Trucking’s Aftermarket Week: What’s Not To Like?
Consolidation of parts & service provider events will help sharpen your operation, too.
As a fleet manager, the word “aftermarket” may not ring many chimes for you. But to the companies that manufacture or sell you parts and repair services, it represents a huge issue – an issue that likely affects your own bottom line.
The makeup of today’s heavy duty aftermarket supply system is super segmented. Independent garages, truck dealerships, independent parts distributors, and/or fleet specialists. They all offer solutions for keeping your trucks running.
Many of them belong to parts buying/marketing groups, as well as associations serving specific component segments. All those organizations (upwards of 20 or so) have their own meetings and conventions, sometimes twice a year. Several have their own equipment exhibits tied to their meetings.
Those meetings are in different cities, at different times. Manufacturers who supply the parts are hard pressed to send enough sales people, executives and service trainers to such an array of events. So are the parts and service sellers themselves.
But it’s important for both groups to be represented. Each meeting and/or show offers the opportunity for exchanges of ideas, education and training that can improve their services to you.
Sending people and equipment to so many small events is costly – in both time and money – for them. Those costs have to be covered, and they’re covered in your parts and service pricing.
Now, a revolutionary move: Major aftermarket manufacturers, associations and marketing groups have agreed to hold their individual meetings during a single week, in the same location. There will be general sessions too, along with one first-class trade show, to serve them all.
Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week, next Jan. 23-27, will be at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. Spearheaded by the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Assn. (HDMA), the Heavy Duty Distribution Assn. (HDDA) and a joint operating committee representing various groups, its participants so far represent a who’s who of aftermarket providers: Council of Fleet Specialists; FleetPride; Heavy Duty America; National Wheel & Rim Assn.; Service Specialists Assn.; Truck Pride; VIPAR Heavy Duty Parts, and HDMA and HDDA. And there’s room for more.
In addition, HDMA’s Heavy Duty Dialogue ’06, a prestigious business session of top manufacturing executives, will take place the first day of HDAW. The week also offers manufacturers the opportunity to hold their own national or regional sales meetings.
Plans are to offer all-important training for parts professionals, who can receive degree credit from Northwood University’s aftermarket courses. One-on-one meetings between manufacturers and distributors are on tap, too.
All in all, the consolidation should help everyone – including fleet managers – control future costs and sharpen up their services.
When the concept came up three years ago, many felt that pulling together all these diverse groups with their own agendas would be like herding cats. But logic has prevailed.
HDAW’s time has come.
Doug Condra
President
E-mail Doug Condra at dcondra@truckinginfo.com, or write PO Box W. Newport Beach, Calif. 92656.
