CVSN Member Profile
5 CVSN INSIDER May 2009 How would you describe your business? B&A Friction Materials Inc. is an automotive & truck parts warehouse distributor operated by a group of focused and dedicated individuals who share the same values and clear responsi-bilities. What are the key reasons that your business is successful? Our company has had a specific business plan from day 1, which focused on, but not limited to, knowledgeable industry employees with continual training and retention. We included inventory depth on all product groups, servic-ing our customers beyond our own expecta-tions, forming partnerships with customers and suppliers, and then continually improving them. We recognize the needs of customers and employees and then fulfill those needs. Also, we look for weaknesses in our competi-tors and then capitalize on them. B&A Friction Materials focuses on a stabilized operating en-vironment and provides a clear corporate ob-jective of supporting employees that respond to a stable working environment. Finally, being a part of VIPAR Heavy Duty enables us to utilize the tools which it supplies and take advantage of their supplier relation-ships and fleet programs. Most important, we never sit idle. What role does CVSN play in your success plan? It is solely dedicated to the aftermarket. CVSN provides educational & strategic planning sessions at each conference. That provides insight and value within the industry. Unlike a marketing group, CVSN brings distributors and suppliers together from across all lines to enhance the aftermarket and gives the op-portunity for quality networking and business relationship building. What are the challenges facing your business in the future? There are four challenges to our future busi-ness: 1. OE's and large national groups and rollups like Fleetpride, TruckPro and Traction are aggressively pursuing a larger national foot-print that they can use to target national and regional fleets. 2. Economic conditions are forcing suppliers to cut costs by eliminating product offerings, staff and programs. These reductions will impact how distributors service their cus-tomers. 3. Customer consolidation is resulting in cen-tralized decision making on sourcing that places a disproportionate value on price, af-fecting margins and national fleet sourcing. 4. Aging employees will need to be replaced with qualified younger people. How do you plan to meet these challenges? The challenges need to be dealt with head on. They will not go away. We put more emphasis on running our business with basic principles, incorporating the skills we have learned that have made us successful, and to identify the WHAT of tomorrow. Let's not forget, as entrepreneurs, we founded an entity to make money. So do it. We have some of the best people; our employ-B&A Friction President CVSN MEMBER PROFIlE