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Executive Interview with David Niemiec, Vice President
of Marketing for Mitchell 1
From aftermarketNews.com,
April 14, 2003
Every other week, aftermarketNews.com offers
an interview with a high-profile individual in the automotive aftermarket.
We give executives free rein to express their views on anything
from the state of their corporations to recent legislative news
to future trends in their niche markets. Here you see what matters
to the newsmakers themselves.
 Our
latest edition of "Executive Interview" features David
Niemiec, vice president of marketing for Mitchell 1.
In his current position Niemiec oversees product
development for both print and electronic products as well as all
traditional marketing activities.
Niemiec began his career with Mitchell 1 in 1988,
serving as financial business manager for the operating unit. He
has held various management positions over the past 14 years, including
vice president of corporate sales and vice president of business
development, prior to his current appointment as vice president
of marketing. Niemiec has overseen many of the strategic relationships
that continue to contribute to Mitchell 1's overall success, including
Genuine Parts Co./ NAPA, CCI/Triad and ACDelco.
Niemiec recently talked with aftermarketNews.com
about the services Mitchell 1 provides to the automotive aftermarket.
He not only gave us a brief history of the company, but also filled
us on some of the company's current projects.
Q: Can you give our readers a brief explanation
of the type of information Mitchell 1 provides to the automotive
industry?
It's
all about streamlining workflow and quick access to the valuable
information. Whether it's the shop owner, the service writer
or the technician, our products can help them better run their
shop and quickly fix cars correctly the first time.
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David Niemiec, VP Marketing |
A: It's really divided into three primary categories
of information. Repair information, which is essentially the procedures
that the technicians need to actually fix the cars. That would include
maintenance service interval information, technical service bulletins
and wiring schematics, a critical aspect of the overall database.
It's really anything and everything that they need to look up and
find the symptoms that the car is showing to quickly diagnose the
problem and find the proper repair procedure.
In addition to that, we have our estimating product
line, available in both print and electronic versions. This allows
shops to do a quick estimate over the phone, or for a customer walk-in.
The technician or the service writer can quickly get into our applications
and determine exactly the scope of the job.
The third product line that we offer in electronic
format is a comprehensive business management system. This software
is really helping the shop owners, the service writers and the shop
manager run the business. It starts with an estimate. A customer
comes in describing symptoms of a problem with their vehicle and
the service writer can get into our management system and enter
all of the necessary information, essentially building a work order.
From that document, the shop can get the customer to sign off on
the work to be done and the technicians can go do the work. The
business management system will then convert that work order into
an authorized final invoice that is provided to the customer. The
system tracks all the financial records that the shop needs to keep
track of those invoices and creates more than 100 reports to better
manage the business.
We refer to it as an integrated suite of software
applications. Our marketing name for the suite of products is Mitchell
1 TeamWorks. The applications communicate with one another, so the
service writer that has access to the management system can send
valuable pieces of information to the back shop where the technician
is accessing our OnDemand5 Repair information product.
It's all about streamlining workflow and quick
access to the valuable information. Whether it's the shop owner,
the service writer or the technician, our products can help them
better run their shop and quickly fix cars correctly the first time.
Q: I've read that the company was started
in 1918, is that true?
A: We've been around for quite a while. It's
a nice story. We really have a great legacy. The first products
that Mitchell came out with were our labor time guides. Eventually
that evolved into our full repair manual product line. For decades,
we were referred to and known in the industry as "Mitchell
Manuals."
Even today, some of the technicians who have
been around for a while might not even recognize the name Mitchell
1, but as soon as you remind them that we're the same company as
Mitchell Manuals, they kind of light up and say 'oh yeah, I've used
those for decades, my grandfather used them.' It's a good foot in
the door and opens up the opportunity for us to say 'well, we still
have a few manuals left, but let us show you what we're doing on
the software side now to make life easier for you.'
Q: So the progress with respect to technology
over the past two decades has probably offered many opportunities
for the company.
A: It's been incredible for us. We launched the
OnDemand products in 1989. So we're in our 14th year of having software
applications. We've evolved through all the technologies - from
DOS to Windows, from CDs to DVDs - in the last couple of years we
introduced a web-based version of our repair and estimating products.
So, shops that have a high-speed connection no longer need to receive
our CDs and DVDs, nor do they have to worry about software updates
or installation issues. They just connect to the web version of
the products and have instant access to the information.
Q: Is it a subscription-based service?
