Technology Newsmaker Q&A Jim DeGrasse

June 4, 2014
Jim DeGrasse, owner of Triangle Auto Supply, discussed his company's recent deployment of a cloud-based business management system from Fuse5, and the use of technology in the aftermarket supply chain.
Jim DeGrasse owns Triangle Auto Supply, the oldest family owned and operated parts store in Yakima, Wash. He spoke to Aftermarket Business World about his company's recent deployment of a cloud-based business management system from Fuse5, and

the use of technology in the aftermarket supply chain.

Why did you decide to update your business solution?

One of the reasons we've been able to succeed and stay in business is our ability to recognize when we need to change. There's been a lot of consolidation among the major players, and they can all connect to the installers and the dealerships directly. Getting new software to sell to a walk-in customer is not that critical of an aspect of the business now.

How has the new solution changed the way you do business?

We didn't have any significant purchase order capabilities before. We'd been doing e-commerce for years using Transnet. I would have to export a file out of the system, put it into an Excel spreadsheet, and then I could take my stock order and look at what we had on hand, and send it through Transnet. That's how purchase orders were done. Now I can populate the order automatically and send it out directly.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the aftermarket today?

Standardized pricing or map pricing is a challenge that the aftermarket had better get its head around. If you buy a GoPro camera, it's the same price now matter where you buy it. If you buy an iPod, you get it at approximately the same price whether you get it through Amazon or Best Buy.

That's not the case in the aftermarket; everyone is trying to sell for the lowest price. It's a race to the bottom. We can't keep doing this. The reputation of the brand is at risk. There's no concern at all that somebody is selling your product at these prices.

We have the most incredible distribution model of any commodity in the U.S. I can get a timing kit from Yakima to New York tomorrow. The aftermarket has an amazing ability to get products out to wherever they need to be, but no one seems to care about what price we are selling these products at. Companies like O'Reilly and AutoZone should be concerned about his, because they have a lot of money invested in infrastructure and inventory.

I know you can't stream auto parts, but Best Buy is not necessarily the safest place to be selling electronics when you can get the same thing on Amazon for up to 40 percent less. The companies making sure Best Buy is still around are those with mandatory pricing. A Nikon camera is often the same price at Best Buy as it is in a local photography store.

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About the Author

Brian Albright

Brian Albright is a freelance journalist based in Columbus, Ohio, who has been writing about manufacturing, technology and automotive issues since 1997. As an editor with Frontline Solutions magazine, he covered the supply chain automation industry for nearly eight years, and he has been a regular contributor to both Automotive Body Repair News and Aftermarket Business World.

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