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By Counterman
Picture, if you will, your daily or weekly stock orders. Depending on your role within your organization, this may be in terms of the dollars invested, total piece counts, even cubic feet of warehouse space required, to maintain your current inventory levels. Next, imagine that up to 30% of the items in that order (and every one like it) will not be resold for profit, but rather landfilled. Finally, thank your lucky stars that you are selling auto parts and supplies, rather than purchasing or managing inventories for a grocery store!
Grocery stores may manage tens of thousands of SKUs per retail location, many of which are perishable items. Produce, meat and dairy items are just a few of the most recognizably time-sensitive products on grocery store shelves, but nearly everything we purchase now features some sort of “expiration,” “sell by,” or “best by” date-stamp to indicate its freshness and relative safety. Even those items which do not literally “rot” or “spoil” can become stale or otherwise unsuitable for consumption. Once these items are past their prime, they can’t be reclassed as “slow-movers” and shipped back to another warehouse
for storage.
If you’re feeling fortunate to have dodged that 30% bullet, relieved to be a wholesaler or retailer of shelf-stable hard parts that never “go bad,” we still have something to discuss. Hidden among your inventories are a number of “perishable” items to consider when it comes to purchasing, stocking, and selling auto parts and supplies.
The most obvious of these items are the various chemicals, lubricants and fluids that accompany the “hard parts” which we are known for. Motor oil, for example, has a suggested shelf-life of 5-8 years, even when sealed in its original container. Aerosols average around three years before the propellant begins to degrade, and the can “loses pressure.” Diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), even when stored under optimal conditions, lasts only about a year. DEF is extremely sensitive to direct sunlight and high temperatures, both of which will decrease this already short shelf-life. Freezing temperatures are equally hazardous to chemicals, paints and fluids, often causing separation, gelling and degradation.
Forecasting future demand and closely analyzing purchase quantities is even more important when it comes to such items with a “sell by” date. The best way to prevent overstock and expired merchandise is to manage these items before they are taking up space in your warehouse or storefront. Quantity discounts only save you money if you sell the excess, and with perishables, the clock is ticking!
When it comes to “hard parts,” we must still consider the condition of our aged inventory. Items made of (or containing) rubber such as wiper blades, gaskets and seals, weatherstripping and even chassis parts (bushings and boots) are susceptible to degradation over years of normal storage. Tire manufacturers are required to “date-code” their products within the DOT number, and most recommend not to use tires more than six years after their “born-on” date. Most of our rubber parts are not DOT-regulated in this way, but various types of rubber (natural, nitrile, neoprene, EPDM and butyl) have shelf-lives between 3-10 years, making slower-moving parts prone
to degradation.
The best way to prevent stock degradation is through stock rotation. Most of us are taught about “first in, first out” (FIFO) on day one of our shelf-stocking training, ensuring that most items are sold long before they start “having birthdays.” Unless we have flow-through racking, however, stock rotation requires a little extra effort to keep the oldest items up front and ready for purchase. Rearranging items by date received also gives us an opportunity to wipe down or dust shelving and keep up appearances. It also ensures that outdated packaging designs are eliminated from inventory in a timely manner.
We ARE fortunate to deal in durable goods, and that even our most “perishable” commodities are shelf-stable on the order of months rather than days. Through forecasting and savvy purchasing, combined with proper stocking and storage practices, we can all limit waste and protect our store’s overall profitability.
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By Counterman
Theory can only take you so far when formulating engine oil. Complex modeling is an important step, but it can’t duplicate the magic that happens inside the cylinder. Operating conditions, duty cycles, driver behavior—it all impacts how an engine ages. As it does, deposits form within the engine. The carbonaceous compounds that form on various engine components, including pistons, valve trains, and timing chain covers are a natural occurrence; a consequence of aging that result from the breakdown of oil components at high temperatures, particularly during the combustion process. The highest temperatures occur on the metal surfaces within the engine, where these deposits tend to adhere.
“There are some deposits that are temporary that you can wipe off with your finger, and there are others that can get very thick,” explained Dr. Michael Warholic, global technology director, Valvoline Global Operations. “The bad thing about deposits—and actually there are several bad things—are that, first of all, they insulate and you can’t get the heat out.
“They also cause friction.”
Friction is exceptionally bad, especially if you’re formulating oil. Thick deposits can clog oil passages, restricting the flow of oil to critical engine parts. This leads to inadequate lubrication, exacerbating wear and potentially causing engine failure. Traditionally the role of engine oil has been to slow down engine deposit development, but in concocting its latest engine-protecting blend, the Valvoline team stumbled upon something … surprising.
