Photo caption, left to right: Justin Hebert, Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance; Kyle Sigle, Standard Motor Products; Paul Farwick, SMP; Fletcher Lord III, Parts Warehouse Inc.; Larry Sills, SMP; Fletcher Lord Jr., Parts Warehouse Inc.; Jack Ramsey, SMP; Eric Sills, SMP; Dale Burks, SMP; and JC Washbish, Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance
The Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance recently honored Standard Motor Products (SMP) as its 2023 Channel Partner of the Year.
The Alliance made the announcement during its channel-partner awards banquet at the JW Marriott Turnberry in Aventura, Florida, during the Alliance Winter Shareholder Meeting.
“We are honored to receive this award, as it speaks to the partnership we have with the Alliance and its shareholder members,” said Eric Sills, CEO at Standard Motor Products. “We pride ourselves on extraordinary customer focus, quality products and service, and we at Standard Motor Products are truly appreciative of the recognition. We look forward to continued success and a strong 2024.”
The Channel Partner of the Year Award is the most prominent of the Alliance’s channel-partner awards and is presented to a supplier that consistently performs with a high level of distinction, maintains exceptional support of the Alliance’s brand strategy and repeatedly scores high in all award categories.
“We are thrilled for the Standard Motor Products team,” said Justin Hebert, vice president of category management for the Alliance. “What an honor announcing a company like SMP with over 100 years of success as our Channel Partner of the Year. They support the Alliance and our shareholders in every endeavor, with product and inventory, sales and marketing support, technical training, and their efforts with information technology. A sincere congratulations!”
More than 500 attendees traveled to Florida for this year’s Winter Shareholder Meeting, a four-day affair in which shareholders and channel partners have joint business sessions and mixer events, covering a variety of topics including category management, information technology, sales and marketing, national accounts and report outs from the Alliance board of directors and departmental committees.
Hot topics for 2023 included a sustainability report and a Right to Repair update from Stacey Miller, vice president of communications at Auto Care Association and Chris Gardner, senior vice president of programs and technology at MEMA, who both joined JC Washbish, vice president of sales and marketing at the Alliance, onstage in front of a joint general session. Tuesday night concluded with the awards dinner and ceremony that is the pinnacle of the Alliance’s Winter Shareholder Meeting.
The Alliance Winter Shareholder meeting formally closed on Wednesday morning with financial updates and a product strategy meeting. The Channel Partner Advisory Council, a collection of product partners in attendance, gathered an extra day to recap the meeting, provide insights from a channel-partner perspective and plan for future events.
Other channel partners also received recognition and appreciation with awards that include training support; marketing efforts; APW support; category expertise; effective use of personnel; logistics; customer service; support of the Alliance’s exclusive national brands; and the Lonestar award.
New to 2023 is the Alliance Commercial Vehicle and Heavy Duty Hauler Award, which recognizes a channel partner that supports the Alliance’s growing CVHD program. Also in 2023, the Alliance recognized a collection of manufacturing channel partners that maintained outstanding fill rate levels throughout the year with Fill Rate awards.
| Award | 2023 Winner |
| Training | Standard Motor Products |
| Marketing | Bosch |
| Diamond | Arnott Suspension |
| Technology Support | Dorman |
| Manpower | DRiV |
| Logistics | BBB Industries |
| Customer Service | Valvoline |
| Lone Star | DRiV |
| Exclusive National Brand | The MacPherson Ride by FCS |
| CVHD Hauler Award | Gorilla Brake |
“Concluding another fantastic Alliance Winter Shareholder Meeting with the Channel Partner Advisory Council meeting is very beneficial,” said Joe Bergsieker, vice president of sales – program groups for BBB Industries and member of the CPAC council. “We all appreciate being here in person for this meeting. Coming together with the Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper shareholder members and their teams, as well as other industry partners is important and a great way to wrap up the year.”
