Meet Our Members - T-Force Logistics with John Roehl

We've all been witness to what has been happening with regard to supply chain issues. Much of what has been going on deals with the trucking industry, dock
workers, mega container ships, high fuel prices and a lack of drivers.. There are multiple issues. Here, during our Annual Conference and Trade Show, we visit with John Roehl from T-Force Worldwide a third party logistics provider doing business globally. So many questions and so many answers plus some thoughts on how to engage younger people into the profession. This is well worth your time....

Thanks for listening!

The award winning Insight on Business the News Hour with Michael Libbie is the only weekday business news podcast in the Midwest. The national, regional and some local business news along with long-form business interviews can be heard Monday - Friday. You can subscribe on PlayerFM, Podbean, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or TuneIn Radio. And you can catch The Business News Hour Week in Review each Sunday Noon on News/Talk 1540 KXEL. The Business News Hour is a production of Insight Advertising, Marketing & Communications. You can follow us on Twitter @IoB_NewsHour.

BIG News for Small Businesses and the NTPDA

Thanks for clicking through. As we work to get critical information to members of the National Tractor Parts Dealer Association  (NTPDA) we thought this conversation about getting capital from the Small Business Administration would be very helpful. There have been many changes to the COVID19 Loan Program. Pay close attention to the new guidelines for gaining capitol for your small business. And, second, if you know a person who owns or manages a small business send this link to them. It could make a huge difference.  My guest is Veronica Pugin who is the Senior Advisor in the Office of Capital Access for the Small Business Administration. Here too is your link to the COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program that we talk about. Know there are new guidelines and an easier way in which to apply for business capital.

Thanks for being here!

The award winning Insight on Business the News Hour with Michael Libbie is the only weekday business news podcast in the Midwest. The national, regional and some local business news along with long-form business interviews can be heard Monday - Friday. You can subscribe on PlayerFM, Podbean, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or TuneIn Radio. And you can catch The Business News Hour Week in Review each Sunday Noon on News/Talk 1540 KXEL. The Business News Hour is a production of Insight Advertising, Marketing & Communications. You can follow us on Twitter @IoB_NewsHour.

How Can We Help?

When you join an association like the National Tractor Parts Dealer Association (NTPDA) they should be working on your behalf and not the other way around. Ya think? Look, we get it, we've been members of other associations over the years and the relationship often seems to be a "one way street". That's not us. Our mission is to help you and your business grow. That's what we promised when you joined and that is our goal each and every day.

So, how do we do that?

You do know that when you do any print media and use the NTPDA logo that we'll send you a check up to $300 a year. The Bulletin is excluded but not your local newspaper, magazines, etc.  All we ask is that you send to our Texas office the ad so we can see the date and publication. 

You do know that as a member you get a major discount from our friends at Allied Information Network. Allied and NTPDA have been partners for years and years and as an NTPDA member you receive a discount when you use their service to list your parts.

You do know that as a member using Allied that we have a parts search on the home page of our NTPDA website and that we often get calls from consumers looking for parts and we drop what we're doing and help them search for what they are looking for and then send them to our members.

You do know that as a member you have access to the NTPDA Library full of business related materials that you can check out and use to help you better promote and manage your business.

You do know that you have access to a marketing professional who will, at no additional charge, answer questions about marketing and advertising.

You do know that we have Associate Members in the trucking industry that, because you are a member, you will save thousands of dollars each year by contracting with them...

We're here to help and if you stump us with a question our goal is the find the answer.  

There is great value in your NTPDA Membership and we're just getting started.

The NTPDA Shipping Benefit with DLS Worldwide

Our goal at NTPDA (National Tractor Parts Dealer Association) is to make sure your membership is a real value to your business. Here to help explain the shipping benefit afforded to NTPDA Members is Steven Haas from DLS Worldwide. How much of a value?  According to studies done by DLS Worldwide you'll save enough money with your first four or five shipments that will pay for your annual membership fee. If you're not already enrolled in the program you can reach Steve at 612-296-1806 or by email here...that's [email protected] The DLS Worldwide Shipping Benefit another way that we add value to your membership.

Thanks for coming by. Watch  for future benefit programs to be explained. If you're a member and you've not yet used our benefits here is a list of what to expect. If you're not an NTPDA Member, let's fix that right away.  Here is a link for your application.  

