Photo caption, left to right: Bob Cushing, Advance executive vice president, professional; Jason McDonell, Advance executive vice president, merchandising, marketing and eCommerce; Ken Bush, Advance senior vice president, assortment and market availability; Kevin Muir, Sprayway vice president, automotive sales group; and Tom Greco, Advance president and CEO.
Advance Auto Parts presented its 2022 Vendor of the Year awards during the company’s annual Partner Summit on Oct. 17 at the North Ridge Country Club in Raleigh, North Carolina.
During the event, Advance honored numerous vendors for their partnership and performance. The retailer also announced that, thanks to the generous contributions of its vendor partners, the Advance Auto Parts Foundation will gift more than $2 million to military veteran nonprofits.
The 2022 Vendor Partner of the Year award was presented to Sprayway, a leading manufacturer of aerosol products. Sprayway partnered with Advance’s supply chain team to tackle the aerosol-can shortage. Thanks to innovative sourcing methods and shifts in production, Sprayway continued to supply Advance with brake cleaner, appearance chemicals and other essential automotive products.
The gift from Advance’s vendor partners via the Advance Auto Parts Foundation will benefit three nonprofits in support of military veterans. Beneficiaries include Building Homes for Heroes, which gifts mortgage-free homes to wounded service members and their families; Hire Heroes USA, which provides free job search and career support to U.S. military members, veterans and their families; and Stop Soldier Suicide, whose goal is to reduce service member and veteran suicide by providing mental health support and resources. Since 2011, Advance’s vendor partners have contributed over $17 million to support military veteran nonprofits.
“Our vendor partners are essential to Advance’s success,” said Jason McDonell, Advance’s executive vice president of merchandising, marketing and eCommerce. “Our vendor partners are dedicated to providing Advance with the highest quality parts and partnering with us on strategies and solutions to get those parts to our customers with care and speed. Without them, the ability to meet the needs of our DIY and professional customers would not be possible. On behalf of Advance, we congratulate Sprayway and all our winning vendors, and we thank all our vendor partners for their generous contributions to support our veteran nonprofits.”
Advance kicked off the evening by awarding its 2022 New Vendor Partner of the Year award to two suppliers. The first recipient was Test Rite Products Corp. for their help in designing and delivering packaging for the DieHard Power Tools product line. Delivering work to exact specifications and without delay, their speed and execution were key contributors to the new product line’s successful launch.
Trensor LLC was named co-recipient of the New Vendor Partner of the Year award for its instrumental role in Advance’s private-label engine management brand changeover. Trensor contributed to the changeover by overcoming shifts to the execution timeline, providing funding to support competitive products and altering its shipping methods to ensure successful execution.
For the second year in a row, Clarios was named Strategic Initiative Vendor Partner of the Year. Recognized for its role in the innovation of the DieHard brand, the company helped deliver a first-to-market battery designed specifically for hybrid and electric vehicles. Additionally, their partnership helped Advance’s DieHard AGM battery receive circular-economy validation from UL Solutions, the world’s first automotive battery to do so. Their collaboration and expertise have helped Advance experience record category growth while meeting an array of customer needs.
Dorman was named Superior Availability Vendor Partner of the Year for providing Advance with exemplary service, availability and innovative solutions. A long-time partner of Advance operating in more than 180 product categories, Dorman’s ability to deliver new and innovative products and solutions has allowed Advance to become a leader within the professional installer market.
GB Remanufacturing Inc. was named Professional Excellence Vendor Partner of the Year. A leader in the automotive aftermarket with 36 years in the industry, their team constantly works to find creative and mutually beneficial solutions. Their product expertise, excellent order fill and on-time deliveries enable Advance to drive sales growth.
dentsu X was named Marketing Partner of the Year for its continued media partnership with Advance. Involved in all paid-media efforts, the firm’s creative work has led to highly successful campaigns, including the launch of Advance’s new brand voice and superfan, Ed Vance. The firm’s adaptability to changes in Advance’s media approach has allowed for valuable media efforts that meet key company goals.
