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Do IT this week: Layering
OEConnection is matchmaker for dealerships
By Jim Mackinnon Beacon Journal business writer
Published on Monday, Jul 30, 2007
OEConnection LLC is to car parts what eHarmony.com is to singles.
Think of the 7-year-old and growing Richfield company as a parts and inventory matchmaker for auto dealers and vehicle makers.
A successful high-tech matchmaker.
While OEConnection does most of its business over the Web, it has outgrown two brick-and-mortar headquarters in Richfield.
OEConnection earlier this year moved into a newly built, larger headquarters off Highlander Parkway its second move into bigger space in three years. The company, which started in January 2001 with 12 employees, now has 170 and in April was named one of the best companies to work by the Best Employers in Ohio awards program for the second consecutive year.
‘‘We've got to keep growing,‘‘ said Chuck Rotuno, the company's chief executive officer.
The company certainly has the room now, as well as a strategic plan to develop new online products and expand into new markets, including outside the United States. Along the way, OEConnection is working to develop, attract and retain tech-savvy Ohio residents for its work force.
The ‘‘OE‘‘ in OEConnection comes from the words ‘‘Original Equipment‘‘ as in parts made by the Big Three domestic automakers. The company was created by General Motors, Ford, DaimlerChrysler and Bell & Howell, now Snap-On Business Solutions, to be an online parts and service portal.
How it works
OEConnection makes the bulk of its money by doing a daily inventory of parts at more than 12,000 vehicle dealerships, then making that inventory available over the Web to those dealerships.
A dealership doesn't have a replacement part in stock? Then OEConnection lets a parts manager click a computer mouse to quickly see if other nearby businesses have it, allowing for same-day pickup and delivery. The company also sells other related Web-based services; it never touches or ships parts itself.
‘‘The vision of the company really is to provide some state-of-the-art, Internet-based software tools, primarily to car dealerships, that will enable them to better fulfill orders and serve customers who interact and do business with them,‘‘ Rotuno said.
Dealerships subscribe to OEConnection's software, one-year renewable contracts and pay a flat monthly fee based on the size of the dealership.
Steve Perkins, parts manager for Klaben Ford in Kent, makes daily use of OEConnection's services.
‘‘We have that Web page on all of our terminals in the parts department,‘‘ he said. That enables him and his co-workers to see if they have the parts in stock or can quickly get them from someplace else, he said.
‘‘Then you can speak intelligently to the customers,‘‘ Perkins said.
Barry Brown, parts manager for Montrose Chevrolet-Cadillac, also in Kent, said his department has used OEConnection for years.
‘‘They certainly do a good job at what they do,‘‘ he said.
At his dealership, though, OEConnection became a victim of its own success by helping get rid of obsolete inventory, Brown said. As a result, the dealership is scaling back on some services, he said.
‘‘The one (service) I'm keeping is absolutely essential,‘‘ Brown said. ‘‘It helps us locate parts quickly. I absolutely love that.‘‘
Growing business
OEConnection got its start in Richfield because that is where founding partner Bell & Howell had offices for a new Internet-based parts ordering system, CollisionLink, that became the core of the new venture, Rotuno said.
‘‘It became a natural extension for Richfield, Ohio,‘‘ Rotuno said. ‘‘We could be anywhere on the map. The people were here. . . . It made sense to locate here.‘‘
The two firms shared office space the first couple of years until an expanding OEConnection needed more room.
Now, OEConnection has a 10-year lease as the sole occupant of a new 50,000-square-foot building just down the street from its previous headquarters.
‘‘Which I think is a powerful message to the associate base and the industry at large that here's this young company that's got 61/2 years under its belt and that plans to be around for a long time,‘‘ Rotuno said.
The new headquarters has meeting rooms named for the founding companies; a ‘‘Mindspace‘‘ room, complete with an Xbox video game machine, where employees can come to relax and brainstorm; a full-service cafeteria run by a Cleveland catering outfit; and exercise facilities.
‘‘There's also the ability to add 20,000 square feet to the back of the building,‘‘ Rotuno said.
The company's job growth over the years has been across the board, he said.
‘‘About half our people are technology-based,‘‘ Rotuno said.
Software talent
While computer-related talent is available in the area, it takes twice as long to fill a technology-related position than other jobs at the company, he said.
‘‘Getting software talent is a bit of a challenge in Northeast Ohio right now,‘‘ he said. Not enough colleges and universities are focusing on it and ‘‘not enough kids are going through the programs, plain and simple.‘‘
To help, OEConnection is offering internships and partnerships with local colleges and universities.
Because of the shortage of home-grown talent, OEConnection the last two years has needed to use third parties or temporary workers to help.
‘‘We're not the only one out there like that,‘‘ Rotuno said. ‘‘Everyone needs a technology organization if you're a progressive business that's going to try to apply the best of what's out there to better serve your customers. It's everybody who has a need for this. That message isn't ringing loud and clear in the communities of Northeast Ohio yet.
‘‘You don't have to go to the West Coast or Austin, Texas, or Massachusetts if you want to apply new technologies to the business community,‘‘ he said. ‘‘There's lots of neat places (in Ohio) to do it. And we're one of many.‘‘
Job recruitment has been helped by the company being named one of the best employers in Ohio because that portrays OEConnection as a cool place to work, he said.
OEConnection will continue to introduce new products and technologies involving its core business, Rotuno said. ‘‘We'll also start to dabble in new areas.‘‘
Expanding products
An increasing national trend of car dealership consolidations means fewer such customers for OEConnection, Rotuno said.
So OEConnection has to expand the number of products to its customers as well as look for new dealerships to serve, he said.
The company last month announced it signed its first rental car fleet contract to provide online ordering of original equipment parts for Avis Budget Group.
It also will take its technology beyond the automotive industry, perhaps to heavy equipment makers such as John Deere and Caterpillar that also distribute products through a dealer network, Rotuno said.
OEConnection also is thinking globally, Rotuno said. It is rolling out a new software platform for 500 General Motors dealers in Canada, he said.
‘‘Expanding our footprint beyond the U.S. is core to our growth,‘‘ he said. ‘‘We're just scratching the surface on this one.‘‘
Jim Mackinnon can be reached at 330-996-3544 or jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com.
OEConnection LLC is to car parts what eHarmony.com is to singles.
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