Think now about reinventing yourself: Executive

From left, MEMA Aftermarket Suppliers’ Ben Brucato moderates a discussion on supplier pain points with Gino Amador of Snap-on Equipment, John Lerner from Gojo and Cal Ganda of ContiTech Power Transmission Group

Many factors influence change in the automotive aftermarket. If you’re not thinking about how you’re going to adapt your company to that change, you’re facing tough times, warned the head of an aftermarket tool company.

Gino Amador, president of Snap-on Equipment, didn’t mince words when speaking to his peers at this year’s MEMA Aftermarket Suppliers Vision Conference in Chicago.

“If you consider the trichotomy of climate change advocacy, of road safety initiatives and trade policy that is at best questionable, for most of you in this room, if you don’t reinvent yourselves, you’re going to have some trouble,” he told attendees.

How long companies have to reinvent themselves, he’s not sure. But “stochastic events” will come into play, he said, and every business is different with its own set of variables.

“But I feel fairly comfortable in saying that the event horizon for being deep into change is somewhere in the neighbourhood of 20 to 30 years,” he predicted during the session Supplier Pain Points: A CEO Panel.

So get on with it, Amador urged. “What are you all so worried about?” he asked.

This is the automotive aftermarket, not the new car dealers group, Amador reminded. They’re worried about what may or may not happen this year, next year and the year after that. The aftermarket doesn’t need to worry as much because it already knows what will happen.

“That’s sort of baked already. We know how many cars got sold three and four years ago,” he said. “We know how many cars are coming off of warranty. We know how many cars are in that perfect space of four to 11 years,” he said. “That’s the spot we need to be in. That’s where we make money.”

Furthermore, every aftermarket company should be pulling in plenty of money. If not, you’re doing something wrong.

“If you’re not growing by 5 or 6 per cent this year, either your competitors are eating your lunch or the OEM dealers have managed to keep defection to a lower rate,” he assessed.