Truck Parts and Service | Heavy Duty Trucking, Aftermarket, Service Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/91805
Cover Story By Denise L. Rondini, Executive Editor drondini@randallreilly.com Midwest Wheel Growing In New Directions People, processes and marketing support are important keys. forms before being added at all locations. A Training Is A Constant To make sure its staff is well informed, Midwest Wheel keeps a training checklist on its calendar. "We review it from year to year, " Cal- lot has changed since 2004 when Midwest Wheel Com- panies was named the Truck Parts & Service Distributor of Th e Year. According to Mike Callison, president, perhaps the biggest change has been consolidation. "For one thing there were more independent distributors back in 2004," he says. "And there probably were more choices in suppliers." All this consolidation has forced Midwest Wheel to be better at what it does, Callison says, because customers also have become more demanding. "You have to drill deeper and keep your processes in line. Everyone talks about cus- tomer service, and that always is a given. You have got to reduce mistakes. People today will put up with fewer shortfalls than they used to and I don't think that is ever going to change, " he says. New Directions One thing that has changed at Midwest Wheel is the type of products that are of- fered. "Midwest Wheel has added products over the years to be more of a supplier to our customers," says John Minor, executive vice president and COO. Callison explains that in 2004 when they considered adding a product line it had to fi t with what the company was already doing. "Now it can be something completely diff erent. It can be a totally new product," he says. 16 Mike Callison John Minor As a result of this change in philosophy, Midwest Wheel now carries automotive accessories, and products for transmissions and hydraulic systems. "We also are doing a bit more in industrial-type distribution, " Minor says. "It is not a large part of our business, but it is a growing part of it. Midwest Wheel's customers can expect " to get most of their shop supplies/equip- ment, tractor/truck and trailer parts de- livered daily, according to Minor. "We feel we have the system in place to market and deliver products of any kind that fi t our customers' needs. To be successful doing all of those things requires accurate, on-time, professional delivery, " he says. "Our customers can make one call or order online, and get one delivery, one invoice and consistently talk to the same person year aſt er year. " While the type of products carried may have changed, the process used to add products has stayed the same. "We get to- gether as a team and analyze products that are off ered to us," Callison says. "We try to fi gure out what the volume is going to be. We like the products we add either to be a natural transition from what we already have or something we feel there is a need for in our market." Once the decision is made to bring a new product on board, it initially is brought in on a small scale and tested in several branch locations to see how it per- TRUCK PARTS & SERVICE | November 2012 lison says. "Every year we do the same training seminars about our main product lines just to get people up to speed and to keep the veterans sharp on their skills." Th e company holds an average of two to three product training or skill training sessions a month. Th ese trainings oſt en are conducted via webinars. "We are working toward more of a skill training curriculum for employees on things like how to answer phones, how to improve customer service, that type of thing," Minor says. Mike Callison Jr., marketing specialist/ training coordinator, is responsible for the company's training and safety programs because, according to Minor "they go hand in hand. " Twice a year there are company-wide meetings "where everyone comes off the road and meets in one place with a variety of diff erent manufacturers over two to two- and-a-half days," Callison explains. In addition, every other Friday Midwest Wheel holds a business review webinar for all its managers and salespeople. "We cover any customer service issues, marketing, changes in programs, prices changes, new products that have occurred, " he says. "It is kind of a state of what is going on in the business." EDI, VMI & Technology Midwest Wheel uses EDI with most of its vendors and has been using vendor man- aged inventory for the last 12 years. "We have close to 20 percent of our