34
showing up on their radar,’
Counselman argues.
Daglis notes that inventory systems
like APU Solutions are frequently used
in the US whereas sharing details of
parts digitally in Australia, New
Zealand or the UK is not that com-
mon. ‘In that sense, systems that exist
in one part of the world don’t tend to
talk to those on the other side of the
world,’ he laments. Optimising the
scrap sector’s digital inventory on a
global scale is the future. ‘But, let’s
face it, it’s a big job that will take
more than just a couple of weeks of
quarantine,’ Daglis points out.
In New Zealand, Butler offers practical
advice. ‘Don’t forget to put prices in
the system with good descriptions.
Those are the details others are look-
ing for. Don’t be vague, don’t create
secrets.’
Buying with your eyes
It also helps if scrapyards operators
take proper photographs of the stock.
‘You will sell way more quickly if the
photo is crisp and clean and lit well,’
Butler says. ‘At both of my facilities,
we’ve set up a special photo booth
which makes adding images to our
online database very easy. Having pic-
tures that look professional makes a
big difference for new clients and
improves your reputation in the long
run, 100%.’
thrive when the crisis is over. ‘If we
look back at the time directly follow-
ing the great depression, what stands
out is that there was a whole genera-
tion of frugal consumers. People
wanted to save money, not spend too
much. It’s likely that people’s attitude
towards consumerism post-Covid-19
will echo those sentiments.
‘When the dust settles, people won’t
want to spend US$ 50 000 on the lat-
est truck or get thousands of dollars
worth of brand-new auto parts. This
could cause a surge in recycled parts
sales,’ Robertson predicts. ‘They’ll
hold on to their own vehicles, fix them
up, and build up some savings –
they’ll be fine getting scrap parts.
‘We can be our own worst enemy,’
Daglis admits. ‘Some people don’t
even clean the parts before shipping
them off. I’ve seen engines covered in
grime. That’s one way of ruining a first
impression, let me tell you.’
He recalls the early days, getting
started with eBay in 2008. ‘We put
two engines up for sale: one that had
driven many miles and we made it
look beautiful; another that was barely
used but was dirty. In auction, the
clean one sold at twice the price we
had expected. It even created a little
bit of a bidding war,’ Daglis says with
a grin. ‘But the dirty one… it just sat
there. In hindsight, that was a test
case for us. It makes sense, though,
doesn’t it? It matches how we act as
consumers every day. We scrutinise
how a product looks before even con-
sidering buying it. People buy with
their eyes.’
when the dust settles
The question on everyone’s lips is:
what will the future hold? Robertson is
confident that auto recycling will
Peter Butler
With production of factories in China significantly down, original parts are very hard to come buy at the moment.
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