“We were trying to basically minimize deposits, engine wear, friction and heat, and oil formulation is a balance, so you have to pick and choose what you want it to do,” Warholic explained. “What we didn’t know was before the testing that it would remove and reverse the process–that is something you can’t predict by modeling. Restore and Protect removed engine deposits.
“I had never seen anything like it before, and I have eight years at Valvoline and 16 years at a company that makes the additives used in oil formulation.”
Valvoline’s Restore and Protect is a fully synthetic motor oil that aims at both older, high-mileage vehicles (restore) and new vehicles (protect). While Warholic was tight-lipped about the specific blend of additives within the oil, Valvoline has noted two proprietary technologies–Active Clean, which removes deposits and Liqui-Shield, which prevents deposit formation.
It’s not just marketing—at a recent event, Valvoline put Restore and Protect-cleaned pistons on display. Take a look:
Valvoline validates its oils through industry standard tests such as the GF-6 SP specification, which uses a Chrysler Pentastar engine to measure deposit formation. These tests provide a benchmark for oil performance, ensuring that the oil meets or exceeds industry requirements.
“Exceeds” is the key word. Warholic was quick to point out that these types of tests are merely the baseline within the oil market, not the high bar that oil manufacturers should seek to leap over.
“We want to exceed the API specifications and excel in all categories. Restore and Protect is already GF-7 capable, which is great,” he said.
Real-world testing is crucial. For instance, a Ford Mustang was subjected to extensive testing with Restore and Protect, showing significant reductions in wear and deposit formation. The testing extended to various engine components, including the timing chain cover, oil pan, and valve train, demonstrating the comprehensive benefits of the oil. The team also ran Restore and Protect in a Ford Explorer with more than 500,000. “And we also did a chassis dynamometer test where we put a vehicle on rollers basically and ran it 300,000 miles,” Warholic said. “Restore and Protect actually cleaned up the entire engine.”
For automotive aftermarket professionals, understanding the use of high-performance oils can lead to better engine health, improved engine operating efficiency, reduced maintenance costs and happy customers.
“We’re trying to maximize engine life,” Warholic said. “Vehicles are getting older. The vehicle life on the road is getting older. Vehicles may change owners and engines are going to be running longer. For us, it’s about maximizing engine performance so that you don’t lose fuel economy, you don’t lose efficiency, and you don’t break down on the highway.”
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By Counterman
Photo caption: From left, Claudia and Dr. David Fry (standing) are pictured as Dr. Fry receives the Wings of Freedom Award in 2022 in Bay Harbor, Michigan.
Northwood University announced the passing of former President David E. Fry, “a visionary leader, esteemed educator and beloved patriarch in the Northwood University family.”
Fry, who served as Northwood’s CEO from 1982 to 2006, passed away Tuesday, Dec. 19.
“Dr. Fry fostered Northwood University’s growth and progress as the longest-serving president and left an indelible mark on the institution,” reflected Northwood President Kent MacDonald. “Today, Northwood continues to advance the mission personified by Dr. Fry to develop free-enterprise leaders across America and around the world.”
Fry began his distinguished career as an economics professor with research and teaching interests in business, global economics and free markets. As president, he focused on creating an environment where this passion could be passed on to generations of students through the University’s philosophy, which values individual freedom and responsibility, earned success, moral law and the importance of free enterprise.
Fry proudly exemplified these institutional tenets of “The Northwood Idea,” the university said.
“Dr. Fry’s legacy includes leading Northwood through significant change, including growing the University academically from an institute to a university and opening the DeVos Graduate School of Management in 1993,” stated Kristin Stehouwer, provost, and vice president, academic affairs. “The more than 23,000 students who proudly graduated from Northwood University while Dr. Fry was leading from the helm – alumni who have gone on to impact private industry – is a testament to his leadership.”
The Early Days
At age 22, David Fry was part of an extraordinary faculty class recruited to Northwood in 1965. He became an intellectual descendant of Dr. V. Orval Watts, Northwood’s first legendary faculty member who gave shape and form to The Northwood Idea. Beloved in the classroom, Fry was named “Outstanding Teacher of the Year” by students in 1967 and 1968.
Fry was so talented that the school’s founders – Arthur and Johann Turner and Gary and Willa Stauffer – promoted him to an administrator role in 1969. In 1971, the founders gave him a mission to plant seeds of enterprise in Indiana, where he flourished. As much as he enjoyed teaching, he had an inherent gift to lead, inspire optimism, and influence different constituencies to share a common dream.
Along the way, he had taken time to establish solid academic credentials. Just as the school’s fortunes started to sour in the mid-1970s, Fry had fortuitously taken a sabbatical to earn his doctorate in business administration.
