ROANOKE, Va. – Advance Auto Parts presented its 2016 Vendor of the Year awards during the company’s annual vendor summit held this week. Advance honored five companies, including GRI Engineering & Development LLC, which received the prestigious recognition as Advance’s 2016 Vendor of the Year. Additional vendor partner awards included:

·         Commercial Excellence Vendor of the Year – CARDONE Industries

·         DIY Excellence Vendor of the Year – Valvoline

·         Superior Availability Vendor of the Year – Dorman Products, Inc.

·         Supply Chain Reliability Vendor of the Year – TRICO Products

2016 Vendor of the Year GRI Engineering & Development provides Advance with quality parts and solutions for its line of brake pads and brake products, and was also selected for delivering exemplary customer support, and providing industry-leading testing and product management. The Vendor of the Year Award was presented to Steve Wang, founder and CEO of MAT Holdings Inc., at an annual awards dinner, which opened the 2016 Advance Auto Parts vendor summit.

“The five partners honored with our Vendor of the Year awards make possible Advance’s commitment to get the right part at the right time to every customer,” said Charles Tyson, executive vice president, merchandising, marketing and replenishment for Advance Auto Parts. “The quality products and services provided by each of these organizations make them industry leaders and integral business partners for Advance.”

GRI has partnered with Advance on brake products for more than a decade, and has received the Commercial Excellence award in previous years. The 2016 Commercial Excellence Vendor of the Year, CARDONE, was recognized for innovative category management, excellent field team support and delivering quality products that commercial customers trust.

Valvoline received the DIY Excellence Vendor of the Year award for advancing motor oil strategy through analytics, while Dorman was honored as the Superior Availability Vendor of the Year for first-to-market successes and expanded coverage offerings to benefit customers across the country. This is the second year in a row that Dorman has received the Superior Availability Vendor of the Year award from Advance.

TRICO Products Corp., a global leader in wiper blade technology, received the Supply Chain Reliability Vendor of the Year award for its superior planning and management of weather-dependent product availability.

For more information about quality parts and services available from Advance, visit AdvanceAutoParts.com.