Issue #1 - Introduction

Welcome to the first issue of “Parts and Availability,” a bi-weekly newsletter dedicated to the heavy-duty parts industry.?

In this newsletter, we’ll cover a wide range of topics within the heavy duty parts and broader trucking environment: industry news, product information, parts sales strategies, the rise in eCommerce, operations management, shifting supply chains, and more.?

Now before you ask, “Who is this guy?”-

Allow Me to Introduce Myself?

My name is Logan Groves, and I’ve been around the trucking industry my whole life.?

I'm your typical know-it-all millennial who grew up in a heavy duty truck repair shop and salvage yard. My childhood was filled with the sounds of clanging tools, piles of salvaged parts and, uh, lots of colourful language.?

After a few years attempting to get my heavy-metal band signed to a record deal and wandering the Prairies during the early 2010s oil boom, my professional career started in earnest when I joined the family business.?

Over the course of six years, I specialized in refurbishing differentials and transmissions. As the years progressed, my duties at the shop evolved into daily operations, sales, and logistics management.?

Then, in 2019, I made the leap into the OEM Dealership world and hit the road in outside parts sales where I grew my territory into a top performer in 6 months, developed an eCommerce platform, and expanded major fleet sales. From there, I transitioned into an operations management role where my primary functions are inventory management and parts sales marketing.?

For me, the heavy duty parts and trucking industry isn’t just a profession. It’s personal. This industry is in my blood. Each day, I bring family history and a lifetime of enthusiasm into what I do.

Blame It On Parts

If you’re a heavy duty parts professional, no matter what title you hold - advisor, sales rep, manager, inventory controller, manufacturer, random person standing in the parts department - you’ve been blamed for a truck not getting back on the road.?

Now if you fall into these categories and are thinking to yourself that’s never happened to me - congratulations! You’re 1 out of 100 that it hasn’t happened to.?

Ok, not true. It’s just happened behind your back. Believe me, you’ve been blamed.?

It’s these realities that lay the groundwork for this newsletter. The trucking industry is the beating heart of the supply chain, and parts are the cells and systems keeping that heart beating. Our responsibility is to get trucks back on the road and keep them on the road.?

And I believe we can be doing a much better job at it.?

Told you I was a know-it-all-millennial.

There Has Got to Be a Better Way

Like many industries coming into 2025, we stand at a crossroads of tradition and innovation. Whether we like it or not, we have to reevaluate and reinvent our strategies.?

That’s part of the ultimate goal of this newsletter: be a place for new ideas and education within the heavy duty parts industry. Along the way, I’ll share personal anecdotes and keep things entertaining.?

My hope is this big soup of topics and ideas become a valuable resource for everyone working in our industry AND others who may just think “parts is parts.”?

I hope you’ll join me for the ride.?

See you next time!?