Collision and Mechanical Sales Opportunities
At the inaugural Lexus Guest Experience Summit + Expo, wholesale parts sales took center stage during the Wholesale Parts – Best Practices Workshop. The workshop featured Gary Price, Director, DENSO Products and Services Americas, and Rick Leos, Vice-President of Industry Relations, OEConnections (OEC/OPS).
HIGHLIGHTS
You can increase parts sales in one of four areas:
- Service Lane
- Retail Parts
- E-Commerce
- Wholesale
The reality of those four wholesale parts areas provides you with the biggest opportunity to create incremental growth.
HERE’S WHY!
Wholesale parts sales generate $123 billion a year in sales! Of that, 60% are mechanical parts and 25% are collision repair parts.
According to statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are approximately 126,000 independent collision repair facilities in the U.S. plus an additional 26,000 brake and muffler shops.
As Gary said during the presentation, “Do the math: With 126,000 IRFs divided by 250 Lexus dealers – that comes out to 504 customers for every Lexus dealer.”
There are tremendous collision and mechanical parts opportunities, but you must go after these customers.
“The reality is that your dealership is not servicing all the Lexus vehicles in your area so if your dealership cannot service 100% of the vehicles within your PMA, then you should at least try to provide the parts for 100% of those vehicles!
“The other perception is that Lexus dealers cannot compete with the chain stores, like NAPA or AutoZone. The reality is that you can compete with the big chains. They aren’t going to have all the parts their customers need all the time, so when they need a Lexus part, it makes sense to turn to a local Lexus dealer,” Price added.
It all starts by focusing on the opportunities in your backyard – IRFs, service garages, and chain stores.
DENSO is helping by partnering with Lexus for the “Feet on the Street” program. It supports Lexus dealers in increasing Lexus Genuine Parts sales by raising awareness at the IRF and shop level. Plus, this program is flexible and can be tailored to each dealership’s needs by bridging the gap between dealers and repair facilities. Lexus dealers know where the opportunities are; DENSO helps them generate additional sales in that market.
The next issue of Lexus WIN will contain a complete review of the “Feet on the Street” program.
BEST PRACTICES
During the presentation, Price gave some valuable advice: “These best practices from top Lexus Wholesale dealers are easy to implement and require minimal effort, but they can significantly impact how your customers perceive your business.”
ELECTRONIC PLATFORMS
Rick Leos, Vice-President of Industry Relations, OEConnections (OEC/OPS), added tips on building your wholesale parts sales using an electronic parts platform.
“If you use the right system, most Lexus Parts Departments achieve $350,000 — $400,000 in wholesale parts sales per month; the potential is there.” Everyone wants to communicate like Amazon these days. For example, I fish a lot; if my equipment malfunctions, I can conveniently obtain a replacement from Amazon, delivered right to my doorstep the following morning. These platforms are convenient and save a lot of work and time.”
Rick Leos
Vice-President of Industry Relations
HOW TO PARTNER WITH IRFs
The electronic platforms we have are incredibly user-friendly. When communicating with a new IRF, take the opportunity to guide them on how to navigate the system. Educate them on the system’s capabilities, explain the purpose behind each action you take, and highlight the benefits it brings to their operations. And the best part? You can invite them to join right from the system itself. It’s that simple to get them on board!
The Lexus Guest Experience Leadership Summit + Expo was a great success. You will benefit by putting these Best Practices to work in your Lexus Dealership.