Meet Our Members - Payteva - Fighting High Processing Fees

Our goal at the National Tractor Parts Dealer Association  (NTPDA) is to truly add value to your membership. Here in our latest "Meet Our Members" segment you'll learn about our newest member, Payteva from entrepreneur Steve Casteel. There are many different fees associated with processing credit/debit cards and Steve, who has been in the business for several years, explains them and tells us what Payteva can do for you and your business. Take a few minutes and meet our member Steve Casteel from Payteva by clicking on the player below:

NTPDA Meet Member Payteva

Meet Our Members is a regular feature of the National Tractor Parts Dealership. Thanks for joining us

 

Online Sales and Sales Taxes with George Isaacson

While in Maricopa, Arizona for the National Tractor Parts Dealer Association (NTPDA) Annual Conference and Trade Show we were able to sit down with Professor George Isaacson, a Constitutional Law expert who has argued online sales tax in the Supreme Court and is also the Senior Partner for the law firm Brann & Isaacson, for a conversation about online sales and sales tax. This piece originally aired the week after our meeting and this new edit should be important for our membership to hear.  With over 12,000 tax bodies in the United States it's increasingly difficult to manage and collect taxes. However, there is a solution.  We open up by talking about the Constitution and trade.

This is the kind of information our members receive on a regular basis. Our goal is to offer real value to our members in every way we can. If you do not yet belong and your business revolves around agricultural parts here is an invitation to join us. Regular Membership is reserved for those companies who sell parts and do salvage. Associate Membership is for those companies who wish to sell to our Regular Members.  Here is the link to our Membership Page. 

A Member Marketing Tip

From every report we've gotten it seems like our National Tractor Parts Dealer Association members who are selling parts into the agricultural sector are having a really good year. Each day we reach out to both our Regular and Associate Members and, from what we hear, things are going well. That's the good news and we're grateful.

One of the things members might consider is to reach out to your "Brand Warriors" those top ten or fifteen people you KNOW who love your business and your service. Last week this segment aired on Insight on Business the News Hour and we thought it might be something valuable as you continue through this season and even during some slow times.  Your "Brand Warriors" can help you expand your business if you simply ask them to get involved.  Click on the audio file to listen.

IOB 3 May 2020 Mkt Tip

Remember, your membership is truly an investment and we're here to do everything we can to make that a reality.

The Grand Re-Boot - Shipping Issues with Steven Haas

Another in our series of Guest Blogs from our NTPDA Members. This has to do with shipping changes and critical information for our membership and our friends from Steven Haas of DLS Worldwide. Also if you would like to hear the audio of the news story that aired this week just click  the audio link below: 

IOB 29 March 2020 Steve Haas Transportation

As of this writing, over twenty states have made "shelter in place" warnings...

The good news is that auto, truck and tractor parts (new, used and remanufactured) have been deemed essential commodities so freight will keep flowing as usual.

These items have been deemed critical commodities because we can assist aid and assist in the uninterrupted supply of the essential replacement parts that keep ambulances, fire trucks and law enforcement vehicles moving not to mention the fact that the parts we supply are also needed to keep trucks and ag equipment running to maintain crucial supply chains that provide food, home deliveries and medical supplies.

The bad news is that more states will inevitably follow, and we expect the remainder of states to put similar orders in place within the first few weeks of April.

During the last several days, I have reached out to a number of Associations within these industry segments in an attempt to get a "pulse" of the situation and assess their respective supply chains. Pretty much all are reporting "business as usual" and that most of their members are still getting things done but sometimes in unusual ways.

One way to look at things is that this is a "Grand Reboot" for both people and businesses and that we have both an opportunity and a responsibility to re-invent ourselves and our business models.

And - we've been here before...when the internet went mainstream in 1995 it forced a somewhat painful and costly re-invention of both business and society, and we all ended up much better off with some incredibly useful technologies in place. Not far after, social media came into play, online commerce began to go gangbusters and now we have the underpinnings in place to both thrive and survive in a challenging new world.

The following are a few simple recommendations that will help you keep your supply chain intact and eliminate complexities and costs:

Deploy a Multi-carrier Platform

For starters, if you’re not already using a multi-carrier rate shop platform you need to get one in place. The DLS platform (available through DLS and/or your association) provides thousands of quality carrier options for all major modes including truckload, partial truckload and less-than truckload (LTL) service. If a carrier suspends service on a national, regional or micro-regional level our customers have more than enough options already in place.

Keep Advised of Carrier Updates

You should also do your best to tune into carrier updates on a daily basis if possible.

The team at DLS Worldwide is doing our best to keep your association professionals advised of carrier embargos, restrictions and/or closures on a daily basis and are encouraging them to pass that information immediately on to you.

