The Innovators (1970s)

e [Applause] you know the stadiums are pretty much the same but the game has come a long way since I spent my Saturday afternoons in the stadium you know it's funny how things change how they progress gradually and you don't really notice it until you stop to think about it football for instance when was the last time you saw the single wing or drop kick and when you think about how things have changed you realize that it didn't just happen somebody made it happen the changes the improvements are really Innovations and the people who made them they're the innovators it's the same in every field of human endeavor the number one guys the leaders are people with a capacity to come up with new ideas and the ability to execute them in just 50 years The Art of Flight became a science from this to this look at the Innovations in Communications Transportation industry [Music] everywhere you look it's the innovators who create progress making the way for others to follow it's the same in your business too although maybe you haven't really stopped to think about it lately there is an organization in the automotive replacement parts industry that can fairly be called the leaders of that industry it's the National Automotive Parts Association NAA a name I'm sure you're familiar with but I'm also pretty sure you haven't thought about the whole story of Napa or you'd realize it's the kind of a team you should be part of so I'd like to talk to you for a few minutes about nap and why they're number one the leaders the best in the business I call them the [Music] innovators you know I learned a long time ago that in anything competitive there is one winner and that's whoever puts the most points on the board now almost without exception that winner is the one who can innovate who can provide solutions to problems as they occur who can create a plan and then carry out that plan better than the competition that's the leader whose success everyone else tries to copy and if the leaders are the innovators then I think of the others as well duplicators because the best they can ever be is second so let's take a look at nap to see what makes them number one but let's don't just look at claims let's look at the facts or to put it another way let's don't look just at the Press clippings let's take a look at the score 50 years ago today there was no nap or any other group effort to deal with the complex problems of Distributing automotive replacement parts yet there was a desperate need for some organized approach to these problems so this group of men formed the the first such organization and even then in so doing they became the innovators among the very first principles were these which by the way continue to be their strongest guidelines even today first to distribute only the finest Quality Parts made second to make them available to nap jobbers more quickly than any other source third to maintain a completeness of line unequal in this industry and fourth to devise and adopt only those programs which will further nap jobber success now that last one more simply stated is the ultimate test for any part of the nap system is it good for the jobber the answer must always be yes quite frankly there's a long and proud Chronicle of history in the development of the National Automotive Parts Association but you as a modern businessman should be most concerned with what Napa offers you today and in the future so I'll talk about the history only as it relates to the nap programs and benefits that can help you right now I think you can see in this development of the Napa seal through 48 years that Napa has kept up with or ahead of the changing Automotive Market throughout its history so that today this sixagon proclaims to everyone a solid foundation of quality and service second to none and today more than ever the parts business is unique one of the most complicated Industries in all history today's jobber needs to be under an umbrella one that provides all he needs for day-to-day activity and an assurance of profit let's look at some of the examples of nap innovations that make that Assurance possible early in the game these Napa leaders became aware of the need for some system of classifying the growing number of parts for the growing number of vehicles on the road and so one of the Prime Innovations of nap came into being over 40 years ago today that system is still the finest in the industry and get this it's still being refined polished and improved every year the nap classification office studies year round the sales movement of nearly 100,000 Parts individually using actual field research from three separate sources to assign each part to its most reasonable classification each nap jobber is supplied a classification book each year showing all of these assignments the results of thousands of hours and dollars spent to keep this Napa Innovation ahead of the field well all right but you're not here to cheer on the old school team what's in it for the jobber well simply put it's this a stocking system so refined that Napa can guarantee nap jobbers complete 100% obsolescent protection a guide so accurate that the Napa jobber stocks only what he needs which means spending inventory dollars on facts not guesses which also means the capability of turning that inventory over faster than anyone else and as a businessman I'm sure you know that the end result is a much greater profit opportunity but what about the duplicators now you can get a classification program from other sources and to a small extent they can duplicate the NAA approach to classification but how in the world can you duplicate 40 years of experience and constant Improvement only one way spend 40 years and that in a nutshell is why nap classification remains today what it's always been number one the unqualified best system in this industry nap classification is just one of the Innovations Napa has provided jobbers since 1925 there are many others and we'll see some major ones as we go along but I want to stress that all of the these things are considered services to the jobber and that not one of them stand alone they are rather parts of a total service system which is unique in this industry now you might look at it as a complete game plan with every element judged by one rigid standard is it good for the jobber well I think you'll agree that it is very good for the jobber so let's see I like to group these Innovations these original Napa Services into three