Thought leaders from around the world shared their experiences and projections of the evolving situation in the context of the pandemic.

AASA dates back to 1923 and brings together the majority of vehicle parts manufacturers in the United States and around the world. The annual summit, in which Carlos Straetger, Super Repuestos regional supply chain manager, was a speaker, was held in Coral Gables, Florida for thought leaders from around the world to share perspectives as they discuss what's next for the supply chain, inflation and exchange rates, and pandemic disruption.

Straetger is honored to have been invited to be part of the event as a speaker and is a recognition for Super Repuestos as a leader in the automotive aftermarket in the region that has been able to anticipate the challenges that have been presented throughout the evolution of the pandemic.

Prior to the covid-19 pandemic, the spare parts and lubricants industry was experiencing one of its best business moments, as very competitive supply times had been achieved, allowing companies to alleviate the pressure on working capital to supply inventory.

Carlos Straetger, regional supply chain manager for Super Repuestos, explains that efficiencies and economies of scale had a positive impact on management, but with the pandemic it changed at a slow pace with a series of isolated events that added up to create "a perfect storm that has not ended yet.

"After the economic shutdowns, the reopenings were accompanied by a boom in demand, reaching growth of 30% to 40% compared to pre-pandemic figures, explained because people wanted to have their vehicles in optimal conditions so as not to expose themselves on public transport", says Straetger.

As a result, suppliers worked overtime to meet demand, but it was insufficient and created bottlenecks at major manufacturers and seaports. This, in turn, led to inflationary pressure on spare parts costs, increased ocean freight costs by a factor of 10, and the times to ship out of the country increased by 50%.

With this challenging scenario, companies' need for working capital has increased at an unprecedented rate, but thanks to its 54 years of experience in the market, Super Repuestos had the foresight to see the storm coming and took preventive action in time.

Straetger states that the company's vision allowed it to implement measures from mid-2020, which very few in the spare parts industry could do, and it doubled purchasing volumes to have sufficient supply.

In addition, since the beginning of 2020, the construction of the new distribution center was completed, located in the salvadoran municipality of Nejapa, which has 140,000 cubic meters of available storage, making it the largest of its kind in the region; and in 2021, they boldly invested in doubling storage capacity, in less than 1 year.

"If this investment had taken only a few months, it would have cost 40% more, not to mention the significant advantage it gives us in terms of storage", says Straetger.

A pillar in the successful strategy of Super Repuestos was the diversification of the supply of brands of spare parts in order to always have alternatives available at affordable prices for all budgets, without compromising the reputation of being the leading company with the best spare parts and the strongest warranty in the market.

"Super Repuestos exists with the vision of keeping smiles and vehicles running; and this is achieved by making available to customers Super Brands, Super Variety and Super Warranty accompanied by Super Service".