Committee Highlights/Action Items 
Sept. 9-11, 2009 – Fall Leadership Days
Boston, Mass.

Click on the Committee name to jump to that summary.

AAIA Standing Committees:
Category Management
Education Committee
Government Affairs
Leadership Development Network (LDN)
Market Research
Marketing & Member Relations
Technology Standards and Solutions
Trade Show
Investment

AAIA Segment Committees:
Automotive Electric Association (AEA)
Auto International Association (AIA)
AWDA Executive Committee 
Car Care Professionals Network (CCPN)
Engine Repower Council (ERC)
Heavy Duty Distribution Association (HDDA)
Paint, Body & Equipment Specialists (PBES)
Rep Council
Retail
Tool & Equipment
Trim

AAIA STANDING COMMITTEES:

Audit

• Met with our auditors to review this year’s audit.
• Reviewed the status of AAIA’s internal audit findings.

Category Management

• Major milestone: After nine years of collaboration in aftermarket, Point of Sale information will be released for all Categories (front of counter and hard parts) by the end of 2009.
• The committee agreed to an Interchange Pilot reporting model, which will begin for the Wheel Bearing/Seals subcategory. This will include all segments and some level of attributes to be determined.
• A Returns workgroup will explore the various ways that distributors record returns (damaged/undamaged). The objective is to develop a coding system that could be utilized by NPD and reported back to the industry.
• Universe Expansion workgroup will continue to confer with the AWDA segment in attempt to investigate the possibilities of on boarding more participants in the POS data model.

Education

• Directory update discussion covered need to develop a launch date/process and acronym/catchy name for promotion purposes.
• Discussed ways to promote attendance at AAPEX education sessions and collect topic ideas for AAPEX 2010 education.
• Voted to move forward with a pilot program for an aftermarket recruitment week.
• Decided to pursue a summit for parts store owners/repair service writers to discuss ways to improve communication.

Government Affairs

• The AAIA Government Affairs Committee reviewed the progress of The Motor Vehicle Owners Right to Repair Act
  • Brian Hickey who is leading the aftermarket’s right to repair coalition in Massachusetts provided the committee with a full briefing on efforts to enact the Massachusetts Motor Vehicle Owners Right to Repair Act. The legislation is scheduled for hearing by Massachusetts Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee on September 15th. Backed by a broad state coalition of aftermarket, business and consumer groups, the committee was told that the bill has strong support both within the committee and in the legislative leadership.
  • Progress on the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Owners Right to Repair legislation has slowed due to concern by legislators regarding financial issues facing the new car manufacturers and the franchised dealerships. The coalition in the state hopes to have the bill before legislators during a scheduled lame duck session in November. Since the bill has already passed the Assembly, it only needs to be passed by the Senate before being sent on to the governor who has already committed to us that he will sign it if it reaches his desk.
  • Federal efforts to pass right to repair legislation have been arduous over the past several months due to the focus of Congress on health care reform, global warming legislation and aid to the ailing car companies. Currently, The Motor Vehicle Owners Right to Repair Act of 2009 (HR 2057) has 40 co-sponsors and is still pending in the House Energy and Commerce Committee. AAIA staff are meeting with key legislative supporters in the next couple of weeks to map out a strategy for moving forward for the remainder of 2009 and into 2010.
• The Committee discussed the Cash for Clunkers program which was authorized by Congress last spring.
  • While AAIA strongly opposed cash for clunkers legislation in the House and Senate, strong sympathy for the car companies and dealers led to its passage last summer. The program ended in early September after spending nearly $3 billion in federal money to scrap about 700,000 vehicles. While AIAA does not expect cash for clunkers to be extended, we are closely watching for any initiatives that might come forward to reauthorize the program.
  • The committee decided that if any additional efforts are undertaken to promote vehicle sales, that Congress should reject cash for clunkers and instead enact measures that would benefit all consumers and not simply those that can afford a new vehicle. The following four point plan not only would help the auto industry, but would benefit consumers, the aftermarket, and the environment.
    • Provide tax credits to car owners who buy vehicles that exceed the average overall fuel economy standards for the class of vehicle purchased.
    • Provide car owners with a tax credit of up to $750 if they take any action to maximize the fuel economy of their vehicle.
    • Increase the deduction available to car owners that donate their vehicle to charity.
    • Designate federal funds for the development of programs by the Car Care Council to promote better vehicle maintenance.
• The Committee reviewed AAIA’s new program to recognize major AAPAC donors.
  • The committee was pleased with the new program to recognize major donors to the Automotive Aftermarket Political Action Committee that was rolled out during the Fall Leadership Days. Those individuals recognized this year included:
    • W. Michael Brown (Olympus Imported Auto Parts)
    • Roger McCollum (N.A. Williams Company)
    • Michael Moshontz (Blue Magic, Inc.)
    • James Shapiro (SRS Marketing Company, Inc.)
• The Committee considered key elements of President Obama’s recently released trade agenda, as well as major developments in the European Union aftermarket.
  • The Obama Administration has embraced the AAIA-backed effort begun in the Bush Administration to negotiate an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) with major trade partners. The U.S. seeks to get the same tough anti-counterfeiting sanctions in U.S. law implemented by other nations, thereby greatly advancing the global fight against trademark piracy.
  • U.S. Trade Ambassador Kirk is pressing to revive the World Trade Organization (WTO) talks. The committee supports U.S. negotiators’ objectives to reduce aftermarket tariffs worldwide, and especially in key emerging aftermarkets where tariff walls block U.S. exports. On a bilateral basis, the President wishes to complete the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, which with some improvement to its automotive trade measures could prove beneficial to the U.S. aftermarket.
  • A 2003 European Union (EU) rule that required access to repair information and other pro-competition measures is set to expire next May. AAIA’s EU aftermarket allies are fighting to expand and extend the right to repair provision, but European Commission regulators favor its end. While a number of EU member states support the aftermarket, grassroots help is needed in key countries such as Germany. The committee will help in asking members with EU operations, customers and suppliers to make important grassroots contacts. 

