What this distributor wants from suppliers

Carlos Straetger of Super Repuestos at the AASA 2022 Global Summit

Automotive aftermarket suppliers and distributors need to do a better job of working together, urged a leader of a distributor.

Specifically, when it comes to pricing, said Carlos Straetger, supply chain manager at Super Repuestos, based in Central America.

“We need to work hand in hand,” he said during the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association 2022 Global Summit in Florida last month. “My dream is that you could tell me, ‘This is our pricing strategy for the next 18 months. We’re going to be raising prices every quarter by 3 per cent just to keep up with what our costs are.’”

If suppliers would do that, it would alleviate many headaches for aftermarket distributors and retailers, Straetger emphasized.

“That is what we actually need because we have to synchronize our commercial strategy and our pricing strategy to yours. Because if we don’t, we will end up with a lot of expensive inventory that no one is going to be willing to buy,” he said.

In a recent survey of service and repair shops, DesRosiers Automotive Consultants found that almost all respondents noted price increases from their jobber.

In the fall, Adam Brody, director at aftersales strategy and insights firm Carlisle & Co., noted that companies can’t do once-a-year price increases anymore.

“You need more frequent price research because companies are reacting so much more quickly and out of the normal cadence in today’s economy that once-annual pricing research doesn’t always work,” he advised during the webinar Managing Pricing In A Complex Multi-Channel Sales Environment, as part of the AASA’s Supply Chain Webinar Series.

Nevertheless, Straetger stressed, whenever price increases are being planned, everyone needs to be involved.

“We have to share the insights and we have to share the risks,” he said.