In a historic move, the Northwood Board of Trustees appointed Fry president and CEO of the Northwood Institute in 1982, making him one of the youngest college presidents in the United States.
Nancy Barker, a Midland resident who has served multiple roles with Northwood since 1971, including vice president of university relations, reflected on how he started as a young professor and eventually became one of Northwood’s greatest leaders.
“David evolved over the years. He was respected and had a wonderful relationship with the professors because he had been a faculty member and fully understood their important role in the classroom and for the success of Northwood,” Barker said. “David was a dynamic and challenging leader. He expected and encouraged those around him to do their best and gave them the support and opportunity to do that. His officers were a team who worked pretty much 24/7, as did he. David took the original Turner-Stauffer vision to a whole new level; his impact was international and yet still very personal.”
“All our lives were devoted to Northwood, this small growing institution, and Dr. Fry was our leader who paved the way.”
As involved as Johann Turner and Willa Stauffer were in their respective husbands’ work, so was Fry’s wife, Claudia. She is known as half the team that transformed Northwood from the early 1980s until Fry retired as its president in 2006.
“Claudia was always there for David,” reminisced Dr. Timothy Nash, Northwood vice president emeritus and director of the McNair Center for Free Enterprise. “She was the Rock of Gibraltar, the anchor in his life who played the more direct role in raising their two wonderful children, Daniel and Julie. Claudia has always had a strong intellect, passion, and interest in The Northwood Idea, global economics and business.”
“David has had a much better and more fulfilled life with Claudia by his side, and Northwood has a larger global footprint because of the two,” Nash added.
Expanding Academic Offerings
Under Fry’s leadership, Northwood experienced major academic expansions, including seeing Arthur Turner’s dream of a Florida campus come to fruition in West Palm Beach in 1983. He also fostered professional development partnerships with businesses and industry, the military, and community colleges.
Northwood began recruiting underserved students who needed access to various delivery methods and options to complete their degrees. Now known as Northwood Online, this was the start of Northwood’s Adult Degree Program, a delivery of content that enhanced access to higher education for adult learners who couldn’t attend college due to time constraints.
The DeVos Graduate School of Management was born in 1993 under Fry’s leadership. Since its beginning, the graduate school has attracted students worldwide. More importantly, its graduates have become entrepreneurs, leaders in the industry, mentors, and role models.
A University Well-Led, A Life Well-Lived
After facing many transitional and financial challenges, Fry and his team elevated Northwood to new heights. Campuses expanded, programs improved and grew and university status was achieved. Once back on solid footing, leaders focused on creative opportunities and innovations that lay ahead, distinguishing the Fry legacy.
“David’s great contribution was leadership,” stated Dr. Robert Serum, a long-time academic leader and innovator of international programs at Northwood, who is credited with navigating significant educational innovations for over two decades, starting in the late 1980s. “There are a lot of good managers out there, but there aren’t a lot of good leaders. David could walk into a room full of CEOs, all of whom had big egos, and before you knew it, they all wanted him as a friend. He was very popular wherever he went with faculty and staff, with other administrators and teachers, and especially with businesspeople. He epitomized what they believed in, free enterprise and every dimension of The Northwood Idea.”
Those who worked with Fry noted he had a brilliant mind and was a spell-binding speaker.
“His eloquence was so outstanding,” stated Dr. Marjorie Hohman, former board of trustee member, Distinguished Women honoree, and honorary doctoral degree recipient. “He was a people person, first. He was very good at connecting with people and holding their attention because he was such an eloquent speaker. He could stand in front of a crowd and captivate them because his command of the English language was superb.”
Hohman admired Dr. Fry’s influence on those he worked with. “The most outstanding thing about him was his leadership abilities and how he was able to get the best out of people,” she said. “He was such a mentor to so many.”
In honor of the tremendous progress made under Fry’s watch, the Northwood community came together to fund the David E. Fry Endowed Professorship to celebrate his retirement.
Recognizing his outstanding contributions to Northwood, in 2009, the University vested upon Fry its highest honor, Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa.
Most recently, in 2022, Fry received the Wings of Freedom Award, created in honor of Northwood University’s own Dr. Dale Haywood. Northwood bestows this honor upon individuals whose lives have contributed to human progress, individual liberty, and economic and social prosperity.
“Dr. Fry’s legacy lives on at Northwood University, and we are forever thankful for his transformative role in our history,” stated President MacDonald. He continued, “Over my career, I have had the opportunity to research academic leaders around the globe and it is clear to me that Dr. Fry was one of the most transformational leaders in American higher education.”
Donors who would like to support Fry’s legacy can do so through a donation to the David E. Fry Endowed Professorship.
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