I have followed the threads regarding the parts quality from the various
suppliers that we all are familiar with and feel compelled to throw my
.02 into the pot. I am no longer in the automotive side of the
business, but I have experience dealing with automotive sub-suppliers
(adhesive sales to interior parts manufacturers, which we are one of the
world's premier suppliers, thank you.) Although I am still with the same
company, I now work in a division that supplies non automotive products
to distributors, which is essentially what the parts houses are. Let me
start out by saying that I have not dealt with all of the suppliers that
we are all familiar with, nor am I making any attempt to single one out.
That said, let the diatribe begin...
Distributors are always between the proverbial rock and the hard place.
They have to offer quality product, at a fair price, first and foremost.
Some add value to our purchases by offering technical service, higher
inventory levels, liberal exchange policies, toll free phone numbers,
etc. Some may attempt to skimp on one or more of these features and
offer a better price, often forcing their competitors to match their
lower prices. So what does the competitor do? Match price? Do I take a
lower margin and try to maintain the service levels of the past? Maybe
if I reduce my inventory levels? Do I look for a lower cost supplier?
There are only two ways to increase profits in any business, raise
prices or lower costs.
As was pointed out in an earlier post, some offer only mainline items
that turn over fast, and leave the speciality items to the others. Some
of them have gone into manufacturing items themselves, to ensure a
steady source of supply on parts that there seems to be an ongoing
demand for. Other parts they outsource to other suppliers. Some parts
end up as just not available because of limited demand. And then there
is an entire industry devoted to rebuilding certain parts.
The manufacture of replacement parts is tough business, considering that
for most parts, every year you are looking at selling a diminishing
number of units. Tooling wears out, tolerances are lost, demand is
shrinking. Does one invest in retooling, new dies, increased raw
material and labor costs, to sell fewer units every year? If I want to
continue to supply these parts, will the distributors (and end users)
pay the increased costs? Or will they jump to my competitor who is
cheaper? Maybe for my investment, I can I tool up to supply a higher
demand part for another type of car all together and do just as well, or
even better? Unfortunately, many parts are supplied by one, maybe two
suppliers. Whatever comes off of the line is good enough, since you
can't get it anywhere else. But there is hope. For many of these
suppliers, a particular part may be a substantial part of their
business. For many of these people, the distributor is the easiest way
to market their parts.
Compalcency breeds mediocrity. It is up to us to demand high quality
parts. Nothing gets the attention of the distributor like returns from
dissatisfied customers. You can be assured that if enough of us will not
settle for less than the best, the distributor will be back on that
supplier in a heartbeat. If the supplier won't make good, then the
distributor, like us, takes his business elsewhere. Part of the value
the distributor adds to parts is knowing where to source them from.
Distributors and manufacturers are really partners. One needs the other
to prosper. But let's face it, distributors, like all of us, have
comfort zones. Often it's the "We've been dealing with these folks for
years" syndrome. But more often than not it's more like "No one is
complaining so how can we have a problem?" It's up to us to shake them
out of that zone. They don't know there is a problem if no one
complains. Sometimes, the best ideas for manufacturers come from their
distributors. And a good distributor is constantly on the lookout for
sources of supply. When people complain, there is an opportunity for
someone else. Look at the very specialized parts that are available
directly from the people who manufacture them. They saw an opportunity
to fill a niche.
But, to paraphrase Pogo, "We have met the enemy and it is us". How many
of us have cussed and swore, busted knuckles, ground off a poor casting
or got out the BF hammer to make the less than perfect new part fit?
Every time we do, we give up some ground. Even if we are forced to use
such a part, we should make it known to the supplier that we weren't
100% satisfied. Bitching here in the list is not enough. If you think
that a short note, an E-Mail, or a voice message to the head of a
company doesn't do any good, you are sorely mistaken. And it's not that
hard to find out who it is either. Be brief and specific. Occasionally,
nothing comes of it, but more often than not, something does happen.
We've all heard about the squeaky wheel adage.
But how many of us have picked up the phone and paid for the call or
sent off a quick E-Mail to some of the list members who not only pull
wrenches but also deal in parts instead of just blindly picking up the
catalog? I'll bet that they are damn close on their prices, and you are
more than a credit card number to them. The same goes for your local
people in the LBC business. Do we patronize our quality LBC shops
occasionally? I can do a lot of my own work, but there is some minor
work that I have a local LBC mechanic do for me because, 1. he can do in
three hours what it may take me all weekend to do, and 2, someday, I may
need him for something major or for when my wife is broken down and I'm
400 miles away. He is extremely busy, and the wait can be horrendous to
get your car into his shop. But he always seems to have time for his
regular customers... It's not always what you pay, it's what it costs
you...
For many of us, in our excitement to enjoy our cars in our abbreviated
driving season, it takes a lot of fortitude to ship back a less than
perfect part, knowing that it will likely steal another 5-10 days of
enjoying our labors. But remember that compromise means surrendering
something to your opponent. Every time we compromise, we say that we can
get along with less than we expected. But, we must be willing to pay a
fair price for high quality. For all of us, the money that we devote to
our cars is generally hard earned, and we must allocate it wisely. We
will not just blindly open our wallets and pay whatever someone dictates
is a fair price. The marketplace is very good at determining what is a
fair price. Low quality will be dumped upon us only if we allow it to
be.
Does this mean that we no longer deal directly with the major
distributors? Of course not, there will always be a need for them. They
bring a lot to the table, as I noted earlier, as well as convenience and
the economies of scale. That is the whole principle of distribution, to
bring a diverse selection of items together, and make them readily
available and convenient to purchase. But when there are multiple
sources of supply, voting with your checkbook counts.
I know there will be exceptions to my comments, and I've only tried to
translate some personal experience to this topic. If I had all of the
answers, I'd be the wealthiest guy on the list, (and probably not
reading it because my full time mechanic would be maintaining my stable
of exotic cars.) But it all comes down to us, we bear part of the
responsibility, but we must be willing to bear part of the cost of it.
Thanks for the forum, I'm off to get dressed in my Nomex attire.
Chris Rogers
'64B and part of a '66B
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