A: Exactly. All of our software applications
are designed as subscription-based services. Customers pay on a
monthly basis. A few shops will still make a full-pay purchase,
but the market has really moved more toward a rental model. Shops
are very focused today on monthly cash flow. In the last three or
four years our pricing model changed dramatically to concentrate
on that rental model.
Q: Is this the kind of service you provide
to NAPA and ACDelco?
A: They are really partners of ours. NAPA, which
is a division of Genuine Parts Co., actually owns 15 percent of
Mitchell 1. We are co-owned. Snap-on owns 85 percent of us and Genuine
Parts Co. owns 15 percent.
It's nice because those are two very powerful,
highly recognized names in the industry. It further helps us position
ourselves as dedicated to the professional, automotive aftermarket.
Everybody in the industry is going to recognize the Snap-on or NAPA
name. After so many years, they probably recognize the Mitchell
name in the same fashion.
Mitchell 1 worked with ACDelco to customize our
business management software and worked with several other companies
to create the ACDelco WISE solution. It is their management system
they provide to key customers and connects to ACDelco warehouses
for electronic parts purchasing. Mitchell1 has developed several
customized management systems and point-of-sale systems for various
corporate customers over the past three to five years.
Q: In 2001, Mitchell 1 unveiled a new
global branding strategy. Part of that strategy was to move beyond
the automotive industry. Has that been successful, and also do you
still consider the automotive aftermarket a primary focus of your
business?
A: It's easier to answer the second part of that
question first, and that answer would be 'yes'. The automotive aftermarket
is still our core, primary customer. In 2001, we introduced the
OnDemand5 next generation family of products. That was really a
complete rewrite of all of our software for all three of our products
- repair, estimating and management.
In the next couple of months we are introducing
our heavy truck and transmission versions of the OnDemand5 family.
Our entire line of electronic information products will now be completely
redone, all looking, feeling and navigating the same exact way,
a huge advantage for our end-users.
As far as moving into other markets, it has gone
slower than we anticipated. We just finished a few trips in the
last couple of months to China and Japan. The challenge there is
in providing repair information databases that meet those countries'
needs where only a small percentage of the cars are U.S. cars.
Domestically, we are looking to move into other
markets, such as the marine and motorcycle markets. Again, it still
makes up a very small percentage of the company's overall revenue.
Q: Is electronic cataloging part of the
service that Mitchell 1 provides?
A: We've partnered with a majority of the companies
that provide electronic cataloging and e-commerce. That's really
the beauty of the Mitchell portfolio, the fact that we are going
out in the industry and not really asking shops to change how they
are doing business today. We are trying to allow shops to remain
flexible. You are going to find that most shops in the aftermarket,
while they probably have a primary parts supplier, have a number
of parts vendors they like to work with. There's usually still a
secondary or tertiary parts provider that fills maybe the more difficult-to-find
part.
What we have done on the back end is to try and
be as flexible as possible and we've done a good job with that.
Right now, our management system communicates with the NAPA aftermarket
parts catalog, CCI/TRIAD, which, I believe, is really recognized
as the premier general aftermarket parts catalog, and the MacDonald
catalog. The most current release of our management system also
integrates with the WorldPac online catalog -- a web-only catalog
for import specialists.
So, our sales organization can go out to a customer
and explain to them that whomever they buy parts from today, our
system, more than likely, communicates with their system, because
we integrate with all of these catalogs and can electronically order
parts.
We've designed our systems to electronically
communicate with the warehousing systems that are provided by CCI/TRIAD,
NAPA and WorldPac. That's great news. We're not going to change
the way customers do business. We can streamline the way customers
do business by allowing them to look up parts in these various catalogs
and if they so choose, to electronically order those parts by connecting
to the warehousing systems.
Q: You recently launched a new program
with O'Reilly. Is that along these same lines?
A: That's correct. It's been a really positive
experience for us. It's a great company to work with. They are a
very committed and hard-working organization that is growing rapidly.
O'Reilly has a dedicated warehousing system that we integrated with.
Their system uses the CCI/TRIAD catalog. Since our management system
already worked with the CCI/TRIAD catalog, all we really needed
to do was get the connection working for the e-commerce aspect of
the O'Reilly warehousing system.