basic areas service programs such as classification Management Services and selling services before we examine them in detail let me make one other basic point just like a good football team the most important element is people no team or system or organization is any better than its people and this is the greatest strength of nap people others in this industry talk about years of experience at Napa going into our second half century we speak of generations of experience people in tune with jobbers people who have learned from jobbers people trained in management inventory Finance all of the things that make a successful jobber operation because these are the people who have been jobbers look around you and you'll see that the best coaches are EX players and that means a quality and depth of experience and dedication that no one else can match with this kind of support nap jobbers become aggressive simply because they are the best served have the best programs in every area and they know it the Napa people with you now will explain how that relates specifically to you a little later right now let's go back to those service programs and take a look at a few more representative Innovations of Na PA first with NAPA Distribution Centers spread all over the nation Napa pioneered the concept of a single source of supply for jobbers programmed warehousing some call it one phone call one order gives you access to parts and supplies produced by about 50 of the finest manufacturers in the automotive industry nearly 100,000 part numbers in all this setup of distribution centers has made possible still another Innovation daily ordering the entire inventory of a DC is available to you daily which means the Napa jobber can buy in smaller quantities holding down his own inventory investment then to ensure the success of a single Source daily ordering program the innovators took it a step further in areas where common carrier Freight Service has broken down and there are plenty of them nap has instituted its own own Freight Service with this Innovation our goal is to maintain overnight delivery service to every Napa jobber affording him the luxury of minimum inventory investment without sacrificing excellent availability now let me talk a minute about what I think is one of the greatest Innovations in any industry you've probably heard of it this thing called Ball Camp now everybody who is trying to copy and APA offer some kind of general service line today but here's another place where the duplicators are finishing Second Ball Camp began way back in 1936 and that's the same time I started college believe me that's a long time ago Ball Camp was the brainchild the Innovative people of Napa the idea was born because it soon became apparent that no wholesaler could afford to buy certain small but necessary part numbers in a large quantity sold by the manufacturers so Ball Camp came into being as a master purchaser and packager for the Napa system the result of course was that Napa jobbers had these Necessities available in the small quantities that they could afford to stock today Ball Camp includes over 10,000 part numbers from some 400 manufacturers all in a single catalog now Pres presumably the duplicators could do the same thing but they ignore the real secret of Ball Camp success it exists purely as a service program of nap Ball Camp today is the real triple threat of the parts business a way ahead of any other now with many Napa jobbers it's the number one line and plenty of them will tell you that the ball Camp line alone is worth $8,000 a year gross profit it's an innovation that still one of a kind and it's still growing well those are some of the outstanding na Innovations in service programs but not all of them by any means but representative of Napa's continued leadership in this area the second group I mentioned earlier is Management Services now here I think you'll begin to see how all NAPA service Concepts work together to form a cohesive unit a full system the innovators came up with the whole idea putting together Management Service programs for jobbers many years ago again the aim was simple to help the jobber with his business because the more successful he is the more successful the whole system is I guess you'd say that the activity is something in the area that has to start at the top just as a good football team has got to have a good coaching staff it's a fair analogy to call nap PA headquarters the coaching staff of the innovators that's what I think these people are experienced dedicated professionals traveling hundreds of thousands of miles a year they're in constant touch with jobbers with the automotive marketplace with manufacturers with new car makers and with government evaluating pollution and safety problems the possible effects of new engines like the wankle nap people work nationally and internationally to keep the Napa jobbers leadership secure one example Napa was first with a total foreign car program Volkswagen Toyota datson You Name It We were there an important point we didn't wait for it to happen we went abroad to get it it's this kind of firsthand observation coupled with experienced judgment that allows them to anticipate most change and to produce Solutions almost before others realize there is a problem that's what being number one is all about and it starts here let's see some of the Innovations in Management Services they've pioneered of course no coach has all the ideas himself therefore one of his major skills must be to utilize the talents of his team to best Advantage One Way nap has done this was to originate the concept of committees to help formulate programs and strategies these working committees are made up of people from NAPA Distribution Centers and Napa manufacturers and they work yearound with Napa headquarters from this kind of teamwork has come such original Concepts as Financial counseling for jobbers and this manual right here which gives you a detail account of how a good jobbing store should be physically set up for today's market and tomorrow again anticipating coming changes and here's a complete training program for a jobber employees including courses and tests on various Automotive Systems maintaining close communication with Napa jobbers is a prime function of nap headquarters one way it's accomplished is through meetings each year jobbers have the opportunity to attend Napa National Business conferences held regionally to make attendance easy and inexpensive I