GERMANTOWN, Tenn. – Auto Pride unveiled several new marketing and product programs as well as innovative new IT solutions to more than 30 warehouse distributors in attendance for its recent membership meeting at the Westin Savannah Harbor Resort, according to Mike Lambert, president of the Network.
 
“As the Auto Pride membership continues to expand under the Network umbrella, the brand remains committed to developing marketing, product and IT programs that will provide real-world solutions to distributors and service dealers at the street level,” Lambert said. “Auto Pride has signed several new high-profile members over the past 12 months, so this meeting proved to be especially enlightening for those companies.”
 
During the event, Network Headquarters staff discussed the upcoming 2015 Network National Convention in New Orleans, the ever-expanding Auto Service Experts marketing program for service dealers, the group’s growing lines of tools and equipment and the expanded offerings from Network Products, its co-op warehouse. The Network Information Services (NIS) team also provided an overview of the latest developments in the group’s e-commerce solutions, including WebShop, Net-Intel, PartShare, Electronic Order Processing and Internet Parts Ordering.
 
More than 30 of the Network’s manufacturer partners were also on-hand to host a vendor expo, showcasing their latest products and services as well discussing real-world issues face-to-face, said Kenny Maurer, Network chairman and co-owner of New York-based Big City Automotive.
 
“This meeting was a huge success, as the Network staff, Auto Pride members and manufacturer partners gathered to discuss the unique opportunities we have in place to continue to grow together and be increasingly competitive in an ever-changing marketplace,” Maurer said.
 
During the gathering, the Auto Pride membership named Federal-Mogul and Best Brakes its 2013 Vendors of the Year.