Bud Brown Volkswagen
RJ Irwin of Bud Brown Volkswagen Makes Selling Parts and Accessories Online Look Easy
“Because of the extra inventory I’m able to stock, it’s easier to take care of my wholesale accounts efficiently each and every time they need something,”
— RJ Irwin of Bud Brown Volkswagen
RJ Irwin is no spring chicken when it comes to selling parts online. He’s been successfully slinging OEM parts eCommerce-style since 2010. After putting two competitor parts catalogs to the test—and losing money on shipping—he made the switch to RevolutionParts in 2015. A business-savvy guy like RJ has zero-tolerance for revenue leaks, so this was a no-brainer. He says,
“We decided to give RevolutionParts a try. The longer we stuck with it, the more money we made and the bigger we got.”
Since making the switch to RevolutionParts almost 5 years ago, RJ has been able to increase his inventory turnover rate, providing him the opportunity to increase his inventory with less risk. The greater breadth and depth of inventory helps RJ take better care of his most important accounts. “Because of the extra inventory I’m able to stock, it’s easier to take care of my wholesale accounts efficiently each and every time they need something,” RJ says.
Bud Brown Volkswagen Monthly Online Part Sales
In the event that RJ doesn’t have a part in stock for an online order, he keeps his pricing competitive enough that his customers are willing to wait “one extra day to save a lot of money.” This strategy puts RJ in the position to sell a larger volume of parts and accessories, which helps him hit manufacturer incentives.
In fact, RJ says “the volume of parts we move by selling online is the only way we’ve been able to hit VW incentives.” In 2015, Volkswagen faced an issue with its diesel cars that negatively impacted dealer revenue. RJ’s Parts Department was able to pick up the slack at the dealership. “Any decrease in sales we experienced on the variable ops side was offset by the volume of parts we were selling online,” he says.
With a simple, streamlined eCommerce solution, RJ has been able to better serve his wholesale customers, grow his parts inventory, hit manufacturer incentives, and increase monthly sales. Be a parts hero like RJ and talk to an eCommerce professional at RevolutionParts.
