DST Asks: Is Your Company Part of a Technology Users’ Group
Scientists can’t actually agree on when mankind first discovered fire. Some think as recently as 100,000 years ago, but others claim evidence of campfires as old as 1.6 million years by carbon-dating them. In any case, whenever fire was discovered, everyone is in agreement that the first thing needed was a users’ group to share knowledge and techniques about this new, mysterious technology. Cavemen and their cavewomen traveled far and wide to assemble and discuss fire and trade new ideas and stories about its benefits. Can’t you just imagine the program agenda for that first Users’ Group? Probably workshops with titles like “Cooked Meat: A Whole New Paradigm” and “Heating Your Cave: Why a Chimney is a Good Idea” and “Stay Awake after Dark with a New Source of Light.”
DST Asks: Parts Distributors — Do Your Customers Order Parts Online?
Help Wanted – Parts Counterman, Requirements: Must be willing to work 365 days per year, 24 hours per day. Understands and has committed to memory a world-class multi-line parts catalog. Always knows correct pricing of each item. Processes parts orders in nanoseconds. Never puts customers on hold. Works for electricity – no salary or extra benefits. Any bets on how many responses you’ll get to that classified ad? Selling auto parts would be a lot easier and less costly if you could make those kinds of hires. Actually, it turns out that such resources are available today, just not human resources, the kind we would advertise for in the local paper. Instead, we might call them “cyber-employees” – a new species that forms the backbone of e-business and works in the world of browser-based technology on the Internet.
Monroe Recommends 50,000-Mile Shock and Strut Replacement
Tenneco Automotive’s Monroe brand of shocks and struts has introduced a new 50,000-mile ride-control replacement recommendation for vehicle owners who want to ensure desired ride and handling characteristics.
DST Asks:Does Your Multi-Store Business Management System Capture and Consolidate Operating Information?
It’s the American way. Start your own business. Perfect your methods. Hire good people. Grow your customer base. Perfect the idea at one location, then expand by adding new locations that share the same business model. Thousands of successful retail enterprises have started in exactly this way. It’s a fundamental way to apply the principle we all learned in Economics 101 – economies of scale. Business 101 would call it leverage. Good entrepreneurs call it survival!
Executive Interview with Kathleen Schmatz, President and CEO of AAIA
Our latest edition of “Executive Interview” features Kathleen Schmatz, President and CEO of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA). Schmatz became president and CEO of AAIA on Jan. 1, 2004. She had served as executive vice president of the association since January 2002. In addition to filling us in on her first few months at her new post, Schmatz shared with aftermarketNews.com updates on AAIA’s merger with AWDA, Right to Repair legislation and the Be Car Care Award Campaign.
Executive Interview with Jim Taylor, CEO of Thomas Group
Our latest edition of “Executive Interview” features Jim Taylor, CEO of the Thomas Group. Taylor joined the Thomas Group in 2001 as vice president and CFO. From 1997 to 2001, Taylor served as president of the Chancellor Group, a Dallas, Texas, management consulting firm, where he assisted companies in restructuring, raising funds and completing initial public offerings. Join us as Taylor tells us more about the Thomas Group culture and how it works for its clients.