think of them as huddles and through them nap jobbers are kept up to date on what's Happening and what's going to happen in their business another meeting series is the annual magic of marketing Gatherings one-day meetings held in about 60 cities to advise Napa jobbers of all the programs for the year then there are two other forms of communication I'd like to mention and neither of them has a parallel in the industry either Napa headquarters publishes the Outlook six times a year specifically for nap jobbers it's Chuck full of timely marketing information ideas from other jobbers and other forms of pertinent news but it goes another step 300,000 copies of the nap news are published for jobbers to distribute to their customers three times a year it presents the same kind of Vital Information to the dealer trade as the Outlook does for the jobbers these are all nap Innovations going on today without counterpart anywhere okay what about the future well let me give you just a couple of examples one NAPA Distribution Center already has a computer installation they expect to form the Hub of its inventory program for jobbers and while it's some distance away eventually they plan to link the computer to jobber customers by data phone making daily ordering an inventory control for the jobber virtually automatic here's another example this book was produced in 1971 by Napa headquarters for Napa board of directors it's probably the most accurate detailed forecast of this industry going but that's finished they're looking at 1980 and you can bet they'll be right on target for that too management Services of Napa Innovative Services certainly there are many many more that you'll be hearing about soon but for now I think those samples give you a better look at the total system concept of Napa and again provide the distinct leadership qualities of nap right now I'd like to move on to the third quarter the other service area I spoke of selling services these are Concepts designed to help you the jobber sell merchandise they are also concept so far in front of anything the duplicators can offer that they aren't even in the same ballpark take these Publications for instance the nap quick reference catalog it's an nap original and while it's been around a while there is still nothing else like it simply put it covers 85% of all the numbers for services a dealer would normally be expected to provide obviously it affords your dealer the advantage of finding those numbers quickly and easily then there are these others whose titles are pretty well self-explanatory the OEM to Napa interchange series which enables your customer to cross refer almost everything and that makes it a great selling tool for you one more Innovation too nap Brands why because we found here a way to further security for our jobbers Market security when you have these they are yours alone you're not out there selling the same brand as every other jobber in your area you create a market for these Brands like Napa filters na batteries Napa tires and so on and you've made a market completely exclusive to you nobody else can touch it now what about advertising nap spends a substantial sum on dealer trade advertising in all the leading trade magazines each year literally millions of dollars have been spent promoting your nap seal as the sign of quality service coverage and availability that is second to none but in addition nap also provides Napa jobbers with a complete Cooperative consumer advertising program each year featuring hardh hitting selling materials for local use in radio television newspaper and billboards and again nap has led the industry in going the extra step with programs designed to help your customers sell to their customers for instance this booklet for the car owner was the first of its kind in the industry and some 6 million copies were distributed one other selling service I'd like to mention Manpower right on the line professional sales help from nap manufacturers there are right now over 700 nap Factory men working with nap jobbers in the field helping them sell helping them stock and helping them do just about anything they need that's service and Napa is the only place you'll find it in that magnitude well there's a sampling of the three areas of service you'll get only with Napa and now it's about time to wrap things up just remember there is a lot more for you to see and hear and remember too that all the things I've talked about are NAA Originals Napa Innovations now let me go back to something I said in the beginning in any competition the winner is the team that puts the most points on the scoreboard in nap that team is the independent businessman that's you the jobber working with nap distribution centers with Napa headquarters and with nap manufacturers a team of service experience and above all the quality that put them in front and keeps them there Innovation how can you tell same way you can in any football game when it's over just take a look at the scoreboard and here it is the Consolidated nap jobber operating statements published each year for nap jobbers to compare themselves with the nap average and I said average if you check it with other industry books of the same type you will see that year after year the nap jobber does something like 100% more profit and that friends is the name of the game in any business put that with the services the Innovations and it's plain to see that the nap jobber is the man with not only the best profit but also the best return on investment in the entire [Music] industry as in football there are many ways to score in in this industry some hard some just plain luck but only one that's easy and that's the nap system absolutely the most proven and absolutely the most profitable way to play the game and it's going to stay that way in the future as we look to the growing high-profit retail Market the industrial Farm Fleet marine and other markets opening up for the Napa jobber they're open because Napa people have continued to innovate to stay ahead of the constant change of the business and you can bet they're going to keep doing just that as we Face new products develop new markets create new programs to ensure the security and profitability of the Napa jobber will be even greater in 1980 than it is right now look into it well I think you'll want to be part of the team that leads the league every year the winners remember there's only one number one in your business that's Napa the innovators [Music]