Dedicated to building strong, long-term supplier partnerships on behalf of its members, the Automotive Parts Services Group (The Group) announced it is currently evaluating new and existing vendor relationships with a focus on future growth and success.

“We are very fortunate to work with so many suppliers that seek to collaborate with our members and identify ways to ensure their programs are competitive both today and in the future,” said Mike Mohler, executive vice president of vendor relations and product strategy for The Group. “With the amount of change taking place so quickly in our industry, we have to take into account different considerations than in years past. While premium quality parts and sales support are still critically important aspects of our vendor relationships, the overall value proposition for the future is evolving and that requires us to have open, frequent communication with our supplier partners.”

The Group management team is in the process of meeting with many current and potential supplier partners to better understand each company’s long-term capabilities. The Group said many of these meetings so far have taken place at suppliers’ locations so that a broad array of topics can be discussed with top management, as well as the entire management team.

“Meeting with suppliers’ management teams allows us the opportunity to explore in-depth a variety of areas critical to our mutual success,” added Roy Kent, executive vice president of product strategy and business development for The Group. “While discussing topics such as new product plans, information, data support, training and technician programs, which have always been important, we must now take the time to cover internet strategies, vehicle connectivity, diagnostic capabilities and a host of other subjects that have become essential to the success of our vendor relationships going forward.”