U-R-G On the Go
An informative podcast for the United Recyclers Group. Each week we will feature an entertaining guest that will share their knowledge and information with you, providing you with tips and tools to help you become a more profitable business.
U-R-G On the Go
How Auto Recyclers Win With Quality, Data, And Fulfillment
Want a real playbook for running a sharper, more profitable recycling operation? We sit down with industry leader and past ARA president Marty Hollingshead to unpack the exact moves that cut returns, speed delivery, and keep body shops coming back. Marty traces his journey from parts puller to owner, then breaks down how consolidation, technology, and shifting buyer behavior reshaped the business—and why the winners pair modern tools with seasoned judgment.
We get tactical fast. Marty explains why sales are a byproduct of three upstream drivers: buying the right vehicles, doing thorough and accurate inventory, and running a repeatable process that gets parts shelf‑ready. He lays out how full dismantle, clean presentation, and clear, plain‑English descriptions reduce friction in e‑commerce while competitive pricing and high‑quality images turn “Do you have?” calls into “I see you have” orders. We dig into the number one cause of returns—sloppy selling—and how a culture of proactive disclosure builds trust and slashes costly do‑overs.
Fulfillment takes center stage. Using Amazon as the benchmark, Marty shows how operational discipline—location audits, pre‑verified condition, and on‑time delivery—wins the day with collision shops that value reliability as much as price. He shares leadership lessons from hockey about coaching, standards, and choosing respect over popularity, then highlights ARA’s peer‑to‑peer mentoring as a force multiplier for owners who want to level up. The message is clear: evolve, participate, and think two shots ahead. Use technology as a tool, train your people well, and make quality the default, not the exception.
Subscribe, share with a fellow recycler, and leave a review to help others find the show. Have questions or want us to cover a specific challenge next time? Send them our way and join the conversation. Amanda and Marty both show their appreciation for DJ Harrington as he announces this will be his last Podcast, he does however promise to jump in from time to time to see how things are going
Welcome one and all to the URG on the go podcast. This is your podcast. It's for the pros that have a need to know that are on the go. This is the URG podcast. It's the true God of the automotive recycling industry. And I cannot be more prouder than to be participating in this one with a dear friend of mine and the past president of ARA, the one and only Marty Hollingshead. So Marty, I cannot I cannot tell you how proud I am. So Amanda, let me tell all our listeners all about you. This is a person, Amanda Marson is director of member and vendor relationships for the URG. Amanda, I want to tell you it's beautiful here in Atlanta, Georgia. I hope it's nice where you are.
SPEAKER_03:It is. Yes, it's it's great to hear your voice, and and we appreciate you and all your all your work you've done on this podcast here. And and we love listening to you and getting all of your advice. And uh yeah, we have a great guest today. We've got Marty Hollingshead here from North Lake Auto Recyclers in Hammond, Indiana. And we are so excited to have you on today. Marty, thank you so much for being here.
SPEAKER_02:Well, thank you, Amanda, for having me. And I just want to special thanks to Mr. DJ Harrington, that's Dennis Joseph that doesn't know his real name. DJ is a great man, and DJ, uh can't thank you enough for what you've done for this industry and how you've motivated and inspired a lot of auto-recyclers, myself included. You're a good man, and wish you well in your retirement. Hope we see you, and uh, we're sure gonna miss you.
SPEAKER_00:Well, retirement is good, but I will periodically stick my head in to make sure everything's going right at URG. I wanted to tell our listeners, Amanda, this is the past president of ARA. Now, a lot of times ARA people don't realize, but we recognize all ARA people. And ARA started in 1943, and people don't realize that they have employed over a hundred and forty thousand people with 9,000 locations nationwide. And last year they did a little over 32 billion dollars in annual sales. And this is the guy who really has helped ARA grow. So, Amanda, you got a great guest, and I look forward to the interview.
SPEAKER_03:Thank you so much, DJ. Yes, Marty, uh, let's get to getting to know you a little bit more. I know you've been in the industry. Obviously, DJ has given you a nice little intro there. He's always the best at those intros. Uh so you've been in this industry for more than 50 years, which that's that's incredible in itself. What stands out to you when you look back on how things have changed and progressed throughout the industry?
SPEAKER_02:Well, this industry is uh, I've been doing this since 1973, and I just want to touch base real quick on how I got how I got into this. Okay. So I used to do some mechanical work in my garage, and my mother had a 68 buttlass and I had rear-ended a guy, and I was looking for parts. So I wound up at a yard up in Evanston, Illinois, which at the time was it really the place really intrigued me because I've was at other yards that were junkyards, and this guy had some uh organization and uh it was a nice place. I was intrigued by it. So I talked to the one-counter guys. Look, if you guys are ever looking for, here's my number. And they wound up Rust Holy and Paint Factory was a block over from them, and they had a fire, which I had nothing to do with, and it wound up uh catching part of the yard on fire, and I started working there. Uh I started there, I was uh pulling parts out in the yard. I wound up leaving there and I went to C and J Auto Parts in Chicago. Uh I was there until 1977, and I started out uh in the yard pulling parts, and then I started doing inventory and warehousing, and then I got brought on the counter. And from 77 to 83, I was at Milwaukee Avenue Auto Parks in Chicago, and in the 77-83, and in 83, I left there to come to work here at North Lake, and I had the opportunity to buy it a year and a half later.
