E 20 Proof Recruitment Works in the Aftermarket: Pronto Network President Robert Roos

08/10/22 • 29 min

Robert Roos, president of the Pronto Automotive Distribution Network, is proof positive that recruitment and retention works in the aftermarket. As he shared in this AMN Drivetime podcast episode with Bill Babcox, he was recruited right out of high school.
“That is 100% the truth,” Roos said. “I got into this industry almost completely by accident. A buddy of mine right after we had graduated high school, the summer after we graduated, he earned his Eagle scout badge and back in those days in the mid 1980s, social media didn't exist. You know the way to get the word out and to congratulate somebody was to put their picture in the paper and an entrepreneurial HR director at a local parts warehouse saw his picture called him and asked him if he would like to have a job working in their warehouse. He took it and evidently made a pretty good impression on him after a couple weeks. They're like, ‘Hey, do you have any friends that might be interested in a job?’ He threw out my name, I got the job and literally have been in this industry ever since.”
Next year will mark Roos’ 40th year in the industry, he said. To evolve and grow from stocking shelves at a parts store out of high school to now leading a national program group, Roos said he’s proud of the journey. “It is very surreal,” he said. “I'm very, very proud of it. I've been very lucky in my career in that I have had a wide variety of opportunities within this industry. I've been on the WD side, working with independent distributors. I've worked with a major chain, a retail chain back in the days, Big A Auto Parts – APS back in those days – and the experiences that I had all along the way. Even eight, nine years ago now coming into program distribution, I've just been able to experience so much and be a part of so much of what this great industry has to offer. When you stop and think about it, it's a pretty incredible journey.”
In this episode of AMN Drivetime, Bill and Robert also dive into the following topics:
0:50 – How Robert was recruited to the aftermarket right out of high school
3:06 – How it feels to go from stocking parts shelves to leading a national program group
5:24 – What Pronto Network members are most focused on today
8:57 – What Roos believes it takes to stay cutting edge and nimble today
12:41 – An update on Supply Chain issues from the distribution perspective
15:24 – Funny memories from the road
18:42 – People who have made a difference in his career
25:34 – The value of daily routines
27:12 – Roos’ responses to the ever-popular Lightning Round!
AMN Drivetime is sponsored by Litens.

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E 19 Tendeco Sales’ John Lussier on the Value of Made in the U.S.A.

In this latest episode of AMN Drivetime, Babcox Media CEO Bill Babcox sits down with John Lussier, president of Tendeco Sales Inc., under which the Litens brand resides. In the interview, the two executives talk about a variety of important industry issues – from supply chain challenges to sourcing, R&D, OE heritage, international business and more.
Having been born in Argentina and educated in Venezuela, Lussier says that experience has certainly helped him lead an international business however, he points out that the continued value proposition of the “Made in the U.S.A.” still holds weight around the globe.
“For me personally, in my automotive career, it's helped me a lot into understanding other cultures and how that might benefit and learn to work together. Obviously, it's a very important thing,” Lussier said. Yet he also shared, “... having grown up in South America and then subsequently moved to the United States, I learned early on what it meant to be ‘made in the United States,’ because that translates into quality around the world.”
In this episode of AMN Drivetime, Bill and John also dive into the following topics:
00: 56 Litens history and its involvement in the invention of the tensioner
04:25 The vehicle technologies Lussier is keeping a close eye on today
6:36 How growing up in Latin America informs Lussier’s his role as an international business leader today
8:08 Just how many languages does Lussier speak?
8:10 What “made in the U.S.A.” really means to Lussier
9:23 How Litens manages today’s continuing supply chain challenges
10:55 The importance of R&D and how Litens differentiates itself in the market
13:09 Diving into the details of having “OE heritage”
14:40 Funny stories from the road
16:35 The popular and insightful Lightning Round
The AMN Drivetime podcast entertains and educates listeners, conversing with today’s top aftermarket drivers and industry leaders who are having an impact on the automotive aftermarket industry. This bi-monthly podcast offers candid, one-on-one conversations between Babcox Media CEO Bill Babcox and notable figures in the automotive aftermarket, sharing their experiences and life lessons as they have traveled the aftermarket.
Bill Babcox is the third generation to run the Akron, Ohio-based media business and not only has a number of great stories and insights to share, but also has had the good fortune to get to know a number of fascinating people in the automotive aftermarket today. Tune in to these captivating conversations covering topics ranging from key industry issues to the deep personal insights developed over years of experience in this dynamic industry.
AMN Drivetime is sponsored by Litens.

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E 21: Tom Taylor on How Rock Auto Grew to be A DIYer’s 1st Call

An Admitted “car hoarder,” Tom Taylor, VP of Marketing and Co-Owner of Rock Auto, says he and his family really lucked out when they founded the online auto parts retailer in the midst of the “Dot Com” bubble. According to their website, Rock Auto’s goal is to “liberate information hidden behind the auto parts store counter,” and make auto parts affordable. After more than 20 years in business, with Rock Auto now a household name amongst car lovers, it is fair to say that mission has been successful.
“It was really lot of dot com companies in the beginning, like toys.com. They had all this money and felt they had to create everything from scratch. So they would say, ‘let’s build a warehouse and let’s buy all this inventory.’ For auto parts, you didn’t really have to do that. It was the, the perfect timing because the big chain stores had put a lot of the smaller auto parts retailers out of business. So, you had all these warehouse distributors and a lot of name brand manufacturers were looking for ways to sell their product be because the big chain stores had their private label brands. So it was really good timing for us that you had all these experts in warehousing, they had the inventory, and they were looking for new ways to sell their inventory. Some of them were trying to sell direct to consumers and shops and struggling with that. So, we gave them a new way to sell and quickly became their biggest customer for all of them or most of them.
In this latest AMN Drivetime podcast, Bill Babcox and Tom Taylor dive into a number of other topics, including:
1:59 How Rock Auto was formed
5:00 Surviving the Dot Com Bubble and how Rock Auto outlasted many competitors
6:13 Who are Rock Auto’s biggest customers?
7:06 How did the pandemic e-commerce boom impact Rock Auto?
8:03 Just how many cars does Taylor own?
10:19 What does the typical Rock Auto customer “look” like?
13:00 The process for picking the right parts suppliers
15:12 How Rock Auto helps professional techs and DIYers pick the right parts and chemicals
17:24 Pricing and serving the professional tech
21:30 The ever-popular Lightning Round!
AMN Drivetime is sponsored by Litens.