Economies of Scale
Does size equal profits? Want fries with your Mega Burger? Never confuse ‘activity’ for ‘productivity’ on the path to profitability.
Parking Lot Diagnostics
Can more auto parts be sold by retrieving a diagnostic trouble code from an electronic memory? Many folks throughout the auto parts distribution industry certainly seem to think so.
Reeling from Returns
The Top Seven Reasons Technicians Return Product – Causes & Cures
A World with No Choice
Take time to get involved in our industry. The future of your own business may depend on it.
Complaining as Sport
Complaining has become a national pastime – less about the automotive aftermarket and more about the OE side of the world.
The Science of Fuel Delivery
One of the first things you have to learn abouot fuel delivery is the role of the air/fuel mixture on combustion, emissions and performance. To better understand what’s going on, you need a short lesson in the chemistry of combustion. Chemistry is a pain – but if there’s no pain, there’s no gain, and you
Top 10 Distribution Influences
A variety of factors – both positive and negative – impact aftermarket distribution. For the sixth year, Counterman editors present their view of the top 10 influences that impact the industry.
Store Science
Math, physics, chemistry – these are obvious subjects that all relates to automotive technology. But what about biology?
Industry Report: The Chassis Market
Mike Smith of Dana/Spicer blames the decline of steering and suspension parts on the increased sales of new vehicles, improved durability of OEM parts and market shifts in the vehicle population. "It’s not unusual to see a lot of import cars go to the scrapyard without ever having any significant chassis parts replaced," said Smith.
2002 Parts Store Market Profile
So what is average? If you’re talking about things easily quantified like return rates, the answers are easy. But what about parts stores themselves?