LAS VEGAS – Uni-Select Inc. announced at a breakfast meeting this past Tuesday that it was officially launching a unified branding for its parts distribution network in the United States and Canada, naming the brand Auto Plus.
Through aggressive acquisitions over the last 10-12 years, Uni-Select Inc. has grown to become the fifth largest automotive aftermarket distributor in North America. In addition to using the meeting, held during AAPEX at the Sands Convention Center, to announce the consolidation of its network of corporate and independent bannered members, Uni-Select also added that its network of member automotive service centers would also reap the benefits of the new branding.
“We’ve spent the last few years unifying the organization at the store level and establishing the technological infrastructure necessary to streamline our supply chain,” says Mike Buzzard, VP of Marketing and Sales Strategies. “We are now ready to go to market with all of our partners…with a powerful single brand.”
State-of-the-art ordering and warehouse management insures the right part is in the right place at the right time. Next up is improving the online experience for its partners, as well as for the consumers seeking just the right part at the right price.
Auto Plus member shops can look forward to improved technology that will help them improve their own businesses. Buzzard shared the company’s plans to install digital signage that would operate in real-time, taking their feed from the “cloud” and providing customers with both entertaining and education content while promoting services and parts timed to match manufacturers’ offers. The same signage is also a probable platform that can be used to deliver live, web-based training to parts counter salespersons, service advisors and repair technicians. Additionally, the company is initiating “SmartLink”, a program that will utilize telematics to bring remote diagnostic capabilities and more to member shops and their customers.
With the corporate news shared, company officers moved on to recognizing their manufacturing partners. For the U.S. market, award recipients for 2014 are:
The Diamond Award is the most prestigious prize of the Manufacturer Partnership Awards. The prize is awarded in recognition of excellent support given to our customers, sales strategies, fill rate, marketing campaign and service. This year, Dorman Products Inc. is the recipient of the Diamond Award.
The Technology Award is awarded in acknowledgment of excellent technology innovation. This year’s winner is Delphi Product and Service Solutions.
Dorman Products Inc. won the Product Innovation Award, which is awarded for excellence in product innovation and the creation of new product categories.
The top performing manufacturer in sales growth is awarded the Sales Growth Award. The recipient of this award is The Gates Corporation.
The Training Award is given to the top manufacturer in technical training. This year, Standard Motor Products Inc.receives this prize.
Tenneco, Inc. was recognized for their excellence in marketing and communication and received the Marketing Excellence Award.
Finally, WIX Filtration was given the Product Management Award for being the top performing manufacturer in product management.
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