independent networks to leverage customer services, as well as a plan to capitalize on first time warranty fulfillment opportunity with certain suppliers.
Ferguson has extensive expertise in planning and carrying out sales, marketing, corporate finance, continuous improvement, as well as product development strategies, having spent 29 years in senior management roles, including leading divisions of multinational companies at Daimler and Volvo Trucks.
He said that there had been about a five percent increase in the aftermarket’s $30 billion parts segment since 2010.
But, Ferguson said that new challenges lie ahead, particularly as it relates to competition, ranging from the growth of services like eBay and Amazon to additional services being offered by OEMs.
