‘The Group’ Moves Forward On Key Initiatives

GRAPEVINE, Texas and STAUNTON, Va. – Leadership of the Automotive Parts Services Group (The Group) met April 13-14 at the Fairmont hotel in Dallas, prior to the start of the Pronto spring membership meeting, to review and finalize several strategic initiatives. More than 500 Pronto members and suppliers were given an update on The Group’s recent activities.

“We are very proud of the progress made in the 15 weeks since Federated and Pronto joined forces,” said Bill Maggs, president and CEO of the National Pronto Association and co-CEO of The Group. “We continue to find opportunities to improve support and services for the benefit of our members and suppliers. Because the culture of the two organizations is very similar, with a focus on creating value and continuous improvement, the formation of The Group is an exciting opportunity for all of us.”

The Group leadership reviewed a number of important programs through which Pronto and Federated have combined efforts for the benefit of members and supplier partners, including:

Co-Man: A process was announced to make Co-Man products and services available to Pronto members in the near future.

Telematics: Both groups agreed to support and share in the “MYAutoAware” telematics program, making it available to their professional service and fleet customers.

Training: The newly developed “The Group Training Academy” was previewed and approved for immediate implementation.

National Accounts: An update on new national account agreements, along with approvals for member and supplier growth benefits, were reviewed.

Information Technology: Progress was shared on plans to improve inventory management and forecasting capabilities.

Electronic Catalog – The electronic catalog was previewed for the members in attendance and plans were presented for future enhancements and special features.

During the Pronto membership meeting, various presentations and question and answer sessions were conducted by The Group, and vision statements were made by leadership on the benefits of collaboration and working together.

“Meeting in Dallas gave us the opportunity to conduct a high-level review with top leadership as well as update the entire Pronto membership on the significant progress made in a number of critical areas,” said Rusty Bishop, CEO of Federated Auto Parts and co-CEO of The Group. “It also gave us the chance to share some exciting advancements with our supplier partners and hear many valuable ideas and suggestions first-hand from members and suppliers.

Federated Auto Parts Distributors announced it is entering into a collaboration with the Association of Independent Oil Distributors (AIOD) – one it said will focus on mutual benefits for the respective members.

“Federated is constantly looking at ways to improve value for all constituents and this agreement provides that,” said Sue Godschalk, president of Federated. “This collaboration provides added volume and opportunities for our suppliers, new partners for our members, and added supply points and products for shop customers. We have enjoyed working closely with several AIOD members in the past and this agreement will expand and create further opportunities for both Federated and AIOD.”