On-Line Parts Business Booming

On-Line Parts Business Booming TRACTORS Parts 31-3-6 Need a part for an old tractor? If you can't find it locally, on-line parts websites are a good place to look. Tractor parts websites are doing big business, but the personal touch is still vital, says one tractor parts web entrepreneur. "We're a service organization," says Jamie Wells, owner and founder of Falcon Industries. "A lot of people don't know exactly what they need. They can give the make and model of the tractor and describe what's torn up, and we tell them what part they need." Wells got his first order for a part in 2001. This past year his Falcon Industries, based in Glasgow, Ky., sold more than a million parts. The real secret to success is telephone operators who know how to work with customers and with a software system that tracks parts and more. "There are a lot of tractor parts websites out there," says Wells. "We take pride in trying to cover all makes and models. If we don't have the part listed, we will try to find it." Wells started Falcon Industries by selling his grandfather's parts inventory. His grandfather had retired from more than 50 years in tractor repair. He told Wells he only wanted to recover his costs. Wells could keep the profits. Local sales were poor, and then he got on the internet in 2001. "Timing was right," says Wells, who watched demand and his resulting parts inventory explode. The problem he ran into was that an aftermarket part might fit two or three different brands and multiple tractors within each brand. He needed to track it by his parts number and by the different parts numbers on each brand. After one false start with software, he found a system called ACCTivate that lets his operators record a customer's parts number by his specific make and model. The system automatically lets the operator pull and ship that same part by Falcon's inventory stocking number, yet invoice the customer with his parts number. Orders on-line are handled the same with the customer only needing to know his parts number. Wells advises anyone thinking of doing internet sales to find a good software system. Not only does having the system keep his costs low and customers happy, it also tracks customer order history. "We have thousands of customers, and this system helps us keep up with them because everything is in one system," says Wells. "We know what's going on when someone has an issue." The toughest part of his business, he admits, is keeping up with an ever-expanding inventory. "For example, we have the largest selection of tractor decals in the world, manufacturing most of them, and we are constantly adding more," says Wells. Falcon is currently home to four websites:www.tractorpartsinc.com, www.8ntractors.co, www.fordtractorpart. com and www.ford-tractor.us. Wells plans to soon add two more websites and a traditional printed parts catalog for customers without access to the internet. Toll-free callers can order a limited number of parts for implements. That is something Wells hopes to expand to the internet. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Falcon Industries, P.O. Box 2187, Glasgow, Ky. 42142 (ph 270 651-2547 or 877 292-0833; fax 270 651-0462; tpi@glasgow-ky.com; www.tractorpartsinc.com).

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