July 25, 2005 – Distributor Report
ADP Lightspeed Adds Consulting Services
ADP Lightspeed has launched a new consulting service that company officials say was designed to help powersports dealers uncover and correct weaknesses in their business.
“For years, dealers have asked us to provide onsite, in-depth consulting visits,” said Hal Ethington, a senior consultant at ADP Lightspeed. “While the industry has plenty of 20 group opportunities, dealers tell us that traditional consultants lack the technology know-how to really plug into the business and see what’s going on.”
ADP Lightspeed, a part of ADP Dealer Services provides dealer management software and other services to 19,500 auto, truck, motorcycle, marine and recreational vehicle dealers throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.
ADP Lightspeed’s consulting service will offer a broad range of flexible analysis tools enabling the dealer to customize the session. A standard consulting session will begin with the consultant and dealer principal discussing goals for the project. The consultant will access the dealer’s system remotely and extract vital transactional information to give a clear picture about what is happening in the dealership, then spend several days at the dealership interviewing employees and implementing new processes. Before leaving, the consultant will review the findings and changes with the dealer principal and set dates for an assessment of progress. A complete set of business analysis reports and an overview of the session findings will be provided.
Ethington and senior consultant Blake Lawson will work with dealers.
“Our mission has always been to sell the industry’s best software system, and to train dealers how to use it effectively to improve their businesses,” said Kris Denos, director of customer services at ADP Lightspeed. “Our success as a company is dependant on our customers’ successes, which means providing them with the software tools and business knowledge to run a profitable, efficient operation.”
Consulting visits can be booked by calling ADP Lightspeed at 800/521-0309.
Bell Industries Holds Product Show
Minnesota-based regional distributor Bell Recreational Products, a unit of Bell Industries, hosted 47 product suppliers and dozens of powersports dealers at its annual Snow/ATV/Motorcycle Product Show on July 13.
Trent Walden, Group Sales Manager at Bell Recreational Products, said the event – held at indoor kart track, ProKart Indoors – served to introduce new product and programs to the company’s main retailers and 12 sales reps. He said it was the largest event the company has held.
Suppliers set up within the facility, and dealers and reps walked from booth to booth along the track.
“We gave the dealers and the reps checklists with the names of the suppliers in attendance so that they were sure to visit every one of them,” Walden told Powersports Business.
The show included products from American Trail Adventures, Ancra, Arrowhead Electrical, ATV Wagon by Bosski, Black Line, Brite Lights, Caliber, Camoplast, Cargo Buckle, Carlisle, Cycle Country, Dowco, Dunlop, Forever Lever, K&N, Kimpex, KL Industries, Kolpin, LRD Exhaust, Mad Dog, MAS Leather, Master Lock and NGK.
Others attending were Panther ATV, Polar Sport, PowerMadd, Prairie View, Premier Performance, Premier Plastic, Probus, Rider Light, Ringers, Roetin Traction Products, Skinz Protective Gear, SnoStuff, Sportech, Stud Boy, Superwinch, Symtec, TAS Technology, TriMax Locks, Ultimax Belts, Viking Outware, Warn, Woody’s Traction Products and Yuasa.
Bell Recreational Products’ 2005 Parts and Accessories catalog also was distributed at the event. The catalog features 846 pages, and has sections for Helmets, Apparel, Tires, Drive, Body, Brakes, Control, Accessories, Electrical, Carb & Fuel, Engine, Lube & Chemicals, Shop Equipment, Trailer, PWC and ATV.
White Brothers Expands Racing Support
White Brothers Performance Products, Inc., Yorba Linda, Calif., expanded its race support program in late June through the addition of Jason Partridge as a Technical Racing Support Specialist.
Partridge has been assigned to strengthen White Brothers’ strategic relationships with the company’s pro level AMA motocross and supercross racing partners. In addition he will help establish the White Brothers Amateur Race Program by working with top young talent across the country and providing them with the same products the professional riders and factory teams use.
Partridge spent the past two years serving in a rider support position for FMF, Rancho Dominguez, Calif., where he also ran the amateur program.
“I saw a tremendous opportunity and chance to grow at a company that is the dominant four stroke exhaust brand,” Partridge said. “White Brothers has a rich history of being the leader in four-stroke performance and I look forward to providing those products to racers across the world.”
White Brothers Racing exhaust systems are used by the Factory Honda and Factory Yamaha motocross Teams. The company is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2005.
More New Faces at Parts Unlimited
Wisconsin-based distributor Parts Unlimited has announced four more additions to its sales force.
Dan Hollingsworth and Ryan Hemans have been tapped as new Northwest Region sales representatives
A parts manager in the Oregon area since 1994, Hollingsworth is a member of the Central Oregon Motorcycle and ATV Club (COMAC). Hemans has been in the motorcycle industry since 1994, working with Utopia Optics, Seattle Cycle Center and Yamaha.
Michigan also gets new representation. Corey Parlin, a former mechanic for Scott Summers, is Parts Unlimited’s new sales rep for Lower Michigan; Chris Schaible, formerly with General Motors’ Engineering Department, is Parts Unlimited’s new sales rep for Upper Michigan.
Kawasaki, Joe Rocket Enter Licensing Agreement
Joe Rocket and Kawasaki Motors Corp., USA, have signed a co-operative licensing agreement that will have Joe Rocket offer a new line of Kawasaki Road Race Replica apparel products.
The 2006 Kawasaki Road Race Replica collection by Joe Rocket was launched during the MotoGP/AMA event at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on July 9.
The Kawasaki Factory Racing Replica jacket, Replica suit, and Superstock jacket will be offered exclusively through Kawasaki dealers and Sullivans in the United States.
“The launch of this line is a fine example of the successful relationship that Joe Rocket and Kawasaki have cultivated through our racing endeavors; now we’re taking it to the street,” said Bruce Parker, Marketing Director for Joe Rocket.
HiPer Technology Inc. Recalls ATV Wheels
HiPer Technology Inc., Lawrence, Kan., has recalled approximately 875 of its nine-inch ATV wheels with an aluminum center section.
HiPer says the aluminum center section of the wheel can come apart causing the tire and rim to unexpectedly separate from the ATV. HiPer has received 12 reports of wheel center section breakage and separation.
The recalled nine-inch ATV aftermarket rear wheels have a model number of 0990 YHR and can be used as the rear wheel for the following bolt patterns: four bolts on a 110mm circle or four bolts on a 115mm circle. The center section of the wheel is made of aluminum and has eight bolt holes.
Manufactured in the United States from February 15 through May 2005, the wheels were sold by ATV dealers and HiPer Technology from February 2005 through May 2005 for about $190.
HiPer Technology says it will offer a replacement wheel center section and or wheel repair, free of charge. Call HiPer, 877/464-4737, or visit the firm’s Web site, www.hiper-technology.com, for more information.
i2tech Named Arctic Cat’s Supplier of the Year
Innovative Injection Technologies (i2tech), West Des Moines, Iowa, has been selected as Arctic Cat’s Supplier of the Year for 2005. This is the second year in a row i2tech was named top supplier. Chuck Hicks, Director of Supply Management for Arctic Cat, made the announcement at Arctic Cat’s 9th annual supplier meeting.
Yuasa Names VP of Manufacturing
Yuasa Battery, Inc., Laureldale, Penn., recently appointed Rick Newberry as vice president of manufacturing. Newberry most recently served as plant manager for Exide Technologies in Bristol, Tenn.
Established in 1979, Yuasa Battery is one of the largest American manufacturers, distributors and OE suppliers of batteries for motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles and personal watercraft in North America. For additional information, visit www.yuasabatteries.com.