Truck Parts and Service | Heavy Duty Trucking, Aftermarket, Service Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/91805
By Denise L. Rondini, Executive Editor drondini@randallreilly.com Point Spring & Driveshaft Builds On The Fundamentals Cover Story The right people, technology and service have starring roles. tals is essential for business success, growth and longevity. "I think people try to get fancy and try to go aſt er the next trend," he says. "We B have been a business that has tried to really stick with the fundamentals because if you are not doing the basics correctly, you don't have a foundation to build on. If you try to build on a weak foundation, you just don't go anywhere." As a result, he adds, "Managing inven- tories is absolutely imperative. Managing our cash fl ow is absolutely critical, going af- ter receivables, making sure our managers' bonuses are based on income and sales and their inventory management and how they collect money, these things are important. Th is is what it is all about." Surviving The Bubble & Looking Beyond Market conditions have changed dra- matically since 2005 when Point Spring & Driveshaſt was named the Truck Parts & Service Distributor of the Year, yet relying on the fundamentals allowed the business to make it through relatively unscathed. "We really did not cutback on services and we made a conscious eff ort not to cut back on people, " Ryan says. He met with his managers and told them that expenses WWW.TRUCKPARTSANDSERVICE.COM ill Ryan, CEO of Point Spring & Driveshaſt Co., is very adamant about one thing: mastering business fundamen- Bill Ryan needed to be reduced and anything that was not necessary needed to be cut. "Obviously we eliminated overtime, but we made a concerted eff ort not to let any- body go because we know this is a cyclical business and that it would come back. We did not want to lose good people. We had established a pretty good team and we did not want to cut somebody good who is on the team if we didn't have to, " he says. Having the right people in place con- tributed to Point Spring not only weather- ing the storm but continuing to thrive. However, Ryan says one of the biggest challenges he faces is fi nding people who can step into leadership positions in the future. "Th is industry has been one where you had some good people come in, work a lot of their career and get moved into key management positions," he says. Th at system has worked for Point Spring, but now means the business is a little short on business school graduates. "We probably are lacking in MBA-types that I really think we are going to need over the next 10 to 20 years. Th at is something we are trying to address. We will be looking at more people — not necessarily younger people — who have the MBA-type back- ground to help us get to the next level. To reach this goal, Ryan has made " investments in "people who have been in competitive situations who we thought brought talents and expertise we were lack- ing, people who could grow into another position. " But he is quick to acknowledge that that is a short-term solution. Beyond that Point Spring is recruiting at colleges, "and we have an eye on some younger people to develop over the next fi ve years," he says. Focus On Training & Marketing Point Spring takes full advantage of any available technical training to help ensure that "our people are good product people, Ryan says. In addition to that, Adam Diecks, marketing director, in conjunc- tion with Point Spring' " s sales manager, has put together a program to train the sales organization. "If you look at what we are, "we don't manufacture things; we are a sales organization so we focus on that. Th e training began with the outside " Ryan says, " sales force. "But then we brought training in with the idea of building a team. So the inside salespeople now are getting trained and then there is a component for the delivery drivers that is being developed. If you look at those three groups of people, that is probably 65 percent of our organiza- tion, " Ryan says. "When they fi nish, we will be reaping the benefi ts of it. It keeps everyone focused November 2012 | TRUCK PARTS & SERVICE 23