Call Ahead to Confirm Pick-ups and Deliveries

Communication is key!

We will do our best to keep you advised of the various carrier changes, restrictions and closures by state. If you need to schedule a pickup or delivery in one of those states we suggest you contact your pickup or delivery location to confirm they are operating and if they have any special needs or protocols for the carriers.

As of now, only a small percentage of our customers within the recycling and remanufacturing sectors have been closed (temporarily) but this one proactive measure can save you a considerable amount of time, money and aggravation.

Stay In Touch With Your Suppliers and Customers

Use those proactive calls to check in with your suppliers and customers to ASK them about their personal health and the health of their businesses. We are all in this TOGETHER so if you take the time to ask those concerned questions and perhaps share some innovative best practices it will help you strengthen and deepen relationships and build goodwill for the future.

Determine What you Can Control and Cannot Control

And finally - remind yourself that there are things that you can control and things that you cannot control. No one was able to predict the gravity of this pandemic but you can do your part to lessen its impact by following governmental recommendations and through the rapid re-invention of your business.

Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or would like some suggestions about the rapid reinvention of your own supply chain or business. You can reach me at 612-296-1806 or online at [email protected] and I would be more than happy to share my thoughts and ideas.

You can choose to view this as a tragedy or an opportunity – I for one, choose the latter.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Steven P. Haas handles Association Partnerships for DLS Worldwide a 3rd party logistics company based in Chicago Illinois. If you would like to streamline your supply chain and fortify your carrier options he can set you up with a multi-carrier rate shop platform through your association partnership or in free-standing form. If you would like him to perform a courtesy rate review and/or supply chain evaluation you may reach him at the contact information above.

Building a Business

Every business needs customers and to get them your business needs to do two things:

• Recruit new customers;
• Retain your existing customers.

Those of us in business know that it take more time and money to recruit than it does to retain. From finding new customers to engaging them through advertising/marketing to proving that your product or service is valuable, it all takes time and money.

Retaining customers is much less costly but it does require your business to prove to them that doing business with you makes sense and brings value.

It’s the same with NTPDA.

Over the past several weeks I’ve been having some informative and interesting conversations with our members. I’ve been spending most of that time asking about their business, how it works, what its like and how this association can be of more service.  The answers are telling. Those members who have been engaged with NTPDA and realize that our mission is to help them build a better business have all been supportive and grateful for their membership. They understand the value, from a business side, of their membership in the association.

Those who have not been fully engaged want to know more about the value proposition. For those members the key is to help them understand that we can be a resource, an active partner, in helping them build a better business. It’s sharing with them why their annual membership dues is an investment and not an expense.

But (and you knew that was coming) making this happen takes forming a partnership and we can only do that if we are truly engaged.

Coming up in January we’ll be meeting in Arizona for our Annual Conference & Trade Show. Our goal is to bring us all together and work toward helping each other build our business through education, experience and networking. Meeting our vendor members and finding out how they can enhance product lines, distribution and delivery.  Meanwhile our education sessions are designed to offer you answers to the complex questions you may have about a host of issues from employee retention to internet sales tax and transportation.

If you’ve not yet made plans to join us...do so now. We’ve got so much to offer; all we need is the opportunity to prove it.

Let’s talk and see you in January!

We REALLY Want You!!

OK, so you missed out on the free registration last month. Don't be sad. We get it...everybody is busy. But wait!  There's more!  Early
registration ends on November 30 and what does that mean for you?  Simple we'll knock off $150 bucks from your NTPDA20 Registration!  Rather than spending $450 (after 12/31) each registration is just $300.

Look, we really want you to join us for the business opportunities, networking and fun we'll have in Phoenix. Registration is easy and right here. 

Over the past week we've been on the phone with a number of our members who have already registered. The number one reason they've made plans to attend in January?  "Increase business!" and at the end of the day...isn't that what this is all about? Getting to know each other better and having more access to our suppliers and our fellow members. Sure, we'll have a great time, (just like we do every year) but the bottom line is YOUR bottom line. After all, we exist to bring value to our members...all our members!

So, don't delay. Register here for NTPDA20. Watch our Facebook Page for regular updates and if you use Twitter you can find us @NTPDA. 

And, yes, we'll keep bugging you because we've got a great line up of events and business education.  Plus...some special opportunities for you and your business to get noticed that you can use well after the Annual Conference and Trade Show. We'll be recording radio and video spots that you can take back with you...to promote your business on your social media channels and if you use radio spots back home.  The value of that exceeds $1,000 a crack.

Hope to see you in Phoenix in January!