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By Counterman
link hidden, please login to view announced it is rolling out a new approach to inventory verification. The move aims to improve efficiency and expand margins, according to Northcoast Research. The company is implementing handheld technology from link hidden, please login to view. The system allows distribution centers to verify inventory before shipment. Store teams previously scanned all incoming inventory. This process required about two trucks per week and eight labor hours per store.
With the new system, employees confirm deliveries without scanning each item. Northcoast Research estimates savings of eight labor hours per store weekly. This equals about $26 million in annual labor savings.
The firm views the change as a key driver of SG&A reduction and margin expansion.
Employee feedback and operational considerations
Employee feedback on the new process has been mixed. Some employees raised concerns about shipment accuracy from distribution centers. They noted that missing parts could create delays at the counter.
These issues could offset time savings and impact customer experience. Other employees reported minimal issues under the new system. They cited regular cycle counts as maintaining inventory accuracy.
link hidden, please login to view views the pushback as a temporary response to workflow changes. The firm expects process improvements and technology to reduce these risks. Broader transformation strategy and outlook
The inventory initiative supports a broader transformation at
link hidden, please login to view. Leadership outlined several actions taken over the past two and a half years before executing its core strategy. These include the sale of Worldpac and distribution center consolidation. The company also reduced headquarters headcount and invested in frontline employees.
Management continues to execute a three-pillar strategy. The strategy focuses on merchandising, supply chain optimization and store footprint improvements. Initiatives include AI-driven assortment planning and improved distribution productivity.
Northcoast Research expects benefits to build over time. The firm projects about $8 million in SG&A improvement by 2027. It also expects about $15 million in net savings by 2028.
Information in this article has been provided by Aaron Reed, a research analyst at Northcoast Research. He can be contacted via email at [email protected]
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By Counterman
link hidden, please login to view announced that at its booth at link hidden, please login to view, visitors will be able to use its German license plate stamping machines to support a cause. MEYLE says that AAPEX attendees are invited to create their own custom German license plates for a minimum donation of $20 per plate, with 100% of proceeds going toward scholarships for Northwood University students.
Visitors can find MEYLE and its German license plate stamping machines at
link hidden, please login to view “At MEYLE, we believe in giving back to the community that drives our industry forward,” said Jason Pugh, CEO of MEYLE North America. “We’re proud to support
link hidden, please login to view and its students — and to make an even greater impact, MEYLE will be matching all donations made at AAPEX, up to $5,000. Together, we will help empower the next generation of leaders in the automotive aftermarket.” link hidden, please login to viewThe post
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By Counterman
The wheel end hardware category covers a number of fastener types, including spindle and axle nuts, washers and retainers, as well as wheel studs and lug nuts. It includes many specialized fasteners and a wide range of lug nut designs. Differences in thread pitch, length/depth, hex sizes and seat configuration make it difficult to keep track of the various options when recommending replacement lug nuts and studs for your customer.
Beyond using traditional “year-make-model” methods for identification, selecting hardware for custom wheel applications and recommending suitable replacement hardware can be broken down into a few simple steps.
The first characteristic to consider is the diameter and thread pitch of the wheel stud. Like any other threaded fastener, we must differentiate between SAE/USS and metric thread patterns. Differences between coarse and fine threads, even among fasteners of the same diameter, are common. Using a thread gauge or test-fitting with “known” components is a simple way to accurately identify the correct diameter and pitch, before moving on to seat configurations.
Even after determining the correct thread pitch, we need to carefully consider the seating surface of the fastener. To achieve the clamping power required to properly torque wheel fasteners, engineers rely not only on the tension applied to the threads, but the spreading of that load over the seating surface. The four basic seat types are conical, ball/spherical, flat/flanged and mag seat.
The conical seat is still the most common style, with most OEM wheels (both alloy and steel) designed to mate with 60-degree conical seat fasteners. Think of this design like a pair of nested funnels, with the wheel as the bottom funnel and the lug dropping snugly into the “cone,” with maximum contact between the two.
Ball or spherical seat fasteners, like conical seat hardware, also rely on a countersunk seat in the wheel to accept the mating profile of the lug nut. Rather than being a “cone” shape, these lugs more closely resemble a “bowl,” or a “ball and socket” joint.
Flat, flanged and mag-style seats are used primarily with alloy wheels. The term “mag” refers to magnesium, the alloy of choice for racing/custom wheels popularized in the 1960s. Aluminum alloys are the most common material in today’s marketplace. “Mag wheels” have oversized lug holes as compared to the diameter of their corresponding wheel studs. A cylindrical shank on the threaded end of the mag nut slips into these holes, maximizing surface contact, while a loose flat washer below the hex head helps distribute clamping forces on the flat face of these wheels. A modified version of the mag nut (with a captured washer) is often used with modern OEM alloy wheels.
Flat-face or flanged lug nuts are commonly used on full-size trucks, especially those with dual wheels. With a captured or integral washer providing the clamping power against a flat face, these are some of the few modern nut styles featuring an “open” design, with the wheel stud protruding through the top of the nut.