SPEAKER_04:Wow.
SPEAKER_02:So, you know, a lot of people in this industry, um, unless uh you know, unless it's second generation, you know, we all have the scarf from somewhere, but that's just a little quick story about how I got how I got involved.
SPEAKER_03:That's incredible. I love that story.
SPEAKER_02:So as far as go ahead.
SPEAKER_03:No, you go ahead. I want to hear what you have to say.
SPEAKER_02:No, well, the question you asked is what have I noticed most in looking back as far as changes in the industry. Okay. Uh prior to about 20 years ago, changes weren't that often, and they were suddenly, they weren't that drastic. Okay. And back then, a lot of people, you know what? People would make money in spite of themselves. Okay. It'd be like the old saying, you know, uh, you fall out of a boat, you're gonna hit water. Okay.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:But past 20 years of what we've all seen is we've seen, you know, you had LKQ come on with consolidation, and you had Green Leaf come in about the same time. So consolidation is nothing new to this industry, but we realized it then. And one of the things that consolidation did do is it made all of us independents better. And competition is a good thing, and all things being equal, you know, you you need to you need to be able to evolve, change, and evolve. Okay, and that the consolidation made the independents, let independents be better operators. And I think LKQ and Greenleaf, and you know, I think the consolidators coming into the industry, I think they have helped it by you know giving all of us uh something to think about and something to strive for. But again, changes have been, you know, every five years or so, changes would be the same thing. It got to be a little harder, a little quicker. Okay. Now what we're seeing is the changes are coming, the intervals are closer, and it this is you know, it's getting to be more and more impactful. Okay, you look at technology, you look at AI now, you look at just all of the changes and culture and the workplace and everything else, all of this is upon us now, and us as auto recyclers, and you know what, DJ, you said something about ARA. ARA came about in 43, and ARA was born out of adversity. Okay, and the thing with all of us, Amanda, and there's a lot of good, a lot of smart operators out there, a lot smarter than me. The one thing that we have been is we've been innovators. Yeah, we have figured things out, and we've done it better than everybody. Uh, the electric vehicles that we were part of with the high-level meetings, okay. It was amazing on how far advanced, you know, how far ahead we were in the foresight that we had that these experts didn't realize. Okay, we went to somebody's higher-level meetings and they were amazed by what we knew. And we were a year and a half ahead of them. We already had a solution before they even thought of it. Yeah, and you and you know, the other thing is, you know, this industries, we've been innovators, okay, and we figured things out. And you look now, we have the hardest job to do with the least amount of resources that others make available to us.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, all the limitations that we've got and right restrictions, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And the technology that we have now, you know, technology is great, okay. Especially you're gonna have AI and all the digital tools that we have. But again, so I said tool, right? These are tools, right? It is a it is a tool and it should be used as such. When you're gonna take something literally and you're gonna have the tool want to do your thinking and doing for you, that can be a slippery slope.
SPEAKER_03:Yep, completely agree with that one.
SPEAKER_02:The tools are great, but it's also you have to have extrapolation and there's no substitute with using that tool with the thing everybody has between your ears.
SPEAKER_03:Yep, yep. And I think that's one of the my favorite things about this industry too, is everyone is essentially an entrepreneur, right? We're all looking out for for new ways to innovate, as well as um, you know, that a lot of every every one of them has either had the family member start the business or you know, it or you're running it yourself, you know, you you purchased it and are running it and are doing innovative different things and and having to adapt to the technology that's coming, right?
SPEAKER_02:Right. And the thing to remember too with business decisions, everything else, okay. Good, bad, or ugly things are cumulative, okay. Uh one of the people that helped teach me, one of the things I was told to, you know what, is when I first started driving, my father was a truck driver, okay. And he told me, he says, don't just pay attention to the car in front of you. Look a block ahead of you, okay? Pay attention to what's going on there because that's going to affect you. But business decisions are akin to being a pool player, okay? You have to think about your next move. Uh, a good pool player is not only taking his first shot, but he's setting himself up for the shot after that. And if he's a really good pool player, he's setting himself up for the shot after that. But that's where you have to not only think about today, but you got to think about tomorrow.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, definitely. And I think that's that's one of the reasons why people have had you speak at conferences. You've had a lot of experience in this industry and and are great to learn from and and have uh you know mentored so many different people, and we'll kind of get into that here uh in just a little bit. But um, you know, you talk about knowing uh your business and knowing your numbers. What what does that really look like to an automotive recycler today? And and digging into that piece of it.
