Rick Hendrick Mazda at the Mall of Georgia
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by Russ Heaps
In business, when thrust into a new environment, the natural reaction is to do what you know. That is, to follow a familiar path whether it leads to success or mediocrity. Fortunately for Dan Laskowski, the freshly appointed parts manager at the Rick Hendrick Mazda at the Mall of Georgia, most of what he knows he learned in the wildly successful parts operation at Rick Hendrick Chevrolet in Duluth.
Laskowski joined the Chevrolet parts team three years ago, working in the accessories department. As is typical within the Hendrick organization, he was promoted to a position in the wholesale department. When management noticed his communication skills and natural knack with customers, he was moved to the retail department where he could work one on one solving customer issues while serving the needs of the service technicians.
“I can't say enough about the Hendrick organization,” Laskowski said, “They really brought me along. They usually promote from within and that's what happened to me. When the parts manager job opened up at Mazda, my parts manager Rusty Thigpen came to me with it. The company has been very supportive of me every step of the way.”
A huge organization by car-dealer standards, Charlotte-based Hendrick Automotive Group operates 87 dealerships in 13 states, employing more than 8,500 people. It's the nation's second largest privately held automotive group, selling more than 150,000 vehicles in 2012, and earning nearly $6 billion in revenue. It added Mazda at the Mall of Georgia to its dealer group less than a year ago.
Moving from the nearly 50-employee parts department at the Chevrolet dealership to the Mazda store where Laskowski and the assistant parts manager Aaron DiLorenzo back one another up covering both the retail and wholesale desks, was a bit of a culture shock for Laskowski. But he has been working in car dealerships of assorted sizes since 1983, and has adapted seamlessly to his new surroundings.
Taking one look at the inventory, Laskowski recognized his first order of business was to realign the stock to better reflect his customers' needs. “We average about $180,000 in parts inventory,” he estimated. “My biggest challenge so far has been to get the right parts in here and to rearrange the stock. We needed to increase the wholesale stock, too. It just wasn't the right mix of parts to meet our wholesale needs. This has given us faster pull times, as well as improving our fill rate, which still isn't where I want it.”
In terms of developing new business and deliveries, the Mazda store is piggybacking on the Chevrolet dealership. Laskowski offered that the Chevrolet wholesale parts operation shares outside sales people as well as delivery trucks with him. “It's been good for us,” he stated. “We are now shipping parts into the Florida panhandle, Tennessee, South Carolina and Alabama.”
It's no surprise that high on Laskowski's list of things to do is building and strengthening his wholesale-customer base. In fact, he named “growing the business” as the next thing on which he is going to focus.
Although by the standards of Hendrick Chevrolet, the Mazda store's month average in wholesale business is modest; it is growing. In his mind, this is a two-pronged effort that not only entails mining new business, but also strengthening relationships and building bridges of communication with current customers.
“The goal is to determine exactly what our customers need and be fully prepared to deliver it to them,” he said. “We will have the right parts and get them quickly into the customers' hands. We will always be professional and do everything possible to meet our customers' needs and expectations.”
Another advantage of being part of the Hendrick Group is its deep pockets. If you want to talk about having the wind at your back as a new parts manager with only three months on the job, it's being with an organization that is determined for you to succeed. “Hendrick isn't afraid to invest in your inventory,” Laskowski declared. “We have the capital to build the inventory to match our customers needs and grow with the business.”
Where would he like to see Hendrick Mazda's parts inventory in the next six to twelve months? “My goal is to see gains in sales so the inventory would double within the next year,” he said. “It will have to grow at the pace of the business, but that's where I think it should be. I want to continue improving our fill rate and reduce the number of special orders.”
Another aim is to establish a presence on the Internet. “Web-based sales will be the next thing we go after,” Laskowski said.
Ultimately, Laskowski's goal is for the parts department to achieve the same level of success as the sales department. Swinging for the fences, Laskowski said, “I am going to make this the No. 1 Mazda wholesale parts dealer in the Southeast. It's already No. 1 in Mazda sales. We're going to do the same in parts and service.”
Rick Hendrick Mazda at the Mall of Georgia is located at 3546 Highway 20, Buford, GA 30519. You can reach the parts department at 888-418-0957.n