Investment:

• Reviewed AAIA’s portfolio performance.
• Discussed ways the Investment Committee can add additional value to AAIA’s membership.

Leadership Development Network

• LDN held another successful Next Step Program in Boston and received a lot of positive feedback from the 2009 participants.
• LDN is once again preparing for their AAPEX Reception in November and will market the event as a NGC, YES and Leadership Development Network reunion. All AAPEX attendees are welcome to attend and will have the opportunity to network with past, present and future LDN members.
• LDN discussed the possibility of a new ambassador program, where committee members would attend different segment and committee meetings at Leadership Days and report back on ways LDN and these groups could work together.
• The LDN Committee nominated Richard Bowen, ExxonMobil Corp., as the 2010 vice chair. Sherri Rains, Hopkins Manufacturing, current vice chair, will be LDN’s 2010 chair.

• Operations Summary – Digital Factbook 2010:
  • Reviewed the Marketing Plan and Open Rate tracking reports.
  • Reviewed pages and contents most viewed and noted the results would help guide future content materials.
  • Agreed to provide committee complete analysis including least viewed pages.
  • Question: Can digital provider record the number of printed copies produced?
• Publication Sales Summary: 
  • Reviewed sales summary of publications for the past three years.
  • Noted recession’s impact on current volumes.
• Multi-Clients Research Studies (a new direction):
  • Discussed the multi-client research process where companies would be asked to sponsor project funding prior to project launch.
  • Brainstormed a list of 22 potential research ideas.
  • Agreed to initiate a “Member Needs Analysis” to identify additional ideas.
  • Next steps:
    • Established subcommittee chairman and committee members.
    • AAIA to coordinate all aspects of the projects.
• Aftermarket Consumer: DIY vs. DIFM (2nd Edition):
  • Noted study would be the 1st test-case for a multi-client sponsored project.
  • Agreed to review project objectives and evaluate research methodology, measurement and trending information.
  • Concerns about timing were discussed given the conditions of the economy.
• Cash for Clunkers
  • Discussed formulating a Cash for Clunker impact study to assess the long-term implications to the Automotive Aftermarket.
  • Recommended the study be a collaborative effort with other major associations.
  • Recommended Government Affairs be involved to help lend project guidance.
• Digital Asset Management (The Knowledge Library-a new direction):
  • Currently, the Market Research Staff spends 20% to 25% of its time responding to random information requests from both members and non-members.
  • The new on-line Digital Asset Management tool will be available through AAIA’s website
  • Users will be able to access information through a key word search function
  • Benefits to the users:
    • Will provide an option to purchasing entire reports.
    • Will provide 24/7 access to subject-specific information look-ups & down-loads.
  • Benefits to AAIA
    • Providing on-line access to AAIA’s library without requiring human intervention will obviously improve department productivity.
    • Since the system is being designed with an e-commerce feature, it is expected to produce a new revenue stream in 2010.