SPEAKER_02:Well, again, it's again, I'll get back to the pollenology. Okay, you have to know your numbers, okay. And numbers are important, but what is more important than the number than your numbers is knowing your drivers, what drives your numbers, okay? You know what your sales are, okay. But sales are a byproduct, they're a byproduct of your purchasing, your inventory, your inventory, and your process. Okay. Um matter you make your money, and if this is an old saying, okay, and it goes, you make your money when you buy the car. I remember I went out to triplet and I seen Mess Stu Willen and uh looked at it. I said, So how do you buy your cars at the auction? And Stu said me, Well, I buy what they let me buy. Okay, but again, you have to know your numbers, you have to know what to pay for vehicles, what to get for the parts. And you gotta pay, you gotta pay attention to that, and you gotta that is where using and interpreting your data is huge.
SPEAKER_03:Yep, 100%. 100%.
SPEAKER_02:You know, and then the purchasing, you know, you gotta buy the right cars. Your inventory and your accuracy is getting it right the first time, doing a thorough and an accurate inventory. And then your process is processing the vehicle, shoving the parts, and getting everything ready for sale. Those things, when done properly, that is what has the best impact on your sales. That's why I said your sales of revenue are a byproduct of them. Those are your drivers. And there's a bunch of other things, but those are that's the meat and potatoes of it.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, yeah. And you know, you mentioned inventory accuracy uh and capturing it correctly. I feel like that's that's a big piece right there in general, too, making sure that I know we've talked previously about your fantastic return rate, uh, is I believe you set it around 9%, which is which is huge for um, you know, that's that's uh it's actually a small number, but it's a it's very impactful for your customers, you know, not having all those returns. How do you go about you know managing that and making sure that that return rate stays low?
SPEAKER_02:Well, a lot of it is training, a lot of it is your process, okay. And again, we we inventory for a full dismantle here, okay. Uh, and the thing is we're doing all of the work up front, we're doing all of the work before it needs to be done, okay. Using your data, and there's a lot that's said by others, you know. Well, you shouldn't shelf the part unless you know it's gonna sell. And yes, they are right, okay. But what I found is by having the stuff on the shelf, okay, we've already verified that the part is a quality part, okay. The part is made available for sale, and when you get the order on the part, it's you just get it off the shelf and a little spit and polish and a final QC, and the part is on its way to the customer. Okay. The other thing, the biggest thing that impacts returns, okay, comes from sloppy selling. Okay, and I refer to it as lying by omission, okay, which is a negative word, but I'll tell you why in a minute. Okay, so and it happens there, a part will get damaged. I may drop the door on the corner at or roll a lip on it, or something may have happened, as things do, or it could get damaged on the truck. But so the salesman uh is informed by the parks puller that uh, you know, I I put a little damage on this door. Well, my my salespeople have the explicit instructions to call the customer and let them know that there is some additional damage or cleanup time on the part. Okay. Uh if you don't do that, then a lot of people say, well, let's send it out, see what happens. Okay. And where this affects us as an industry is the customer gets the part. First thing is the customer's upset because it the part didn't meet his expectations. So the driver's the first point of contact, so he bears the brunt of it, then the salesman. Now a salesman has two things overcome. He's got to calm the customer down, and then he's got to get them to keep the part. If he would have called and told them about the damage initially, the problem, and we've we've looked at this in depth, okay, as I as I look at what returns, okay. What is the reason for them? And some things I'll do a post-mortem on.
SPEAKER_04:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:Uh, you have an accident, airplane crashes. Okay, they look at why did this happen? What and what can we do to prevent it or keep it from happening or getting out of hand? Okay, and these are all training issues, okay. Tell the customer set proper expectations with your customers, that will have the biggest effect on lowering your return rate, plus it gives them customers confidence in you.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, 100%.
SPEAKER_02:Would you agree with that, sir?
SPEAKER_00:Yes. I would agree.
SPEAKER_03:He's learning, he's he's writing notes. I can see him writing notes every day.
SPEAKER_02:I am but anyhow, setting the pro you know, proper expectations and you know, uh underpromise and over-deliver. Okay, and I just want to touch real quickly on some technology, on where technology is important, but the human element is also more important. I sincerely believe that the companies that take the technology and they apply it with a knowledgeable human being, okay, they're the ones that are gonna do, they're gonna be very successful. Okay. Uh I'll give you an example. You folks know who Granger is, right? So this happened about a couple years ago. So I call up, I used to be able to reach my branch. So I call up the number and I got some answering machine. Well, someone will be with you within your wait time, it's gonna be three minutes. Within 10 seconds, a person pay. Oh, one of the things during his wait time was they asked, would you be willing to answer a two-question survey at the end of your call? So I took in uh 10 seconds later, a person picks up the phone. This was done by design, mind you, okay? Because they already said they set the expectations that I was gonna be on hold for three minutes. After 10 seconds, somebody picks up the phone, first thing with me is Well, that's good.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, yeah, they're happy with it.
