JULY/AUGUST 2023 AFTERMARKET 53 www.aftermarketonline.net Product zones We then headed outside, ticking downwards to Zone 3 where we were able to take in the first of the two product areas. Chris Witham, Retail Manager, Retail Accessories was able to show us a wide range of the retail items produced by the company, from towing paraphernalia to the latest solar panel battery maintainers. This uses monocrystalline technology and was set to be available from the end of May. According to Pippa Rowe-Bewick, Product Management Director Automotive Aftermarket for Ring and OSRAM, feedback from customers is absolutely vital: “We are really invested in our end-user insights. We speak a lot to those who use our products, and garages give us the best user insights on work lamps and jump starters.” We then moved across to the trade products area, where we were provided with a demonstration on the latest battery care products and battery analysers, followed by workshop lighting products, which were demonstrated by Product Managers Róisín Gaughan and Steve Umney. Also, in this area was the Workshop Solutions Van, through which Ring gets on the road, bringing the kit to the garage customers of their own factor clients. In the back, mechanics are able to see a wide cross-section of the equipment they are able to order from their regular factor. This was not the only van on display though, as the company has just provided Dan Edgington, Specialist Sales Manager, with a brand-new van so he can show the company’s products off in the best possible way. The final zone for us included the customer service department, where orders are placed and then moved onto the warehouses, despatch area and the factory area. Touchy-feely With so many of those attending having been before, we wondered why they keep returning. Pete Wilding, Product Manager from LKQ Euro Car Parts said: “I’ve been twice before. I like the way the supplier puts the effort into getting you in front of them. I also like seeing their products and the information that they give you on the day. It's not necessarily something you'll get over the phone or from a brochure. It's the whole engagement with the supplier and us as a customer. This time around, as before, it’s good to get to see the stuff in the real world, hands-on and touchy-feely rather than a PDF that gets delivered to your inbox. You can see the product for yourself and then work out how it's going to look for a customer.” Malcolm Wilkinson was from independent A1 Motor Stores member Motorway, based in Hessle in the East Riding of Yorkshire. He said: “It brings us up to speed with current products and revamped products, but it's also about what Theresa said at the beginning; Part of relationship building. It is a two-way thing. They ask us questions as much as I was asking them questions.” We also wondered how some of the attendees who had not been before had found the day. With this in mind, we spoke to Scott Barn from Dundee-based D&A Factors. It was his first time, and he was enjoying the experience: “I think it gives you a broader perspective of the quality of the product. When you're up against opposition or selling similar product, it gives you a bit more faith in the product you're selling. For us to bring it and sell it onto our staff for them to sell on to the customer end user.” www.aftermarketonline.net We speak a lot to those who use our products, and garages give us the best user insights on work lamps and jump starters ”
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