Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM SEPTEMBER 2020 58 B U Y I N G G R O U P N E W S M aking good on its promise to help BrandSource members make their service operations more efficient and profitable, and in keeping with the same 60-year mission of parent company AVB, the buying group's one-year-old Service Committee forged four new initiatives within as many weeks this past summer, and has more on the way. As AVB CEO Jim Ristow said in creating the Service Committee, "The goal is to ensure profitability for servicing dealers. The challenges are real, and BrandSource is proud to lead the way with real solutions." To that end, the Service Committee gleaned servicing dealers' most pressing needs from a group-wide survey conducted earlier this year, and began addressing them by aligning with the Professional Service Association (PSA), a leading trade organization dedicated to the long-term success of the appliance repair channel. Since its founding in 1989, the Iowa-based association has acted as the "Voice of the Independent Servicer," and much like AVB/ BrandSource has worked on behalf of these businesses to address such industry-wide challenges as inadequate billing rates, increased product complexity and decreased vendor support, and a dearth of trained technicians. Under the new pact with PSA, BrandSource dealers are afforded a special discounted rate for membership which will entitle them to all of the association's benefits. These include access to PSA's vast service library which includes service bulletins, wiring diagrams and repair details on hundreds of appliance products dating back 40 years, as well as access to PSANet, the trade group's peer-to-peer email platform that allows hundreds of fellow service professionals to share best practices and seek and provide advice. The new partnership also provides specialized training programs for BrandSource member technicians, discounts on the association's ISO-approved certification program for technicians and service managers, and a special discounted rate to attend PSA's annual National Appliance Service Convention. This year's event is slated for Sept. 20-24 in Orlando. Close on the heels of the PSA announcement came word of a pact with Master Samurai Tech (MST), an online training academy for appliance repair personnel. Founded six years ago by Navy veteran and design engineer Scott Brown and his wife Susan, the New Hampshire couple provide a series of video-based seminars that range from core appliance repair to advanced troubleshooting and fixes for cooking, refrigeration and laundry products. Students, whether tech newcomers or working servicers looking to enhance their skills, can take the interactive courses at their own pace and access an "Ask the Teacher" forum for personalized help with any of the material. Under the new partnership, BrandSource members receive a maximum discount toward the regular price of the virtual classes. Members can access a dedicated MST landing page at MasterSamuraiTech.com/brandsource, and register using a special discount code that's available in the Backroom. In its third successive initiative, the BrandSource Service Committee aligned with Reliable Parts, one of the largest appliance parts distributors in North America. The pact, effective last month, provides a trio of exclusive benefits to BrandSource members including favorable return windows, payment terms and freight charges, as well as a sign-up bonus and a monthly contest based on order increases. According to Besor Fayas, Vice President of Sales at the Dallas- based business, the new Reliable Advantage program provides BrandSource dealers with a free $100 parts voucher for creating a customer account. Once on board, members are privy to 60-day terms, vs. the more typical net 10 or net 30 terms, and have 120 days to return any order at no charge, compared to the company's standard 30-day return policy. As an additional incentive, BrandSource members participating in the Reliable Advantage program have a chance to win a monthly prize based on their percentage increase in order size, with separate drawings held for new accounts. Most recently, BrandSource formalized its partnership with the United Appliance Servicers Association (UASA), regarded as North America's largest appliance repair trade group. Founded and led by fellow servicers, the non-profit association provides training, support, services and business strategies for member businesses. Like AVB/BrandSource, UASA's mission is to help self-servicing appliance dealers strengthen their companies and become more profitable while also elevating the image of the BRANDSOURCE FORGES A SUCCESSION OF SERVICE INITIATIVES

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