Marketing & Member Relations

• The AAIA Executive Committee has been charged with creating a “green” initiative for the aftermarket industry to tell its story about environmental friendly practices and sustainability. Following a presentation by Lisa Kranc and Diana Hull of AutoZone detailing their company-wide efforts the committee divided into groups to brainstorm the steps necessary to collect information and to create a communications plan.
• Committee volunteers and staff conducted an actual Community Car Care Event with free consumer vehicle inspections at a Brighton, Mass. Meineke Car Care Center. The project was intended to be a hands-on experience for volunteers and an opportunity to videotape for a new video directed at repair shop and retailer store owners/managers.
• New added value features at this year’s AAPEX, that were inspired by the committee and subcommittee during previous meetings, were reviewed. The committee has been directly involved in strategic planning with staff to improve AAPEX ROI through marketing.
• Helping to develop the next generation of aftermarket leaders was identified as a project of interest to be addressed at the Spring Leadership Days meeting. Representatives of the Leadership Development Network (LDN) will be invited to participate in this meeting.

Technology Standards and Solutions

• The committee hosted a successful Supply Chain Summit with speakers from the Supply Chain Council, AMR Research and IBM. The event was attended by over 60 volunteers and served to educate and stimulate discussion about this important topic.
• The committee approved incremental changes to several of the AAIA industry standards. Version changes were finalized and approved for the Aftermarket Catalog Enhanced Standard (ACES), the Product Information Exchange Standard (PIES) and the Internet Parts Ordering Standard (IPO). There was significant discuss and recommendations relative to the Mexico, Canada and Othermotive data extensions to the ACES Vehicle database.
• The committee made great progress in defining the role of the association in governing and standardizing the development and use of web services in the aftermarket. Volunteers formed a task force to advise staff on how to communicate the value of a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) to management.

Trade Show

• Committee reviewed all new programs for AAPEX 2009.
• Committee made recommendations for AAIA Town Hall questions and subject matter.
• Committee set agenda for winter meeting including: Sponsorship Incentives and Recommendations for maintaining Seniority in AAPEX
  

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SEGMENT COMMITTEES

Automotive Electric Association (AEA)

• Discussed need / participation level for May 2010 conference
• Discussed extensively the logistics of 2011 conference in conjunction with HDAW and established proposal groundwork

Automotive International Association (AIA)

• Created a task force to help market the significant benefits of the new AIA online import parts specialist certification tests, and develop broad awareness and demand for the tests by parts sellers committed to serving the import nameplate aftermarket.
• Directed enhanced marketing efforts to drive AIA members and prospects to the AIA Web site for government affairs alerts, member benefits, market and association news, and more. Discussed refinements to the Web site’s new Find It search engine, as well as communication with AIA members to help them optimize the benefits of the search function.
• Strategized on how AIA can better inform and alert members to take grassroots action on vital government issues, especially those central to AIA’s purpose of supporting free and fair trade. Underscored the importance of AIA/AAIA’s government affairs advocacy to AIA membership recruitment and retention efforts.

