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The Monthly Parts Trader April 2015
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PartsTrader welcomes all users to our hometown of Chicago for Automechanika, April 24 – 26 at McCormick Place West. Visit PartsTrader at booth 1260 and learn more about our recently-announced integration plans, meet with our Customer Care staff and take a sneak peek at major enhancements coming soon to the PartsTrader application!
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New Faces on the PartsTrader Team
We are excited to welcome three industry veterans who join PartsTrader as Strategic Account Managers advocating for specific segments of the collision industry.
Mike Stacy (above left) represents the multi-shop operator market, Dave Apseloff (center) focuses on OEM and Dealer Group initiatives, and Michael Noirot (above right) will work with the insurance company sector. They join Ken Weiss, who is aligned with the alternative parts channel, to act as liaisons by sharing the PartsTrader value story with companies in their particular segment, and also bringing input back to the PartsTrader product and management teams to ensure that the voices of our customers are heard and met with the attention they deserve.
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-- Kevin Lombardo
PartsTrader Customer Care
Supplier Tip
Incoming Orders Are Not All Alike
When you see an Incoming Order in PartsTrader, keep in mind that there are three circumstances that may have led to that order:
1. Order from a Quote—A parts buyer from a repair facility has reviewed a number of options quoted by potential suppliers. If you added a reference number when you prepared a quote, you will see this number on the order once the shop has selected you as their vendor of choice for this purchase.
2. Direct Order—Once the repair shop has assessed parts required for a repair, they may opt to order one or all of the parts without first seeking quotes.
3. Order from a “Placeholder Quote”—A repair shop can use a setting in their company profile for a Default Margin that is specific to your company. In the event that you were unable to provide a response to a quote request by the shop within the quote period, they will be able to see a Placeholder Quote along with quotes from other vendors. They can place an order relying on this Placeholder Quote just as they would from a live quote.
When you receive a Direct Order or an order from a Placeholder Quote, the prices and part details come from the shop’s estimating system. You should review these details, and correct them if necessary, when confirming the order. The easiest way to identify these is to make sure that you always include a reference number on quotes. If you don't see a reference number on an order, be sure to carefully review.
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OEM Dealer News
Improved Dealer Quoting
After reaching an agreement with Digital Motorworks, Inc. (DMI), PartsTrader is moving forward swiftly to test an integration gateway that will allow the sales staff in a dealer's parts department to check their inventory and provide a quote from a single screen in PartsTrader. This enhancement makes good on the promise that PartsTrader has stated many times--that we are open to creating integration gateways with other industry systems to deliver a seamless, efficient user experience.
Responding to the growing number of quote requests in PartsTrader is a pleasant challenge for most dealers across the country. More repair facilities are using PartsTrader to source parts, and adoption of PartsTrader as their tool of choice for locating and ordering parts has also been on the rise. "Repair facilities need quotes and order confirmations within minutes, and dealers benefit from having the details of a sale documented," stated Dale Sailer, Vice President of Business Development. "But there's been a time challenge in checking inventory in one system and then transferring part information into the quote. Now that it will all be on one screen, it will really be a win for both the repair facilities and the dealers that they rely on."
Sailer emphasized that this is not automated quoting, emphasizing that one of the valuable and unique components of using PartsTrader is that the workflow respects the touch-points that benefit from human judgment. "Having a parts professional view the details about what is needed and respond with the exact part that the repair facility requires is absolutely critical."
This approach is similar to the automotive recycler-focused integration announced late last year with Hotlines, Inc., which is currently being tested on live jobs. More on that to be announced soon.
More information
Collision Repair Education Foundation
This week, the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) announced that PartsTrader will double their contribution to the Troy Holm Memorial Fund to assist more Collision Repair Technology and Automotive Refinishing Technology state gold medalists to be able to attend the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Louisville this June. The fund, facilitated by the Collision Repair Education Fund, was created in memory of collision industry member Troy Holm, who passed in March 2013, and was established to assist students in attending the national event. Support provided to the students includes travel costs grants and other forms of assistance needed by students to ensure the “best of the best” from around the country are represented at the national contest.
Do you have a tip to share?
Share your PartsTrader tip by emailing [email protected].
If your suggestion is selected to appear in an upcoming newsletter, we'll buy you lunch!
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 In the News
Collision Repair Meets Prime Time TV
One of our PartsTrader users, McCarran Auto Body in Reno, Nevada has been self-producing some "Reality TV" style shows on YouTube that have made owner Jerry Wientjes a bit of a local cult figure in Northern Nevada and captured the attention of California-based Bishop-Lyons Entertainment.
McCarran and Bishop-Lyons have just completed a pilot plus two additional episodes of a television show, and are now taking the show to the national level marketplace and pitching it to the major cable networks to green light as a series.
Together with is staff, Jerry has pulled together some strange-but-true stories that led to automobiles needing repair at his facility. "You couldn't script this stuff...people wouldn't believe you, but they all really happened," Wientjes stated. "We put together these videos to supplement our local advertising, and it's taken on a bit of a life of its own. The guys from LA really helped us tell our stories in a new way," he went on, referring to Bishop-Lyons' production crew. The television shows will include accident reenactments and chronicle the processes and decisions made during a repair, all told with a unique humor that is infectious.
Jerry, who has been in the collision repair industry since refurbishing his '68 Camaro as a teenager in Minnesota, feels that this is an opportunity to share and educate the world about the technology and craftsmanship used in repairs. "People who come in to my shop love to learn about the specialized tools and processes that we use to repair their vehicles. It's really fascinating."
"The show has an exciting and unique format with reality TV worthy cast members that would surely entertain the viewers nationwide," stated David Lyons President/Executive Producer.
View McCarran Auto Body videos on YouTube
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 Repair Facilities
New Redemption Option for Your PartsTrader Rewards Points
We are excited to announce more redemption options for innovative products. uAttend time clocks, for cloud-based time and attendance tracking, are ideal for shops with one to several thousand employees. Great news--if you are an existing uAttend customer, you have options to redeem points for subscriptions too.
In addition to these offerings from uAttend, PartsTrader Rewards™ points can also be redeemed for products from 6-Hands, LLC; Shoot Suit, Inc.; and Goliath Carts, LLC.
If you are a PartsTrader user at a repair facility and aren't earning points, be sure to sign up for PartsTrader Rewards today.
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