A couple of months ago I discussed the important role distributors play in my business: they place orders with Chinese manufacturers, they arrange shipment to their American warehouse, and they reship to dealers waiting in America. I listed some qualities that smooth the flow of products between China and America.

The companies I focused on in that article were some who ignored basic good business practices, and who subsequently lost the California market.

This month I want to focus on importers who are a pleasure to deal with. These companies obviously have strong leaders who understand how to set priorities and stay in touch with customer demands. We know business basics are the same everywhere in the world: success requires  excellent management from the top down that is responsive and aware of minute by minute priorities, and maintaining quality staff and happy consumers. Building a customer base requires understanding their wants and needs, and then delivering quality products.

As a large dealership with customers drawn from a tri-state area, ATV Wholesale Outlet Inc The Ideal distributor provides:

• A knowledgeable staff  with good communication skills
• Tech support for questions and problems
• Solid warranty and adjustments policy for all products
• Current legal and government approvals (EPA  and  C.A.R.B) on all vehicles
• Strict quality standards for products
• Full inventory of parts, and vehicles in all colors
• Strong advocacy for dealers, being proactive in demanding vehicle improvements from manufacturers
• Sponsorship (with manufacturers) of marketing to the lucrative American market. Fund brand recognition for Chinese vehicles
• Coolster Maxtrade staff are well trained and knowledgeable. They are attentive to my suggestions for improvements and products.  A bit of a downside is that their stock of parts varies, so that maybe 60% of the time they can supply what I need. If not in stock, I am told it is a special order – and I find that generally takes two or more months to obtain. But Coolster excels in the quality of vehicles they ship. We can count on uncrating any of their vehicles and getting right to the basic assembly and PDI. No sweating over defects before the vehicle is ready to go on the floor. That saves us time, and tells me they care about quality. Coolster is the only one of the Chinese companies that will make changes to the design of a vehicle almost immediately if there is a safety issue, or if an update can improve performance. At the moment, they are in the process of re-engineering many of their models using our design engineers here in the USA. We will write more about these new designs in future articles. Stay tuned!
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• ScooterParts4Less.com is one of my favorite companies.  I wish they sold a full range of vehicles because they are such a continuing delight to do business with. Unfortunately they stock and sell only Chinese parts. The face of Scooter4Less is Adam Wong. He walks toward you with his hand out in welcome and a smile on his face. “What are we gonna do for you today?” Adam makes multiple trips to China every year as he is acutely aware of his market, and is always searching out new suppliers and superior quality. His brother Randy is the guy who runs the web site, answers e-mails, fills orders, and ships out the orders as they come in.  Adam and Randy and their efficient staff either have in stock every part I need or they will get it pronto. Prices are fair for the vast selection they carry, including high performance, OEM parts, and heavy duty parts.  The Wongs convey not only supreme efficiency and expertise, but you know they care about us as people/friends, as well as our dealership success.
• SSR Motorsports is the most innovative of the distributor/importers. They stock niche vehicles and many hard-to-find parts. Their inventory is extensive and mostly dependable. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly. Additionally SSR offers great prices to dealers on models left from the previous year. The SSR website is easy to navigate and provides a Dealer Locator for customers by simply putting in the area zip code.
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• Taotao maintains a well-trained staff of English-speaking sales people who are quick to answer questions about parts and products. TaoTao keeps a consistently large inventory of parts and vehicles, and prices are reasonable. Their online presence/ web site is acceptable, but still needs a zip code dealer locator.

Distributor/importers play a necessary role in the chain between the manufacture of vehicles and the customer. As a retail dealer I am between the distributor and the retail buyer. It is important that I have in my showroom the vehicles I can sell and maintain and that are safe. I need parts on hand to service the vehicles I sell. At ATV Wholesale Outlet Inc we take pride in assisting customers find the vehicle that best suits their needs, and in being there when they need support with information, service, and parts. That requires suppliers (distributor/importers) to be on top of their game. We enjoy sending people out with the freedom and safety of a vehicle they can depend on for years to come.