Multi Parts details unique, customer solution-focused expansion of American Chrome line

Multi Parts Inc. engineering team
Multi Parts Inc.

It was a little over a year ago that Multi Parts Inc. acquired American Chrome Company, expanding its presence in the commercial vehicle sector and expanding ACC’s capabilities to continue providing vital, custom engineering solutions to the trucking industry.

Heading into the aftermarket’s biggest week at HDAW next week, Multi Parts (MPS) chatted briefly with Trucks, Parts, Service Tuesday and shared the progress MPS has made at integrating and bolstering ACC’s product line into its operation.

“It’s been a busy year. I think the structure we’ve created and the work we’ve put in to bring the ACC lines into our operation has been essential,” says Vice President of Product and Business Development Scott Robertson. “I think we’re ready to go to market with a portfolio we know can solve customer challenges, and a year ago I don’t think we could have said that.”

And Robertson says solving customer challenges is exactly what MPS wants its ACC line to do.

[RELATED: Hino reaches $236 million settlement with CARB]

Unlike traditional suppliers who simply offer existing, off-the-shelf products or private labeling of those products, MPS states it is “part type agnostic” and works actively with distributors to identify and solve virtually any parts problems that fleets experience. Robertson says as such, the company has not only expanded ACC’s total product scope, it also has added engineering resources to enable the company to tackle issues customers are seeing in the field in a revolutionary way.

Robertson references a large customer who was having persistent issues with a prematurely failing fuel modules and came to MPS for assistance. MPS not only diagnosed the failure’s root cause but also developed a new fuel module to eliminate the premature failures and exceed the performance of the OE component that was going bad.

Multi Parts Inc. facilityMulti Parts has more than 110 associates at five locations across three continents and has invested more than $10 million in purpose-built facilities and test equipment in the last 20 years.Multi Parts Inc.

“If you’re a parts guy calling on a fleet and they say they have some problem,” Robertson says, “Who would you call to solve it? Who could you call? We believe with our engineering expertise we can be that company.” And MPS doesn’t just want to do that for one product line. Linda Hou, vice president of sales, believes there are many products in ACC’s heavy-duty catalog where the company can offer a bespoke solution to solve an end user’s challenge.

“We want to know, how can we design a better program for you,” she says. “We are constantly doing that for our customers and we have a team that can work 24/7 to do that.”

MPS believes this approach will empower distributors to solve their customers’ problems directly, offering an enhanced revenue stream because they gain access to engineered solutions they can sell profitably to others, creating a win-win scenario.

Robertson and Hou says their next step is best communicating that message into the distribution channel. MPS and ACC remain deeply committed to the wholesale distribution model, Robertson says, and wants to expand its point-of-sale reach by bringing in more distributor partners.

In addition to its new engineering resources, the company also has expanded its overall product breadth and will debut a new website and brand, ACC Heavy Duty, in April.

“Our philosophy is to get in with distributors and understand their needs and wants,” Robertson says, adding, “We want to get the message out [distributors] can call us. If you have a problem, we’ll have a conversation with you. We want to come up with a creative solution to help you and the customer.”

Learn how to move your used trucks faster
With unsold used inventory depreciating at a rate of more than 2% monthly, efficient inventory turnover is a must for dealers. Download this eBook to access proven strategies for selling used trucks faster.
Download
Used Truck Guide Cover