Sum of the parts - the SSS story

Parts

SSS Autoparts is arguably Australia's biggest importer and distributor of aftermarket parts. But there is a lot more to the company than meets the eye.
SSS stands for Service excellence, Superior quality and Satisfaction guaranteed. While these are virtues claimed by every parts supplier, SSS appears to deliver on all three.
The term 'aftermarket' conjures up a Owner and managing director of SSS, Lim S. Ung has a special affinity with Thailand. He came from there in 1981 and started his Australian company in 1987 ? initially from his garage in Melbourne. He says that Thailand is rapidly developing as a car manufacturing centre. Besides advanced technology, its labour cost is now 20 to 30 per cent lower than Taiwan.
In order to remain competitive, SSS spends considerable resources on monitoring the continual shift between Asian countries for the best quality and price of parts. Right now, Taiwan is the leader in technology. Parts are machinery intensive and Taiwan has the best tooling. But if you want the best sheet metal you go to Korea or Japan.
SSS is not just an aftermarket parts supplier. It also supplies branded and unbranded OE parts, bringing it into competition with new genuine parts available from car makers and their distributors. It is difficult to see how OE parts can get into the Australian market without going through the established brand dealerships. But as Ung explains,that is because so many OE parts are manufactured in Asia, and they go through an Asian wholesale dealer network which is not confined to selling to brand dealerships.
The challenge independent importers like SSS face is to convince the Australian market that their parts are what they say they are. In SSS's case, the company goes to great lengths to specify exactly what a customer is getting when buying a part. Ung makes no secret of the fact that SSS carries some parts which sell principally on price ? and usually to hobbyists who don't mind fiddling about the make the part fit. These parts do not find their way into smash repairers' shops because the time it takes to adjust them does not equate to the lower price. The vast majority of parts are up to OE standards and many, in fact, carry OE brands. Those that do not are test fitted to Australian vehicles for certification and guarantee by SSS. 40 per cent of SSS parts are either branded or unbranded OE. The rest, with the exception of low priced hobbyists parts, are made to OE standards and test fitted in Australia for accuracy.
In addition to OE and aftermarket parts, SSS is in the recycled parts business. But rather than buy and strip wrecks in the way that dedicated recyclers do, SSS imports recycled parts from Japan. They come cleaned, packaged and prepared like a new part, and SSS claims they better the prices of local recyclers. Their limitation is that they are virtually confined to Japanese cars.
Bodyshops can buy direct from SSS if they are big enough to spend a minimum of $3000 a year on parts. SSS does not seek bodyshop business, however, preferring to deal with recyclers who act as stockists for bodyshops. The fact that a recycler offers not only recycled parts but new branded OE and OE-quality aftermarket parts does not seem to worry those in the trade. The key to any deal is that bodyshops get what they order ? and pay the right price for it. SSS is passionate about being up-front with its customers by offering a truthful description of every part it sells. It is backed by an ISO:9001 accreditation (since 1998)
The SSS product range includes bonnets, guards, stone trays, radiators, radiator support panels, doors, boot lids, tailgates, bumpers, grilles, head lights, tail lights, indicator lights, fog lamps, door mirrors and handles, cables, spoilers, wheel covers and a number of auto accessories. Some of the products carry approval from ECE (European regulation)or ADR (Australian design rules)accreditation in the case of lights. Many aftermarket metal panels carry the CAPA verification sticker ? although it is not widely understood or appreciated in Australia. Ung says that a CAPA program would only work in Australia if it was accompanied by an extensive publicity campaign to educate the trade in the value of a CAPA part.
In October last year SSS launched an online buying service which can only be accessed by SSS customers after purchasing an initial $1500 worth of parts and then maintaining annual minimum purchases of $3000. The website shows numbers of all parts in stock, along with a declaration of their status as OE, aftermarket or recycled. Since the company has massive warehouses in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane, it can deliver promptly to virtually anywhere in Australia. The company also sends out a bi-monthly high quality newsletter to informing it customers of new 'perfect fit' parts.
Like its competitors and car makers, SSS runs its stock holding on estimates of model population, age of the car and buyer behaviour. The company seldom stocks a part for a car less than three years old.
Lim Ung, wants to steer his company more towards stocking OE parts in the future. Currently OE and parallel parts are running at about 40 per cent of the total. He is aiming at 60 per cent. He also investigating bringing plastic bumper cover production from Taiwan to Australia.
"Once the tooling is set up, the production cost is virtually the same," he says. "Taiwanese and Australian wage levels are close enough for the saving on freight to make the Australian product competitive. With government incentives, I believe we could also export these parts."