Hughes: A look at Right to Repair from the distribution side
We live in a world of extremes. Politically, socially, economically, and in every area in between. These extremes often divide relationships or households beyond repair. Often, these extremes lead to exaggerations designed to overstate the truth just to validate a certain view on a divisive point. Everything is bigger or smaller than it has ever been, successes are great while failures prove crippling. One thing we can all agree on as an independent aftermarket industry is that there is no way to overstate the damage we would collectively face if the passage of the REPAIR Act (HR 1566) fails in Washington, D.C.
While there is no way to accurately quantify the actual monetary impact this industry would face in a Right to Repair failure, one thing we know is that the effects would be devastating throughout the supply chain and to vehicle owners. The idea that vehicle owners would lose their right to determine where their vehicle gets repaired is a slap in the face of freedom and independence. Suppliers would have less motivation to innovate.
Staying Competitive
For decades, the perception of the aftermarket was “better than OE.” For every failure of an OE part on a new vehicle, it did not take long for the aftermarket to formulate and produce a solution. However, over time, that philosophy waned to the point where now the aftermarket standard is to be “as good as OE.” Regardless of where we currently sit on that spectrum, the reality is that without aftermarket channel partners driving the need to innovate, the industry will suffer.
One thing we can all agree on, even in a world of everything firmly on one side or another, is that competition drives improvement. Efficiency remains the holy grail that companies throughout the supply chain continue to pursue. And that pursuit is driven by continuous improvement in all business disciplines. Competition within the supply chain means progress for vehicle owners. Improvements in quality, improvements in cost leading to better prices, and efficiency improvements that contribute to an industry operating at an optimal level are all in jeopardy based on the status of HR1566.
Convenience and Capacity
Beyond competition is another word that starts with “C”, and that is convenience. Data shows that returning vehicles for repair at the OE dealer often leads to appointment wait times upwards of four to eight weeks. This resembles the opposite of convenience. Families across the country still need a vehicle to get to and from work, the kids to and from school, and the ability to get to the grocery store, or even church on the weekends. Families cannot afford to wait up to two months for a vehicle repair. Add to that the further restrictions on capacity, as over 70% of non-warranty repairs to light vehicles are performed in the independent aftermarket. With capacity issues stretched already, bringing in additional repairs normally repaired in the aftermarket can elongate the wait times to three to six months.
Unified Strength
Thankfully, the industry has a large ace in the hole when it comes to fighting for the passage of the REPAIR Act, and that ace is the members of the Aftermarket Warehouse Distributors Association.
Suppliers and channel partners are vital to the success of the independent aftermarket, but so too is the world of independent distribution. The Auto Care Association and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tell us that there are over 250,000 service channel outlets in America. The overwhelming majority of these facilities are serviced by an independent distributor.
AWDA members span both the light and heavy-duty segments of the industry, and include the industry’s major program groups, as well as virtually every independent distributor doing business in all 50 states and across North America. These groups and their distributors are the backbone of the industry and remain vital to industry growth, just as they were vital to the growth of the industry over the last 100 years.
This is Our Fight
Resilience is the hallmark of independent distribution, and over a century of evolution and change within this industry bears that out. Changes like moving from crank start to electronic ignition, carburetors to fuel injection, and eventually (not anytime soon) internal combustion engines giving way to hybrid and battery electric vehicles. These challenges have all been met in stride, and we continue to remain agile to adjust and deal with any challenges ahead. The fight for passage of the REPAIR Act is no different.
Lawmakers care about their constituents, after all, it is their collective vote that got the lawmaker to Washington, or it is their votes that are going to keep them there. AWDA members operate businesses in virtually every Congressional District across the country, and they are doing their best to make their voices heard.
Many distributors already have great relationships with their senators or house members, while in other cases, the issue of independent vehicle repair has become the cause to establish and build relationships. Lawmakers understand the voices of business leaders within their districts, and our industry is known to have dedicated business leaders committed to success.
Longtime NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz is credited with coining the phrase, “Failure is not an option.” While Mr. Kranz may get the credit for saying it, the independent aftermarket has certainly adopted it to showcase the importance of the battle we face as an industry. When it comes to the passage of the Right to Repair, failure is not an option, and warehouse distributors are essential in moving this from a bill into a law.
