ARA CONVENTION

organization and the stories of employees become the social media and website stories. From seamless em- ployee onboarding processes (where many businesses fail, and then quickly loose new hires) to providing and explaining benefit packages, to creating a plan for “how to rise up in our company,” all the while pro- viding the best technology and training, these are the ways of the next level of your business.

While this seems like a lot of work to hire and retain these finicky employees, it is all about getting peak performance, and these are things you should provide your team, anyways, says Kruman. Millennials have expectations for these conditions whereas prior gen- erations only hoped for them. “People only remem- ber how you make them feel,” says Kruman, “and as a generation, we are not shy about asking for the things everyone else also wants.” COMMODITIES 201: This informative session paired Benny Cunningham, Cunningham Brothers Used Auto Parts, and ARA President Jonathan Morrow, M & M Auto Parts, Inc. They spoke about the value of an automotive recycling facility based on its sellable parts assets. “Your customer’s perception will become your reality, whether we think it’s right or not,” Cunningham says, “we need to listen to the customer, and solve their problems. I asked my customer, what problem keeps you up at night? Then, we developed solutions to solve them. Therefore, we won General Motors Supplier of the Year in 2015 and 2016,” notes Cunningham. “Meet your customer on a level they want to be met.” The automotive recycling industry is not even close to evolving as fast at the auto industry is, the pair empha- sized. Overall, automotive recyclers own commodities of the entire auto industry, and the collision repairers

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and others who service vehicles are also part of that big picture. Everyone is being squeezed hard for cycle-time reduction, higher quality parts for less profit, and keep- ing up with new vehicle repairs and technology. “The way to the competitive edge isn’t to villainize other parties, but to humanize them,” says Cunning- ham, emphasizing that when you find your value to these other parties, and work on consistently providing service to them, you can maintain your edge. When it comes to commodities and profits, they rec- ommend having one employee as a point person. “Po- tentially, this role is your most important employee,” Morrow emphasized. “The more that person analyzes your scrap channel, the more successful they are. They are the final decision-maker and hold the line of what happens to your product,” says Cunningham. “They should scour your inventory, determine what parts go on shelves with supply and demand, understand the commodity market, have real-time information, and make decisions on a vehicle when it goes into produc- tion. This allows parts to start flying where they can generate profit. When you integrate this across all channels and culture of your business, everyone looks out for potential profit.” AUCTION EFFICIENCY: “Purchasing, processing and product is what makes profit,” says Marty Hollings- head, a member of the auctions panel. This highlights the importance of buying cars at auction and having trust and confidence in the process. “I recommend you have a relationship with your regional or area manager at the auction,” notes Neil Harrow, Green- Star Auto Recyclers, Orlando, FL. “Having this estab- lished helps when issues may arise. This and being a smart buyer, knowing what product you need, and

January-February 2019 • AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLING