Joe Ward doesn’t hesitate when asked about the biggest challenge First Call Truck Parts has faced.
It was the COVID-19 pandemic. But not for the usual reasons. Joe Ward was worried about his people.
“Just the fear of it,” he says, his voice full of anxiety still. “Everything worked out fine, but that was top of my mind as the biggest challenge.”
Joe Ward, whose business has two locations in Tallahassee, Fla., and Thomasville, Ga., had some employees hospitalized. But they didn’t lose anyone, and that’s what matters.
[RELATED: Keep up with 2024 Distributor of the Year finalist First Call Truck Parts]
Taking care of his employees is part of Joe Ward’s recipe for success. First Call has been named a finalist for the second time (2018) for the Distributor of the Year Award.
“We want to help fleets lower their cost per mile. Our repair shops, we want to help them make more money,” he says. “Our employees? We want to take care of them the best we possibly can through benefits or compensation or whatever. We want to take care of our people.”
Of course, Joe Ward also means his customers.
“We love working with established customers that have bought from us for years,” says Jon Ward, Joe’s son and CFO of First Call. “They walk into the store, everyone knows their name and there is great rapport between them and the countermen. Second, because of our proximity to I-10, we get a lot of walk-in customers who are using us for the first time. We hope to turn every first timer into a loyal customer for years to come.”
By sticking to the basics of taking care of people, First Call was able to expand to a second location in south Georgia in 2022, boosting the company’s footprint and employee headcount.
“We have doubled our square footage over the last two years, had a strong increase in sales, expanded our product offering and initiated campaigns into online retail all while maintaining high levels of customer service with our local customer base,” Jon Ward says.
First Call also is expanding its service to customers with clinics, trainings and a Diesel Expo, held for the first time this past spring. Vendors and trucks showed up and showed off to a “phenomenal” crowd, Joe Ward says. It’s an event they’ll definitely hold again.
“Our growth stems primarily from word of mouth and our outside sales team building out their respective territories,” Joe Ward says. “We want to make sure our outside salespeople are seeing or speaking to 10 customers per day, whether existing customers or new prospects, and we want to make sure they always have a flyer featuring exciting new sales or campaigns.”
In addition to the in-person footwork, First Call also has completely rebranded its online store and website. Its customers can search by part number, name or description and find the part they need with an image, description and specs. Additionally, employees from both locations can access and update vendor information as it changes, with simultaneous, seamless access to files.
A new CRM software also enables First Call’s sales team to log notes on calls and set reminders for follow-ups. And management can see and address issues and coordinate service opportunities.
Jon Ward says he only sees the digital side of distribution growing. “We have migrated to an online accounting software that removes the necessity for physical files and can be accessed anywhere,” he says. “Customers now have the ability to search and order parts through our web portal, view their past purchase history, reference their truck list and pull past invoices. We expect the digital trend to continue and try to leverage as many tools as possible to increase our productivity and efficiency.”
He expects First Call to grow with it.
“Our goal in the next five years is to continue our current trend of 10-20% growth year-over-year as our Thomasville store continues to grow,” Jon Ward says. “We have added five employees in 2024 between the two stores and expect to need at least three more in the near future to ensure we are able to provide the same level of service our customers are accustomed to.”
Which might mean expanding the square footage again.
“Were we to find another underserved area that could use a local parts distributor, we would be excited to pursue that endeavor as well,” Jon Ward says.
The 2024 Distributor of the Year program is graciously sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Solutions Network (CVSN), Cummins, High Bar Brands, Interstate Billing Service and Procede Software. For more on our award program, go to our program website.
