Many of the group’s largest recent projects and developments were completed with the future in mind and speaking Monday during the general session at the 2019 VIPAR Heavy Duty IMPACT Conference in San Antonio, Baer says the “timing is right for VIPAR Heavy Duty to step out and take the leadership role in the independent aftermarket.”
But Baer also adds despite the buying group’s focus on what’s ahead, VIPAR Heavy Duty hasn’t forgotten its roots.
Looking at the remainder of 2019 and the immediate years ahead, Baer says VIPAR Heavy Duty is committed to “true group value” — a back-to-basics strategy where the group will support stockholder companies by doing what those businesses can’t do on their own — or can’t do as successfully without group support. He says VIPAR Heavy Duty wants to provide products and services that are “meaningful, relevant and impactful” to its stockholders’ bottom line.
VIPAR Heavy Duty Chairman of the Board Bill Nolan is excited about the group’s focus and direction. Nolan, president, PBS Truck Parts , says VIPAR Heavy Duty’s 30th year in operation has been a strong one for the group and its stockholder companies. Business is good, sales are strong, and VIPAR Heavy Duty companies remain dominant in their markets across North America. But the success of the group’s past doesn’t guarantee it will remain a thriving group in the future, and Nolan says the changes VIPAR Heavy Duty has made and is making will position its stockholders to maintain their positions of dominance for many years to come.
“They are dedicated to helping us to be the elite distribution network,” he says, “so we can continue to have a great impact on our markets.”
One area where Nolan says VIPAR Heavy Duty is making great strides is in its commitment to digitizing its business, both in how the buying group and its stockholders reach customers online and how the buying group, suppliers and stockholders exchange data.
Nolan says customers expect VIPAR Heavy Duty distributors to embrace the digital age, which means their future depends on it.
On that note, Vice President of Marketing Jeff Paul says VIPAR Heavy Duty’s multi-year investment in creating a product information management (PIM) digital library, now known as PARTSPHERE PIM, has come to fruition with its launch today. Paul says PARTSPHERE PIM provides distributors with a single source to access product data, marketing data, packaging details, product specifications, product interchanges, pricing and more. With data from nearly 200 supplier partners, Paul says PARTSPHERE PIM will be a comprehensive library that should benefit the entire North American VIPAR Heavy Duty distributor base.
“We’re excited for the launch of PARTSPHERE PIM, which is a great tool built for today, but also for the future,” he says.
Paul also touched on upcoming updates to the VIPAR Heavy Duty website. He says the public side of the website is due to be released by the end of the year, with the secure stockholder side coming in 2020.
Many of VIPAR Heavy Duty’s divisions and business units also provided updates during Monday’s session.
Global Parts Network Vice President Jay Pagano touched on the advancements GPN has made in recent years as it enters its third phase of development. Now in its tenth year making brake shoes, Pagano says GPN’s brake production is up 9 percent this year. Pagano says GPN has added air disc brake product lines to serve that rapidly growing section of the market.
Regarding the buying group’s footprint, Vice President of Business Development Jim Pennig says the group has added a number of new businesses this year. Overall, Pennig says VIPAR Heavy Duty added more than two dozen points of sale during the last year.
Regarding the group’s investment in electronic data interchange (EDI) and PIM systems, Andrei Katibnikov, vice president, technology, says VIPAR’s PARTSPHERE OMS platform reduces order mistakes and the need for manual integration while increasing efficiency. He adds these advancements put the group in position to continue adding digital services in the years to come.
Monday’s session also featured a number of brief presentations by VIPAR Heavy Duty’s industry partners. Janusz Zielinski of NEXUS Automotive International touched on how the international group is working to grow its global focus on the heavy-duty truck market. Dave Lindeen with Corcentric and Paul Sirface with Stibo Systems followed Katibnikov’s presentation and expanded on how their tools function within VIPAR’s new digital strategy. Finally, Jake Olsen with WHI Solutions showcased the features of his company’s e-commerce platform, providing useful tips for VIPAR Heavy Duty distributors who have or are considering utilizing the e-commerce solution for their businesses.
