The access issue
Mar 1, 2008 12:00 PM, BY RICK WEBER
“What can we do?” he said. “We can communicate and educate our fellow distributors and manufacturers, along with our employees and customers, about the importance of this issue and discuss with them how this will specifically or directly affect them. I look at this way: The continued expansion of proprietary components and systems within our industry continues to move us more to a European market model — one that is proprietary and exclusive to the OEM market, giving the consumer only one choice when it comes where to purchase their parts and repair needs. This compared to the open market that fleets, repair shops, and end users enjoy today, a market that allows them to simply choose the best supplier to meet their needs.
“Independent repair businesses and fleets should not be denied access to the information and tools needed to repair any vehicle. Fleets should have the right to choose who repairs their vehicles and who supplies their parts. Support on this issue will ensure that dealerships and OEMs don't gain an unfair advantage by ‘locking out’ independents.”
Scheer said the industry must rally around this issue and try to solve it.
He said the Commercial Vehicle Task Force has been formed, including a group of executives from a number of associations whose objective is to work with the industry's OE truck and component manufacturers to find a viable solution.
“It's a critical issue to us as independents,” he said. “You can't go back and do business like you did yesterday. This issue is not going to go away. It's intensifying.”
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