Heavy Duty Trucking, April 2019

AFTERMARKET INSIGHT HDT APRIL 2019 42 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM Denise L Rondini Aftermarket Contributing Editor drondini@ truckinginfo com his years Heavy Duty Aftermarket Dialogue and Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week in Las Vegas in late January featured plenty of opportunities both formal and informal to interact with folks in the know Heres a look at some of the things that struck me as interesting or important No recession expected for now I had been hearing rumblings of a possible economic slowdown in the second half of this year However Bob Dieli president and founder of RDLB Inc and Bill Strauss senior economist and economic advisor at Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago see 2019 as an OK year for the U S and the trucking economies While Dieli said the year might be challenging he didnt necessarily think that would be a bad thing The fact that fleets are continually looking for drivers coupled with the fact that OEM order slots are filled through the end of the year are strong indicators that the trucking industry will stay on a growth path although the pace of that growth may be slower Strauss predicted the U S economy will expand at a bit above trend this year and then slow to grow at around trend in 2020 and 2021 But he explained that economies dont just run out of steam A negative economic shock occurs that causes people to put off making investments and purchases If that occurs the economy could go into recession More products across a variety of price points Perhaps its the result of fleets abilities to buy parts on Amazon but most manufacturers and component suppliers are now offering value line parts White box product stigma is becoming a thing of the past said Mike Harris senior vice president of sales and branch operations at Fleet Pride Every OEM has an exclusive private brand that they invest in and we do too Companies want to make it easier for you Ram ChandraSekar founder and CEO of PhaseZero explained that businesses interacting with fleets have to create a frictionless user experience You need to understand who your users are and how they do business Being easy to do business with can be seen in areas such as the way training is delivered via webinars and online courses in person and even bringing repair data right to the shop floor Harris said conversations with fleets are changing from price and availability to training Brett Penzkofer vice president of aftermarket sales for Meritor acknowledged that Amazon is another distributor but added We solve problems and dont just move parts We focus on maximizing uptime Relationships still matter Fleets are placing 12 of their parts orders on line a number that is expected to increase to 25 according to John Blodgett vice president sales and marketing at MacKay Co When asked why they dont buy more online fleets responding to a survey said they were concerned about losing their relationship with their distributor Carl Mesker vice president of sales Americas at SAF Holland explained that there are two kinds of sales transactional and consultative Technology allows distributors and dealers to deliver more value and gives them more problem solving ability leading to a consultative sale rather than one thats just a transaction Amazon cannot walk you though an issue said Vince Roth vice president of sales and marketing at Triangle Suspension Systems They provide a product but dont have knowledge 4 things I learned at Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week Denise Rondini offers information and insight to help fleet managers make smart parts and service choices A highly respected freelance writer in the transportation industry she has covered the aftermarket and dealer parts and service issues since 1982 and now covers those areas exclusively for Heavy Duty Trucking and Truckinginfo com She can be reached at drondini@ truckinginfo com or 773 951 8563 T Amazon cannot walk you though an issue They provide a product but dont have knowledge