Answers by Jerry Weis, President
WHY DID YOU START THE BUSINESS?
The company was founded in 1925 by R.G. Ott. In 1959, his son Reginald A. Ott took over and in 1985 his son Dale Ott began running the business. Ott’s was a third-generation, family-owned business when we purchased it in January 1999. The current ownership team consists of Jerry Weis, president; Chris Sweet, vice president; and Teresa Weis, secretary/treasurer. Jerry started with the company in 1988, Chris in 1987 and Teresa in 1990.
WHAT’S BEEN YOUR TOUGHEST BUSINESS DECISION?
The toughest decision we have made is the time that we committed on a national level to the industry. In 2007, we donated 100s of hours to the heavy-duty aftermarket industry. We are totally committed to the ongoing viability of the independent, heavy-duty aftermarket. Fortunately, over the years, we have developed a very strong management team which allows us flexibility in this area. It is always a challenge keeping the balance between our local economy and national issues. We must always remember the responsibility we have to our employees and their families.
WHAT WAS YOUR BEST BUSINESS DECISION?
There are two decisions we believe to be our best. The first was to join VIPAR Heavy Duty in 1992. This decision allowed us to become even closer to our supplier partners and offered an avenue of communication with fellow distributors on a national basis. The second, and more recent, is our commitment and investment in technology and electronic commerce.
WHAT WAS YOUR WORST BUSINESS DECISION?
Entering into expansion on too many fronts at one time without a crystal ball, only to have the economy take a downturn in the process. Fortunately, we have excellent, long-term employees who stepped up and used their expertise to pull our fat out of the fire!
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO KEEP A COMPETITIVE EDGE?
Understanding our global economy on a local level. We can’t put our head in the sand and believe everything is going to be OK. We have to participate, get involved, know what our suppliers are thinking and try to stay several steps ahead of our competition. For us, that means being very involved in VIPAR Heavy Duty, being an active participant at Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week (HDAW) and the Commercial Vehicle Solutions Network (CVSN), networking throughout the industry and then bringing it home to a local level. Lastly, communicating with our people, because without them and their customer service skills, we don’t exist.
WHAT IS YOUR FIVE-YEAR VISION?
Consolidation, diversification and specialization. We believe the industry will continue to consolidate on all fronts: the manufacturers, the fleets and the distributors. To survive, we will diversify into new products and services, while becoming the specialist to control our market share. Couple that with technology, and you have our vision.
WHAT IS YOUR BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY?
We believe we have a world-class relationship with our employees (average tenure 13 years), with our supplier partners – whom we consider friends – and with our customers. We believe as individuals and as an organization that the most important thing we have is our integrity. It is our belief that if we treat everyone we touch with as much integrity as possible we will be successful.
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FACING THE AFTERMARKET?
The most impressive challenge is the level of sophistication distributors lack in implementing e-commerce for all phases of order fulfillment. The OE regional and national competitors have adopted more efficient supply-chain technology, and distributors need to increase all aspects of their e-commerce capabilities if they are to remain competitive. It is a proven way for distributors to reduce costs and increase efficiencies.
HOW DO YOU SEE THAT CHALLENGE BEING RESOLVED?
With the adoption of commercially available processes currently employed by wholesale distribution. The independent, heavy-duty aftermarket distributor must use these tools to remain competitive.
DURING YOUR TIME IN THE INDUSTRY, WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANGE?
There have been many dramatic changes in our industry over the last 20 years. We believe, without question, the most significant impact has been the tremendous amount of consolidation. It has touched every facet of our business. At times we feel we need a scorecard to see who’s on first!
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE A YOUNG PERSON CONSIDERING A CAREER IN THE AFTERMARKET?
We have developed into a society that demands instant gratification. Our nation’s workforce has become very transitory. Our industry is technical based, and requires time and patience to master. If you are willing to commit the time and develop the patience to learn all aspects of it, the rewards are great. The key is patience.
HOW DOES YOUR BUSINESS CONTRIBUTE TO THE COMMUNITY?
We see our community on two separate levels, locally and nationally. On a local level, we donate time and resources to our vocational colleges and trade schools. Technical training seminars always have been a mainstay. We are active members of the Oregon Trucking Association. On a national level, I participated as the chairman of HDAW 2008 and have served on the board of directors for VIPAR Heavy Duty for several years. We also are a contributing member of CVSN, and we have served on many manufacturers’ distributor advisory councils.
WHAT DO YOU KNOW NOW THAT YOU WISH YOU KNEW WHEN YOU FIRST GOT INTO THIS BUSINESS?
Now knowing how difficult it is to find quality parts people, I would have been more aggressive earlier on implementing our in-house, formal training program for customer service. With the pace of technology in our industry, I would have insisted we embrace electronic commerce earlier and at a much higher level.
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU EVERY DAY?
I could attempt to impart some pearls of wisdom, however, the bottom line is we share a burning passion for success. We take seriously the responsibility to our employees and their families, and this drives us to be an industry leader.
As my favorite philosopher Yogi Berra would say: “If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else!”
Headquarters Address: 201 N. Columbia Blvd., Portland, Oregon 97217
Website: www.ottsfrictionsupply.com
Founded: 1925
Owner(s): Jerry L. Weis, Christopher J. Sweet
Number of Locations: 2
Number of Employees: 47
Business model: Provide world class customer service and quality O.E. and aftermarket parts, while staying on the cutting edge of electronic commerce.
Growth plan: Provide innovative “out-of-the-box” ideas to develop synergies and better serve our customers and our supplier partners, focusing on expansion and our ability to provide cutting edge e-commerce.