SPEAKER_02:And then they asked, here comes the train. So then they asked, uh, you know, person asked my name, my first name, they knew who my company was. Okay, and it was a small ticket order, four or five ticket, less than a hundred dollar order, and repeated the order to me, call me by name at least five times during that call.
SPEAKER_04:Wow.
SPEAKER_02:Okay. And when the call was done, the survey consisted of this. Did this salesperson did we answer your questions and help you what with what you needed? And the last one was would you hire that person at your company?
SPEAKER_03:Oh, that's a good one.
SPEAKER_02:You know what? Simpler is better. Okay, that was more effective than having a survey with 50 questions on it.
SPEAKER_03:Right.
SPEAKER_02:But again, that so that gets along the lines with over-deliver and underpromise. Okay.
SPEAKER_03:There you go. That's a great example.
SPEAKER_02:And you know, uh having a quality part, proper communication to the customer, delivering it when you say you're going to deliver it, and also managing the sale after the sale.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. Yep. Yeah, we speak a totally different language in this industry. And even shops don't necessarily know what our language is and damage codes and and or even really try to try to read what's going on on the part comments or what's going on. So it's it's it's a great point that you have to make sure that your salespeople are communicating to the customer accurately what that part's going to look like when they get it on delivery.
SPEAKER_02:And there's a lot of things from a customer-facing standpoint, okay. You look at e-commerce, and e-commerce comes in many different forms. The big one for us uh that drives a lot of business our way, in my opinion, is car part. Okay. And a lot of the shops, more and more shops are using car part. And the phone calls, okay, and we all every decent-sized auto recycler has a phone system where you can track and track and count the number of calls in your call duration. And what we see, and what I see on my in my end is this, okay. The volume of phone calls, the call volume is decreasing. However, the quality of call is going up, and the direct opposite track is going down. So it's less and less of do you have? And it's more and more of I see you have, or they have some question other questions, or they're ready to order the part. They've already found the part, and that's what the phone call is a byproduct of. Right. Uh good descriptions that the average, and I differ on some of this stuff, but a description that the average Joe can read and understand. Obviously, you have to have a current and competitive price because if uh you're the most expensive kid on the block, you're never gonna get the call.
SPEAKER_04:Right.
SPEAKER_02:Uh, if you're the cheapest guy, they're gonna think there's a problem with the part, and they're not gonna call you either. And lastly, is you got to have good images, okay? Simply put, simply put, have a description like you have no images, have images like you have no description. And with the YMSs, now we're having the ability where these can be enlarged. Pictures can be enlarged, which is good. And a lot of customers, you can take a picture with a cell phone, send it to them, and they can get a good idea where the problem is.
SPEAKER_03:I love all of your all of your sayings. They're they they're so tried and true, you know. Take take pictures like your or add pictures like there's no description, and add description like there's no images. That's that's perfect.
SPEAKER_02:And the A or Eight David's codes, uh, unfortunately, this is a language that only other auto-recyclers understand. Okay, and you check with some of your shops, your estimators, they don't know, they don't know what these codes mean, especially younger people.
SPEAKER_03:Yep, yep. It's it's important to be able to educate. And I know that there's a lot of uh recyclers that will educate uh their their shops uh on those codes and and what you know, a grade is still gonna have one unit of damage. So, you know, you want to make sure that they're aware of what what that looks like. So this has all been such wonderful information, Marty. I think it might be time uh Chuck might might be talking up about needing a break here just to just chopping at the bit to do a commercial break here, but we'll be right back with Marty. Uh DJ, you want to take us away for a break?
SPEAKER_00:You got it, folks. We'll be right back. This has been a great one, and we'll be right back after a short time.
SPEAKER_01:You are taking help to streamline your business for maximum efficiency and increased profits. Extra powerful software unique tools, receive top-level training with industry experts, network with hundreds of recyclers, employee e-commerce to discount, receive support resources discounts. Starting at just$150 a month is the smartest investment you will make for your business this year. Go to u-r-d.com and click on become a member. Your path to a profitable future is just a click away. That's u-r-d.com.
SPEAKER_00:Welcome back, listeners. Of course, you know you're listening to the number one podcast in the automotive recycling industry, URG on the go podcast. This is a great one. I want to remind all of you. We're available on Spotify, iTunes, Pandora, Stitcher, iHeartMedia, or wherever you get your podcast. So make sure you download and listen. We got a great one today, Amanda, and I can't thank you enough for having Marty on. He's a wealth of information.