Automotive Warehouse Distributors Association (AWDA)

• AWDA Conference
  • Announced that WD conference registrations have reached levels not seen since 2004. Scheduled one-on-one meetings will exceed last year’s despite having fewer available time slots.
  • AWDA has committed up to $20,000 to support educational programming for all distributors at AAPEX.
  • AWDA will begin promoting vendor participation in AWDA’s 2010 AAPEX pavilion.
  • Developed “Best Practices” document to enhance value at one-on-one meetings.
• AWDA’s PIES Task Force
  • Has identified a number of PIES fields that will be recommended as a minimum for the transfer of product information between supply chain partners.
  • Will engage the major program groups to further refine a list of minimum recommended PIES fields for use by WDs and manufacturers.
  • Will begin working with AAIA to develop technology that converts .xml data fields into a format (such as Excel) that is more usable for most AWDA members.
  • Will investigate the issue of dealing with manufacturers’ acceptance of AWDA-recommended PIES fields when they have little or no EDI capability.
• Government Contracting
  • Staff and members will attempt to determine the extent of AWDA member involvement in government contracts and what extent that business has been impacted by no-bid government contracts.
  • Will investigate the possibility of developing educational programming to help members bid for and win government contracts for motor vehicle parts and supplies.
• Other Activities
  • AWDA will work with NPD to determine the viability of a process or tool allowing all AWDA members to submit sales data to NPD for use in Category Management reporting systems
  • AWDA’s Manufacturers Advisory Council (MAC) will assist AAIA in developing additional manufacturer URLs for AAIA’s education & training portal
  • AWDA members and staff have established a website that allows AWDA/AAIA information to be passed to members through program group extranet systems

Car Care Professionals Network (CCPN):

• Finalized plans for Leadership Committee membership and rotation plan, and Advisory Committee membership per new operating guidelines.
• Finalized plans for AAPEX programs for shop owners, to include exclusive exhibitor tours and panel discussion on future electronic engine management systems.
• Discussed how to establish effective liaison relationships with AAIA committees and segments. 

Engine Repower Council (ERC):

• A new shop finder feature on the Web site will feature engine installers, manufacturers and retail providers.ERC plans to integrate a new shop finder feature on their Web site featuring engine installers, manufacturers and retail providers.
• A new Facebook for social networking is being considered that will serve as another outlet to get information to consumers about the benefits of repowering engines. The Facebook will be fashioned after the successful Car Care Council version.
• Web site content is being expanded to include more photos in a gallery, consumer and industry testimonials and additional news.

Paint, Body and Equipment Specialists (PBES):

• Formed a membership recruitment committee and set a goal of doubling their membership in FY2010
• Decided to host bi-monthly teleconversations to stay in touch with members. A committee will work with Sue Kalish to determine topics and schedule the calls.
• Committee will host 2 webinars between now and the spring conference featuring 2 of the speakers from the 2009 conference.
• Committee reviewed KPI’s and will move forward on a test basis to collect the information from committee members only from October to December and then announce to entire membership in January.
• Spring Conference committee was selected and will meet via conference call to determine topics and theme for Spring 2010 meeting.

Heavy Duty Distribution Association (HDDA)

• Discussed the new management agreement with the Commercial Vehicle Solutions Network Association, whereby AAIA will provide management services to CVSN with a focus on government affairs representation. Prepared the joint HDDA-AAIA-CVSN press release announcing that the newly unified CVSN and HDDA distributors will now speak with a single, more powerful voice on government issues. HDDA and CVSN will explore other areas for cooperation, such as education and training.
• Reviewed the Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week (HDAW) event, which marks its fifth year with HDAW ’10, set for January 18-21, 2010. Recommended that event co-owners – HDDA, CVSN, and Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association (HDMA) – consider developing a strategic plan for HDAW.
• Discussed developments in the access to repair Information initiative, including presentations by HDDA chairman Dave Scheer and CVSN vice president Marc Karon at the upcoming Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) panel on “Fleet Challenges Regarding Access to Repair Information.” TMC is part of the Commercial Vehicle Task Force (CVTF) and worked with HDDA to develop a member survey on the access to repair issue, which identified significant challenges in obtaining information. Based on its findings, TMC has formed a study group on the issue, which HDDA and CVSN will join.