Wheel bolts have become an increasingly popular category in the past decade, primarily among European manufacturers. With an “all-in-one” lug nut and stud design, wheel bolts cut down on the number of individual SKUs required for a wheel end repair and simplify the manufacture of flanged wheel bearing assemblies. The lack of exposed wheel studs does make aligning and mounting wheels a bit of a chore, with only the center hub pilot to guide the wheel into place. Several tool suppliers offer pilot stud kits to aid in aligning the lug holes with the threaded holes of the hub flange. These kits usually include a pair of studs in each of the most common stud sizes to help get the technician in the ballpark. After securing the wheel, the pilot studs are removed and the remaining wheel bolts can be installed and hand-torqued.
Damage to crimped-on decorative tin caps is a common reason for wheel end hardware replacement. When replacing damaged two-piece “capped” fasteners, upgrading to a solid (one-piece) lug design can improve the next service experience for the vehicle owner and the technician, as well as improving upon a poor design practice shared by multiple OEMs.
In situations where these caps have swollen or fallen off, standard socket sizes become ineffective in removing existing fasteners for service. Removal sockets can be used to bite into rounded-off or otherwise damaged lug nuts and may also be effective when attacking stubborn locking lug designs. Half-sized sockets (18.5mm, 19.5mm, etc…) can be another life-saving addition to your store’s tool inventory, along with lug-nut removal sockets in common sizes from 17-22mm.
The post
link hidden, please login to view appeared first on link hidden, please login to view.
link hidden, please login to view -
-
By Counterman
The wheel end hardware category covers a number of fastener types, including spindle and axle nuts, washers and retainers, as well as wheel studs and lug nuts. It includes many specialized fasteners and a wide range of lug nut designs. Differences in thread pitch, length/depth, hex sizes and seat configuration make it difficult to keep track of the various options when recommending replacement lug nuts and studs for your customer.
Beyond using traditional “year-make-model” methods for identification, selecting hardware for custom wheel applications and recommending suitable replacement hardware can be broken down into a few simple steps.
The first characteristic to consider is the diameter and thread pitch of the wheel stud. Like any other threaded fastener, we must differentiate between SAE/USS and metric thread patterns. Differences between coarse and fine threads, even among fasteners of the same diameter, are common. Using a thread gauge or test-fitting with “known” components is a simple way to accurately identify the correct diameter and pitch, before moving on to seat configurations.
Even after determining the correct thread pitch, we need to carefully consider the seating surface of the fastener. To achieve the clamping power required to properly torque wheel fasteners, engineers rely not only on the tension applied to the threads, but the spreading of that load over the seating surface. The four basic seat types are conical, ball/spherical, flat/flanged and mag seat.
The conical seat is still the most common style, with most OEM wheels (both alloy and steel) designed to mate with 60-degree conical seat fasteners. Think of this design like a pair of nested funnels, with the wheel as the bottom funnel and the lug dropping snugly into the “cone,” with maximum contact between the two.
Ball or spherical seat fasteners, like conical seat hardware, also rely on a countersunk seat in the wheel to accept the mating profile of the lug nut. Rather than being a “cone” shape, these lugs more closely resemble a “bowl,” or a “ball and socket” joint.
Flat, flanged and mag-style seats are used primarily with alloy wheels. The term “mag” refers to magnesium, the alloy of choice for racing/custom wheels popularized in the 1960s. Aluminum alloys are the most common material in today’s marketplace. “Mag wheels” have oversized lug holes as compared to the diameter of their corresponding wheel studs. A cylindrical shank on the threaded end of the mag nut slips into these holes, maximizing surface contact, while a loose flat washer below the hex head helps distribute clamping forces on the flat face of these wheels. A modified version of the mag nut (with a captured washer) is often used with modern OEM alloy wheels.
Flat-face or flanged lug nuts are commonly used on full-size trucks, especially those with dual wheels. With a captured or integral washer providing the clamping power against a flat face, these are some of the few modern nut styles featuring an “open” design, with the wheel stud protruding through the top of the nut.
Wheel bolts have become an increasingly popular category in the past decade, primarily among European manufacturers. With an “all-in-one” lug nut and stud design, wheel bolts cut down on the number of individual SKUs required for a wheel end repair and simplify the manufacture of flanged wheel bearing assemblies. The lack of exposed wheel studs does make aligning and mounting wheels a bit of a chore, with only the center hub pilot to guide the wheel into place. Several tool suppliers offer pilot stud kits to aid in aligning the lug holes with the threaded holes of the hub flange. These kits usually include a pair of studs in each of the most common stud sizes to help get the technician in the ballpark. After securing the wheel, the pilot studs are removed and the remaining wheel bolts can be installed and hand-torqued.
Damage to crimped-on decorative tin caps is a common reason for wheel end hardware replacement. When replacing damaged two-piece “capped” fasteners, upgrading to a solid (one-piece) lug design can improve the next service experience for the vehicle owner and the technician, as well as improving upon a poor design practice shared by multiple OEMs.
In situations where these caps have swollen or fallen off, standard socket sizes become ineffective in removing existing fasteners for service. Removal sockets can be used to bite into rounded-off or otherwise damaged lug nuts and may also be effective when attacking stubborn locking lug designs. Half-sized sockets (18.5mm, 19.5mm, etc…) can be another life-saving addition to your store’s tool inventory, along with lug-nut removal sockets in common sizes from 17-22mm.
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