SPEAKER_03:I agree, I agree. Thank you so much, DJ, for that uh introduction again. Marty, you've given us so much uh information here going forward, and I hope every all of our listeners are taking notes, as DJ always says. This is the masterclass in automotive recycling and business in general and how to run your business properly, as well as uh how to fulfill orders and help that return rate. And uh, I just wanted to also say you were a hockey player, right? I I wanted to bring that up in here too. How long were you a hockey player for?
SPEAKER_02:Uh started playing street hockey when I was about 12 years old and uh started playing ice hockey when I was uh 14, 15. I played some semi-pro back then.
SPEAKER_04:And uh Wow.
SPEAKER_02:I'm not, I mean, I I've been fortunate I got to play with some good guys and good and on some good teams, but uh I think they're a lot better than I was.
SPEAKER_03:I don't believe that. I bet that was really cool to watch. I love it.
SPEAKER_02:But yeah, no, it was fun, and you know, hockey's uh hockey's a great sport. And uh I just really enjoyed playing it. I had my own team for years and uh we did very well.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I feel like you've you've related, you know, hockey and and working hard and and some of the things that you've learned in hockey to to business as well. I know we talked a little bit about how uh you used a lot of that knowledge and that training and working hard to uh kind of apply to your business mindset as well.
SPEAKER_02:Well, you know what, this business and being a boss that doesn't it doesn't really matter the size of your operation. You could have five people, you could have 205 people, okay. Uh running a business, you have a team, a group of employees, okay. And it's very similar to sports, very similar to a hockey team. Okay, a good coach will make a team better, the players. Uh St. Louis Blue is a few years back, okay. It was the end of the year, they were in last place. They had a good team, but they were in last. They went from last to first and went in the Stanley Cup because they made a coaching change. A couple players here and there, but the big thing was the coaching change. And this was the importance where a good coach or a good player will make others around them better, and uh that one will do just the opposite. Okay, and in our business, same thing. That's the great thing about hockey players or professional sports players, is they know about discipline, hard work, teamwork, and uh structure. And you know, I played, I had a real good player on my team a few years back, and we were playing uh we were playing competitive hockey, and we were always in the thick of it, but we never could, never could get over the top. And there was this one team that had this guy on his team where he made his guys better. I had one guy, real good, extremely talented, but the guy would always squawk about who he was playing with, and he wound up getting hurt that winter, and we wound up winning without him. Wow, and this is where the old saying is less is more or addition by subtraction. Okay, right, and this is where you know what being a good boy, you know what, you can bark orders of people in that, but leadership, the best leaders will lead by example. And a true leader like Dan Snyder, I guarantee you, Dan Snyder is uh never asked anybody to do anything, and I hardly know him, but what I know of him is he wouldn't ask anybody to do something he wouldn't be willing to do himself.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_02:And that's good, that's the mark of a good leader.
SPEAKER_04:Yep.
SPEAKER_02:So we're done with hockey, so what's next?
SPEAKER_03:I love it. No, that's that's perfect. That's exactly what I wanted to hear. And uh, you know, you said in your background, you you were you started out as a parts puller as well. So I think that kind of bodes true for you as well. I mean, I know it bodes true for you as well that you wouldn't ask an employee to do something without knowing that you can do it yourself. So uh it's key for leadership and making sure that you're running a good business for sure.
SPEAKER_02:You know, boss, so you could ask anybody, so boss and DJ, I know you probably know all of this, but it would be would you rather be liked or respected? The good leaders would say being liked would be great, but if they had to choose, they'd rather be respected than liked.
SPEAKER_03:Mm-hmm. Yep, exactly. Exactly. So you we let's go back uh a little bit to uh you know your fulfillment and you know quality and accuracy and those those pillars that we talked about. You've said fulfillment is the real battleground. What do most recyclers misunderstand about that fulfillment piece of their business?
SPEAKER_02:Well, everybody wants to get orders, okay? And getting an order, you know, selling parts and getting orders is what we're all about, okay. But once the order is taken, that's where the real work begins. Okay. So we'll touch real briefly about Amazon, who we all know. Okay, they are a monster. How did they get to become the monster that they are? They have mastered the art of fulfillment and being able to get product into a customer's hands in short order. Okay, and they're probably hey, you look at Sears Road Buck and Monkey Wards, DJ, right? You know, nothing lasts forever. But I think I think Amazon is gonna be on top of the mountain for probably my lifetime, anyhow. But again, they mastered the art of fulfillment, okay? And you know, how do you, you know, doing the work up front, having the part on the shelf where it's already been checked, okay? This is how you're able to deliver to your customers. Services with customers, service is a big thing, okay. And then there's the old saying, okay, there's quality service and price. Which two do you want? Because you almost in all of our travels, you almost never get both of all three at the same time. So, Amanda, your husband's gonna paint the nursery this weekend. Okay, so you're gonna go get he's gonna go get paint. So he's gonna go to let's say Home Depot. Do they have good paint? Yes, they do. Do they have good price? Yes, they do. If he's got questions as far as what type of paint to use or what sheen or how to prep it, he's gonna wait to get the paint. The service is terrible. Or now he goes into Sherwin Williams. Good paint. Gonna be about eight to ten bucks a gallon more, but they have great service. He won't have to wait an hour for paint to get mixed. If he's got any questions, they're gonna be able to accurately answer his questions. Okay, again, quality, service, and price.