• Re-evaluated and revised the Manufacturers’ Representatives Mission Statement
• Formed sub-committee to review current Rep Council by-laws
• Formed sub-committee to design a sales piece to promote SIS to the manufacturing community

Retail

• Discussed the new segment structure and scheduling.
• Smith Barney presented on Gas Prices and the Impact on the Retail Sector.

Tool and Equipment

• Opportunities and Threats to the Industry:
  • Topics included “Cash for Clunkers”, the recession, the decline in both miles driven and miles driven per vehicle, dealership closings and its influence on future market dynamics.
  • Agreed that only a small percentage of closed dealerships will opt for used car designation.
  • Agreed a major issue is where professional technicians go when their dealerships close.
  • Aging baby boomers will continue to help drive the aftermarket but will seek optimum values.
  • Expressed concern that Chinese manufacturers will displace some domestic suppliers.
  • Discussed Impact of the Internet on distribution and price to value purchasing options.
• Government Affairs Issues Regarding Health Insurance for Small Businesses: Aaron Lowe
  • Health insurance is the number one priority for Congress.
  • Obama stated small business would be exempt from the small business employer mandate.
  • AAIA is trying to move an association healthcare plan forward with the Federal reform issue and is looking into the NAW health insurance benefits program posted on the NAW website.
  • Members were encouraged to contact NAW using instructions presented on the website.
• AAPEX Show Update:  Bill Glasgow Sr.
  • Overall AAPEX has 1,655 companies exhibiting, down 14.3% from last year.
  • There are 3,792 booths sold, down 17.6% from last year. By comparison, Bill reported that Las Vegas people have told him some trade shows have been off as much as 30-50% this year.
  • So far, 24,020 buyers are registered, a 19% decline from last year at this time.
  • Show Floor Changes including Shop of Tomorrow, Car Care Council Be Car Care Aware showcasing the U.S. and Canadian efforts at education, and the AWDA Pavilion.
  • Good news from the housing side. Some hotels have rates as low as $49/night. Venetian is at $204 (down from $259-289 LY). Mirage is at $145. Bally’s and Harrah’s are $45-$65.
• Activities regarding Committee Membership
  • Committee agreed a good target for committee membership is 25; currently there are 21.
  • Three guests were introduced and invited to comment on the various issues discussed.
  • Committee to formulate guidelines for commitment tenure, attendance and new members.
• Tool and Equipment Purchasing Trends:
  Committee continued discussing various methodologies to best determine the size and trend of the T&E market. Recommendations for follow-up included the following:
  • Contact BB&T Capital Markets to request they modify the existing format of the Aftermarket Intelligence Report (currently published in SmartBrief) to include a separate T&E section listing only those companies active in this segment.
  • Contact NPD to determine availability of high-level product summary information.
  • Contact IMR to determine availability of product level summary information and/or consider this issue as a multi-client research project (see Market Research bullets for details).
• New Business:
  • A question was raised about MAP (minimum advertised price) policies and the legal rules that apply when a seller is considering adoption of such a policy generally or for internet advertisements in particular. Recent court cases have addressed this issue but some state laws conflict with federal law on this subject. Any company considering the pros and cons of a MAP policy should be sure to consult with its legal advisers before making a decision.

Trim

• The committee reviewed the program for the 2010 convention scheduled for March 24-27 in San Antonio. The committee decided to reduce the fees for wholesalers who register for the convention before a certain date in order to promote an early attendance commitment which also will promote participation from more distributors.
• Following a discussion of AAIA membership benefits that are relevant for trim segment members, the committee decided to study the possibility of developing an online system that would assist wholesalers search inventories from other wholesalers in order to obtain products needed to fill a trim shop order.
• The committee selected its slate of candidates for the 2010-2011 trim segment committee which will take office following the 2010 convention. The committee also determined a list of candidates that should be inducted into the trim hall of fame.