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Brake Parts Inc New Leadership

Patrick Keane, vice president of global distribution, and Dave Sather, vice president of global sourcing, will retire at the end of the second quarter.

Counterman Staff
By Counterman Staff
Published:

Several management changes are taking place at Brake Parts Inc (BPI), the company announced.

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Patrick Keane, vice president of global distribution, and Dave Sather, vice president of global sourcing, will retire at the end of the second quarter.

Al Biemer will take on an expanded role in the company as vice president of supply chain, while Chris Mapes has joined BPI as vice president of global sourcing.

During his 32-year tenure, Keane has held a number of positions in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

His career at BPI began as materials/manufacturing manager at Continental Hydraulic Hose in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. In 1990, he was promoted to division manager of Friction Inc. in Irvine, Calif., and then became vice president of BPI’s distribution and logistics group in 1995. In 2003, the hydraulic and chassis operations were added to his responsibilities. Keane was promoted to vice president of the chassis group in 2008 followed by vice president of global distribution in 2010.

Sather joined BPI in 2008 as vice president of global sourcing, a role in which he has managed and overseen global sourcing and vendor relationships around the world. During his 10 years at BPI, Sather drove the supplier-financing program that contributed to the company’s overall growth and profitability. He has played a significant role in shaping the company’s success through strengthening internal and external relationships, according to BPI.

As vice president of supply chain, Biemer will assume responsibility for global distribution and transportation in addition to his current responsibilities of inventory and planning. He joined BPI in 2013 as vice president of product demand and inventory planning, coming from A.M. Castle & Co., where he served as vice president corporate supply chain and Oracle ERP implementation lead.

At BPI, Biemer has consolidated the inventory and product planning functions along with customer service, allowing the company to better align work processes, gain efficiencies and build on customer service success, according to the company. In his new role, he will also manage the global supply chain with a focus on enhanced order fulfillment.

Prior to joining BPI, Mapes spent more than 20 years leading supply chain and operations teams. He began his career at Navistar and held similar roles with Behr GMbH and Dover Corp. Most recently, Mapes served as chief procurement officer at Xylem Inc.

Mapes has a track record of driving productivity improvement and operational excellence and is known as a consensus team builder who focuses on leveraging scale and process to drive business improvement, according to BPI.

“It is with mixed emotions we say goodbye to Pat and Dave and we wish them all the best in their retirement. Both men have contributed greatly to the success of BPI and their dedicated service will be missed,” BPI President and CEO David Overbeeke said. “We congratulate Al Biemer on his expanded role and welcome Chris Mapes to the BPI leadership team. By building efficiencies and strengthening processes throughout the supply chain, we can best serve our customers throughout North America and the world.”

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Customer Service: How It’s Done

Customer service should be your number one priority, and it all starts with the greeting.

Eric Garbe
By Eric Garbe
Eric Garbe is a graduate of Columbus State Community College with a degree in Automotive Maintenance Technology. He has extensive independent and dealership field experience as a technician and shop owner and is an ASE Certified Master Technician and former Adjunct Automotive Professor. He has been professionally writing automotive technical articles and documents for many years and in his free time enjoys restoring old cars and creating custom interiors and upholstery.
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This is always an important topic to discuss, because I consider excellent customer service one of the most important tools you can have to earn trust, respect and repeat business from the customers that come through your door. Whether that customer is do-it-yourselfer from across town or the professional repair shop across the street, your business depends on a solid relationship.It’s a subject that I am passionate about, and it’s one that many people are losing touch with. Whether you are communicating to someone in person, on the phone or using some type of social media, good customer service and bad can both exist. You can’t afford the latter, so this is the first in a series of topics which can and should be shared from the front of the shop to the back. No matter which role you hold, you represent the shop and yourself. Customer service should be your number one priority.First on the list is the greeting. From the second a customer walks in the door, they need to know you appreciate them coming in and how important they are to your business. First impressions are everything and here’s the correct way to do it each and every time: look them directly in the eye, smile and say hello!Of course, you can say “Good morning” or “Welcome to Joe’s Autocare,” but it should be a formal greeting and the most important thing is that you have smiled, looked them in the eye and recognized that they have walked through the door.You should always retain a formal greeting until you are on a first-name basis with a customer. Only once you have established that level of relationship is it OK to use the less formal greeting of “Hi,” followed by the person’s name.This greeting does more than just indicate respect and appreciation for someone walking through the door. Most likely there are customers both new and old who are in earshot of your conversation. For newer customers, this continues to build rapport and reinforce their positive view of your shop; they see that you demonstrate respect and treat everyone in the same manner. For repeat customers, even ones that have been coming for years, the greeting is important because the way you treat them is the reason they continue to come.And when a long-time customer comes in and you greet them with “Hi [First Name],” this indicates your appreciation for them and that you’re glad to see them as a person, more than just a customer. New customers that witness this will see that your repeat customers are comfortable enough to be on a first-name basis, another indication of the trust they have in you.

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