SPEAKER_03:Right. Yeah, so it makes a huge difference. Makes a huge difference for sure.
SPEAKER_02:Fulfillment is you gotta be able to deliver the part to the customer as prescribed and one promise.
SPEAKER_03:Yep. Yep, that's such a key piece. And I think that's that's one thing, you know, the the being able to say that you've you've inventoried those vehicles. I know we discussed as well that when you inventory, you're putting that on the shelf. You're not just gonna leave it on the car because you want it to be available right away, right? You have a little bit of a different inventory process than than a lot of other yards do.
SPEAKER_02:Correct. And the problem, and the problem with all of this, okay, and we do a lot of work to maintain the integrity of our inventory with checking locations and everything else, okay. And we do this, this is an ongoing auditing process, okay. And the thing to remember here is any problems that you have, missing parts, damaged parts, it almost always occurs at the point of sale. That's when you catch it, that's when it bites you. So the thing is to do the work and try to minimize all of that, and that's how you're able to fulfill your orders for your customers. And in our our instance, you know, we're in uh high 90s as far as our revenue from uh parts that are off and ready to go.
SPEAKER_03:Yep, that's perfect, that's perfect, and I'm sure that helps with the return rate too that we talked about previously, you know, making sure that's the case.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, it does, and yeah, and the other thing too, and DJ, you'd agree with me on this with your background. Number one rule in business is know your customer, correct? Correct, correct, Marty.
SPEAKER_03:And uh, you know, knowing your customers I think it's it's so correct that you uh make sure that things are accurate and it it's so true that noticing those parts are damaged at the time of sale, especially if those parts are still on the vehicle out in the lot, potentially being, you know, having the weather on them and and all of that different thing, all the different aspects that can happen out whenever it's uh a yard part. So having those inventory could really help all of those different aspects for you.
SPEAKER_02:No, and I think it I think it's used especially with the collision industry, okay? And we'll touch on that a little bit. So for most autorecyclers, uh you know, our source of revenue, okay. You have other yards, but we're gonna talk about professional repairs, okay? 40% of it is collision repair, which is your body shops, okay? And then the rest and rest would be mechanical. That's your drive line, your engines, your mechanical parts in there. Uh I've heard more and more, and it really may it really makes me curious as to why they think what they think, but you have some yards that say the body shops are too hard to deal with. We're not we're not selling sheet metal anymore. How can you exclude that much of a component of your business and be able to buy them cars and be competitive?
unknown:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:Uh it's like the butcher, okay. They butcher sells the whole hog, not just certain parts of it. Uh, but again, it so if we want to have if we want to have more opportunities in industry, okay, and with the shops, we have to do a better job. The big thing with the collision repairs is the late delivery and the poor quality. They don't know what they're gonna get and they're not sure when they're gonna get it. And this is the pushback listen, they buy a new part in the box, okay. They know they can have it tomorrow. Okay. If you look at the pandemic and that, they started to realize that a lot of us really do do a good job. Okay, when these cars weren't available, we were able to save a lot of repairs and get people our cars back.
SPEAKER_04:Right.
SPEAKER_02:And again, it it isn't the shops I've talked with about this, it isn't the markup, it's for poor quality and the late delivery and not knowing when they're gonna get it. And these are the reasons for it. Simply put, you know what? Let's all do a better job and not be liars.
SPEAKER_03:Completely agree with you there. Yep, and and keeping that name, you know, making it so that we're not that junkyard, quote unquote junkyard mentality, getting rid of that, especially when it comes to the collision repair industry uh wanting to be that option, especially when you were saying, you know, the pandemic was happening and we had shortage on you know new aftermarket parts. Uh, it's something that they had to do was rely on recycled parts. So having a reliable feeder yard, like you, you know, having someone that they can go to and and know that you're gonna have the quality part, that's it's gonna be a key part of their business going going into that hard time.
SPEAKER_02:Well, let me ask you a quick question, okay? Yeah, I could put two parts in front of you, any of you a clean part and a dirty part. It'd be the same condition, same quality, same year, same model, same everything. From the layman to the expert, they are always gonna say that clean part is the better part, which leads me to my next phrase. Okay, how much does soap and water and a little elbow grease really cost? Okay, and what kind of what kind of perception does that give people of what we do?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. I mean, and and and and like you said, a little elbow grease will go a long way. And it doesn't cost too much to just put a little spit and shine on that part before you before you ship it out your door, and then you're just representing your business.