That was all completed about six or eight months
ago. Since that time, the Mitchell sales reps and the O'Reilly field
managers have been working together with all 1,000 O'Reilly parts
stores and introducing a strong value proposition to their best
customers. We are putting the Mitchell TeamWorks into many of the
repair shops who already buy parts from O'Reilly. It's a classic
win-win situation. We have our applications in more repair shops
and they have the connection to their warehousing system, which
ultimately leads to an increase in parts sales and operational efficiency.
Our database and the catalog are designed in
such a way that it virtually guarantees that O'Reilly would ship
the right part the first time. This is a huge challenge in our industry.
By having electronic catalogs and electronic connections, we eliminate
a lot of the guesswork.
Q: I understand you are using the O'Reilly
program as a model to use with other suppliers. Are there any suppliers
that you are in the process of partnering with?
A: First of all, we should never stray too far
from NAPA being a primary partner. Our system connects to the NAPA
parts stores through their electronic connection -- NAPA Access.
They were really our first successful partnership regarding integration
with their parts catalog and our management system as well as electronically
ordering parts through NAPA Access.
O'Reilly became our next successful partner in
putting together a program where TeamWorks was sold and connected
through O'Reilly stores. The success of that program has really
helped us understand how best to implement a successful connectivity
program.
Just in the last month initiated a program with
the BWP group of CARQUEST and are looking forward to a strong program
with the GPI and Canada CARQUEST groups in the months ahead. We
expect three or four more major rollouts in the next few months
including Midwest and AutoWares, which are in their final planning
stages.
It's a challenge sometimes to try and stay neutral
and be as flexible as you possibly can, while inevitably you run
into situations where these parts suppliers would prefer that we
do an exclusive arrangement with them. But that is counterproductive
to what we are trying to be to the aftermarket and the repair shops.
We also don't ask for exclusivity from the suppliers but base our
success on our unique combination of strong products, distribution,
support and value.
We want every shop to use our software applications.
The bottom line is that every shop is different in terms of what
their preferences and their needs are -- whether it's repair, estimating
or management; and who their current supplier of parts is. It would
be a bad business decision for us to team up with one supplier at
the expense of ignoring the other key players.
Q: Will you pursue the independent suppliers
as well?
A: Yes, but that will be a little more challenging
because right now it's a corporate-to-corporate relationship. When
we start to get into the smaller chains, or two or three warehouses
that have ten or 15 shops as their primary customers, then we are
going to have to rely on our field sales organization to establish
those relationships. That's really the next step in our approach
to these parts suppliers in trying to partner with them.
Q: How do you think Mitchell 1 differs
from other information providers?
There are tons of
people out there who sell management systems. Some in DOS,
some in Windows, but there is just no one out there that can
say they have repair, estimating and management software to
the extent that we do.
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David Niemiec, VP Marketing |
A: I think the core difference between us and
some of the other information providers is the depth of our entire
portfolio. There are other competitors out there that sell electronic
repair information systems. There are a couple left that provide
it in print format only. But if you are really looking at one company
that has a true integrated suite of software applications for the
repair shop, that has established relationships with key partners
regarding catalogs and parts suppliers, and has the ability to support
a business management system nationwide, that's Mitchell1.
It's a very different level of responsibility
to support a shop with a business management system than it is the
repair information. Repair information is essentially an insurance
policy for the difficult repairs. When a technician gets stuck on
a fix, he or she defaults back to OnDemand5 to find the information
he is looking for. But the business management system is something
that the service writer, shop manager or shop owner is in pretty
much every hour of every day, so it's a huge obligation. We've been
in the management system business since 1995.
For our customer base, we have dedicated technical
support staff trained in our software applications. When you look
at the inter-operability in our management, repair and estimating
products, you see that there is no one in the industry that has
the depth and breadth of the portfolio, with the applications working
together seamlessly for the most efficient use in the shop.
There are tons of people out there who
sell management systems. Some in DOS, some in Windows, but there
is just no one out there that can say they have repair, estimating
and management software to the extent that we do.
About Mitchell 1:
Headquartered in Poway, California,
Mitchell 1 has provided quality repair information solutions to
the automotive industry for more than 80 years. The Mitchell 1 family
of products includes a complete line of integrated software tools
designed to improve repair shop productivity. Mitchell 1's new OnDemand5
product line represents the next generation of innovative repair,
estimating and management software. Mitchell 1 Premier Club, an
exclusive rewards club, gives added value and services to loyal
customers.
Mitchell 1 is a recipient of the ASE Blue Seal of
Excellence award and currently has nine Quadruple Master Technicians
and 36 Master Technicians on its editorial staff.
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