Third annual MEDCO Customer Show 2014 focuses on bringing new products and training opportunities to customers

Oct. 14, 2014
Highlighted during the third annual Customer Appreciation Show, the President of MEDCO shares insights into the growth of the company, the recent United Stationers acquisition, and how this expansion will better serve customers and suppliers in the future

The MEDCO Customer Appreciation Show 2014, held September 19-20 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pa., featured more than 140 vendors and an estimated 500 customers. The Show has grown dramatically since its inception in 2012, now 500 percent larger, with almost 3x the number of vendors and customers.  This was also the first year that the Company’s Canadian operation, G2S, was in attendance with 35-40 of their top Canadian customers.

In addition to the general opportunity to meet with manufacturers, take advantage of significant deals, and view new products at the MEDCO Show, Keim looks at the annual Show as a training and education opportunity.  In fact, it is part of the education focus that MEDCO is taking overall. 

Expanding markets and product offerings

One of the largest tool and equipment and PBE warehouse distributor in the country, MEDCO covers a diverse group of industries including collision, mechanical and heavy duty through its network of nine U.S. and three Canadian warehouses.   MEDCO President Andrew Keim discussed the industry, the Company’s growth, its recent expansion into the heavy duty business, as well as the just-announced acquisition by United Stationers while at the Show.

“This is an interesting time to be in this industry, and particularly to be in so many aspects of the industry,” said Keim.  “Vehicle technology is continuing to change rapidly, and those changes create both challenges and opportunities for our business and our customers,” However, because MEDCO focuses on a number of different aspects of the business, Keim believes the organization is in a unique position to service the automotive aftermarket.  He also sees training as a centerpiece of the future and says that MEDCO, because of its broad coverage, is in the best position to train customers on servicing vehicles with new technologies.

“The collision industry tends to see vehicles very early in their life cycle so, being a major force in collision, we’re very in tune with new trends,” said Keim. “The traditional automotive aftermarket may not see some of these technologies for four to five years, but we’re in a position to be advising and training on the most important ones years in advance.”

Beyond just the changing marketplace, Keim also commented on other changing tool technologies, including the very significant increase in specialty tools in the market.

“Today, a lot of the tools that are being brought to market are designed for specific needs because the vehicles are changing so rapidly,” said Keim.  “More and more, our customers and their customers need to be educated on connecting the right tool to the right job so that technicians can do their jobs more effectively. The fact is that in some cases, if you don’t have the right tool, you can’t do the work at all.”

MEDCO works to integrate these new tool solutions with the requisite training to their customer base.  Many aftermarket repair shops are adopting more of an “all-makes, all-models” approach to vehicle repair.  “In order to make this change, shops are turning to sophisticated diagnostics that enable them to expand the vehicles that they can repair.  But even after you’ve learned how to fix it, you need these specialized tools to actually get the job done,” said Keim. Keim also said that MEDCO continues to add and streamline product information so it’s easy to access from one location, their MedcoOnlineWarehouse.com online platform.

“We invest heavily in web-based content information systems. We’re embedding content about products, including videos, manuals, and parts breakdowns – any information that supports the products that our customers are selling.  Even though these documents are available from different places all over the Internet, we’ve taken the step to collect them and centralize them into one information portal, so customers know they can come to us not only for product availability, service and selection, but also for information.”

Overall, Keim sees becoming an information resource as a step in the direction of assisting the next generation of customers - millennials. “Clearly, this audience grew up looking for online support, which means that we need to be developing and maintaining a digital library. It’s our job to make sure we provide this kind of information to them and do so in a way that they can share with their customers.”

A significant push into heavy duty

MEDCO has expanded its coverage of the heavy duty segment significantly, highlighted at the 2014 MEDCO Show.  “We’ve added several brands that are dedicated to the heavy duty repair market and will be supporting those brands with a 200-page catalog and a robust digital platform launching in 2015,” Keim said.  He also said that MEDCO has increased the number of stocked SKUs available for distributors.

“Over the last six months, we’ve added close to 8,000 new products into our distribution centers. Not only does that enhance product availability and put MEDCO in a better position to improve on its industry-leading fill rate, but it also allows many of our customers to answer the first question that they are asked every single day - ‘What’s New?’”

The United Stationers acquisition

Customers have come to expect a major announcement from MEDCO around the time of its annual Show.  In 2012, the Company announced its acquisition of California Tool; in 2013 the acquisition of Weiss Tool Distributors and the opening of its warehouse in Dallas (Arlington) Texas.

This year MEDCO announced the beginning of a new chapter in its history.  MEDCO is being acquired by United Stationers, a $5.5B publicly traded wholesale distribution company focused on business essentials.  Based in Deerfield, Ill., United Stationers operates 65 warehouses across the U.S. 

“We’re very excited about MEDCO becoming a division and platform for United Stationers in the automotive aftermarket,” said Keim. “They want to be in this business, recognize our expertise in addressing the needs of the segments we serve, and go to market with a very similar attitude as we do.  United Stationers is committed to winning from the middle using strong and sophisticated logistics to connect suppliers with resale customers.” 

According to Keim, “United Stationers has developed outstanding logistics and customer care expertise that will benefit our customer base.  In addition, they are committed to being in this business, have the resources to help us grow, and even offer a complimentary product portfolio that could prove valuable to many of our existing clients.”

MEDCO looked at the United opportunity for its customers, vendors and employees.  “This had to be an opportunity to add value for everyone involved,” said Keim.  “Our customers will have the opportunity to benefit from enhanced product offerings and logistics; vendors will have the benefit of expanding their business and partnering with us on new programs; and employees will have the benefit of enhanced growth, career opportunities and more.” 

The culture of both organizations

For MEDCO, the culture of United Stationers was as important as the business opportunity.  As it turns out, it was equally important for United.  “We’ve been a family-owned business since 1935, and our culture reflects those roots,” said Keim.  “So for us, the decision wasn’t only about the business benefits of coming together with an organization like United Stationers, but we spent a lot of time really looking at the culture of their organization and their track record on how they manage business units and how they give back to the communities in which they operate.” 

“The more I got to know United and their people, the more I was able to realize that they had a very similar culture to ours. I’m very excited about what the future can hold for us,” Keim said.

Looking ahead

Very optimistic and excited about the future, Keim sees MEDCO continuing to challenge itself to drive the industry forward and to be a leader in the products, training and resources that customers need in order to grow.  He also sees opportunities with some of the existing United Stationers businesses.  “Our customers currently purchase business essentials.  With the United Stationers partnership, “it gives our customers an opportunity to expand their business by having access to a wider range of business essentials to help them grow their business with their end customer.” 

“As hard as I often think it is to top the Show we’ve just completed, I know that we will continue to create shows that offer even greater value to our customers and vendors,” said Keim. He sees that value focused on training, new products, new opportunities and new technologies.  “We’ve never been comfortable with the idea of getting comfortable so we continually challenge ourselves to be better for all of our customers.” 

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