SPEAKER_02:Nobody should be delivering a dirty part, period.
SPEAKER_03:Yep. Yep. Should be banned, banned from selling dirty parts. I love it. Awesome. All right. Well, we'll uh take another quick break here. And when we come back, I want to touch base on how uh great Marty has been for uh the peer-to-peer program that he has uh been working with the mentorship and ARA and and his past presidency. And we will be right back here at DJ. You want to take it away for our break?
SPEAKER_00:You got it. That's a perfect time for a break, Amanda. We'll be right back, folks.
SPEAKER_01:The URG Scholarship Foundation was founded in 2014 in honor of individuals who give their talent, time, and very often their own finances to ensure the growth and success of the automotive recycling industry. We understand college is not for everyone. So each year, the foundation offers substantial financial scholarships to auto-recycling employees and the children of employees that are attending four-year and technical or trade schools to assist with their education. Don't leave money on the table. If you have a child or if you're interested in attending continuing education, this money is available to you. Go to U-R-G.com and click on the Scholarship Foundation tab. URG, keeping our industry strong through education.
SPEAKER_00:Welcome back, listeners. Of course, you know you're listening to the URG on the Go podcast, the number one in the automotive industry, and I cannot thank all of you for helping us grow so much. This has been fantastic. Remember to like, review, and share with all your fellow recyclers. Now, if you want an industry expert like Marty, by all means, we have a hotline number in the podcast center. It's 706-409-5603. And we'll be more than happy to get that industry expert on the footline with Amanda Marson, and she will do a great job interviewing him. So just keep that in mind. And thank you for liking and reviewing this podcast. We cannot thank you enough. And that's why we're growing so much. Now, Amanda, I'll turn it over to you for with our great guest.
SPEAKER_03:Thank you so much, DJ. Yes, he's been a uh friend of the industry for a very long time and uh past ARA president. Uh Marty Hollings said, We've got here and we've been talking about QC and you know providing a quality part. And I just wanted to touch base with you. You've helped so many people like David, who we actually had on the podcast here last month, David over at eParts. He was saying that you were just such a fabulous mentor for him. And uh, you know, you've been a part of that peer-to-peer program uh through ARA. And what inspired you to give back, Marty, to the industry?
SPEAKER_02:Well, when I was coming on the uh EC with ARA, Artie Hopper was the outgoing president, okay. And Artie Hopper talked with me, he wanted to do this peer-to-peer mentoring program, okay. And this was his idea, he was the founder of it. Wasn't me, it was him. And I felt I, you know what? I think that's a good idea. I says, uh, I'll help you with it, let's see where we go with it. So me and RD and uh some of the staff in ARA, we crafted this program, okay. And again, my motivation for wanting to do it, okay. When I was new to the business, I had a lot of smart people that had taught me, okay. And I felt this would be a good time for me to give back. Okay. And the mentoring program wasn't it was designed to not only help people are new to the industry, but some people that have been around for a while, and maybe they got out of touch or they were looking for some help or looking for some advice or a fresh set of ice. Okay, so we created this program. We had a questionnaire, and when we were at when we were having it, when we're in this meeting room, okay. DJ, you know who Laurie Beacham is, right? From Australia. Yeah. So I had to take a picture of something of plaque I got made on my wall in my office here. Okay. So he comes up and he hands me a note, okay. And I want to read this note to everybody. So again, we're doing this thing, and you know, I didn't know Lori Beachman that well, other than he looked like an Australian Willie Nelson. But anyhow, he hand me his note that said, every person owes time and money to the industry in which they are engaged. No one has a moral right to withhold his support from an organization that is striving to improve conditions within his sphere. And I had that made into a couple plaques. One is that with Sandy and ARA, and the other one is here. Okay. And this is the importance of us all helping each other and the importance of participation and belonging to groups. The matter, it was very fulfilling. Okay. Uh we felt that if we could, you know, the thing was if we could save one recycler from going out of business, the program would be a success. And it became much more than that.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Okay. And it was a lot of, it was work, and just like with teaching, you know, you got some, you got some fulfilling, some success stories, and you get some that are frustrating also. But people that would listen, and our approach was we would go out to their yard, do a site visit, talk with them, get some information, then come back with an evaluation, and we would give them recommendations on what to do and how to do it. And we would follow up. Some we had reciprocal visits, okay. But uh this was a benefit of being an ARA member, okay, and I think we helped a lot of people. You mentioned David Markham, you know, David was up by me, I was down by him. But the nice thing is, you know, the the nice thing for me would be, you know what, when your people say that, you know, like with DJ, okay, this guy made a positive difference. Okay, and that was the big thing with the mentoring program. And the nice thing about this industry is, you know, we can all be competitors, but we're all willing to help one another. And that's what sets us apart from a lot of other ones. And you know what? You go to visit other places. Go ahead, I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_00:I was gonna tell you, uh, like the Rose brothers, when I first met Brad, I could not believe how many people he helped at Mars Rhodes. And all of a sudden, people sat there, and both he and his brother, Mark, helped so many people, they invited him to the facility. And the thing of it is, so many people have been invited to North Lake to see Marty's facility, and Marty helps them grow. So Marty is the type that helps you grow from within so you never go without, and that's what he is all about. Look at you. Marty is just a wonderful guy. I mean, just wonderful.
SPEAKER_02:He's a poet and he doesn't even know it.
SPEAKER_03:I know, I'm rhyming the whole time. It's awesome.
SPEAKER_00:Uh I just think, and you know, we should tell all of our listeners he is a new member of URG.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, well, not super new, but he's been a member for a little bit now. But we we got him, we got him to to come over and and you are you gonna you're gonna be in Denver, right, Marty? Here coming up in May for the URG conference.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah, I should be, yeah. As long as I'm around.
SPEAKER_00:He'll be there.
SPEAKER_02:I think I already registered. I think I already registered with you guys, so I gotta go know.
SPEAKER_03:Yep, yep, you did. You registered with us from I think the day we opened registration, so that was awesome. So, and and just to let our listeners know, registration is open for the May conference. It'll be May 7th through the 9th in Denver. So uh if you have any questions, feel free to reach out and let me know. Uh uh if you if you need anything or need help getting registered. But Marty, we we really appreciate having you on here and and being such a huge piece of the industry. You're definitely a pillar that people lean on and and someone that people can go to comfortably, as well as I think it's pretty awesome that you've been to so many different yards and have been able to mentor as well through just by visiting to and through the peer-to-peer program. So we really appreciate your contribution to this this industry alone.
SPEAKER_02:Well, like I said, I hope uh you know, I hope I hope we're able to make a difference. Like I said, I'm not there's a lot of smarter people than me, but I will outwork everybody that I will do.
SPEAKER_03:Yep, you've got lots of lots of good information, lots of good feedback. So we appreciate you so much for coming on the podcast today, and uh we look forward to uh debuting this. I think this will be one of the best ones that we have. What do you think, DJ?
SPEAKER_00:I think you are correct. The only thing that I would add, would you be kind enough to give your email address out? Because there are people that are listening to us right now, and you have such a big heart. You helped my friends with his association, you have helped a lot of people. But what I wanted to ask you, there are listeners that have one or two questions about our industry. Could they email you a question and you'd be like the answer man for some of our listeners?
SPEAKER_02:Okay, my you can contact me at Marty, that's M-A-R-T-Y. The letter H is in hotel at N-A-R. That is N as in Nancy, A as an Alpha, R as in Romeo, parts, P-A-R-T-S. I will also be willing to email me. I can give you my cell phone number. Anybody wants to email me and you can talk with me directly if you need to. I'll be happy to answer any questions for anybody, and wherever I can help, uh, I will.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Perfect. Perfect. And if you guys need any help with URG membership, uh, I know Marty and I had a had a review here the other day, and we're talking about uh websites and and and all the different things that we offer here at URG. So I am your gal if you're needing any help uh with your membership and any questions that you guys have. So please feel free to reach out to a morrison, a m-o-r-r-ison at u-r-g dot com. Or you can give me a call at any time as well. My direct line is 512-887-3951. And again, thank you so much, Marty, for for coming on today. We really appreciate it.
SPEAKER_02:All right, one last thing I'd like to close with, okay? Yeah, and that's the that's the importance of us working together as groups.
SPEAKER_04:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:Yes. Uh, you know what? On our own, we're not effective, okay. But as a group, we can all have a voice, and this is the importance of participating, belonging to, and supporting your associations, whether it's on a local, state, or national level. Okay, these associations are here to serve the concerns and interests of our industry, okay, and you know, and you be part of it, be part of the process. Have a voice in it, or you may have somebody making decisions about what will affect you, and you may not like it. And one of the things already operated say too that I'll close with was this, okay? You're either at the table or you are on the plate. Never forget that.
SPEAKER_03:It's a perfect, perfect end note. I completely agree. Make sure you're participating, otherwise, you'll be left behind. That's for sure.
SPEAKER_02:And Amanda and DJ, thank you folks for having me and uh hope I didn't embarrass you.
SPEAKER_03:Never, no, thank you so much, Martin. And it was great to hear your voice, DJ. Thanks for hopping on for this final podcast. We appreciate everything you've done for us.
SPEAKER_00:It's an honor, Amanda. You will do a great job. I'm proud to pass the baton on to you, girl.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, thank you so much, DJ. Thank you, everyone, for listening to URG on the go podcast today. Have a great day.