MetroGistics has hired Terry Mollica as director of business development. His duties will include helping to expand MetroGistics’ presence to its growing customer base, with a focus on the remarketing segment.
Mollica has more than 18 years of sales and marketing experience, including the automotive, captive finance remarketing and consumer industries. Prior to joining MetroGistics, he was the vice president of business development at WeGoLook, LLC and the director of business development at DataScan Field Services, LLC. Mollica also worked for SGS Automotive North America.
Mollica attended Arizona State University and the University of Connecticut. He enjoys volunteering with the American Cancer Society and the Humane Society.
“We look forward to all the positive qualities Terry will bring to our business development team,” David Larson, executive vice president of business development, said in a news release. “His previous experience proves he is driven and dedicated, and we are grateful to have him at MetroGistics.”
MetroGistics, a provider of automotive logistics services, has hired Terrance Evans to be director of business development.
Evans brings more than five years of experience in a variety of industries, including manufacturing and automotive logistics. His employment history includes working as a sales representative for Pleasant Prairie Logistics in the finished-vehicle-logistics spectrum. Evans was also the sales manager for Jack Cooper Logistics, LLC.
Additionally, he was the territory sales manager for Swisher International, which accounts for one-third of the nation’s cigar sales.
“We’re excited to have Terrance on board with us,” David Larson, executive vice president of business development, said in a news release. “His previous sales and management experience has prepared him for this role, and we are sure his presence will have a positive impact on this company.”
In her role at United Road, Rhea Kuntz heads up operations in the National Sales Center.
United Road debuted the NSC in 2011, and it manages of hundreds of thousands of remarketed vehicle transports each year throughout the U.S. and Canada.
In 1989, Kuntz — a 2016 Women in Remarketing honoree — joined MPG Transport, which eventually became part of United Road during the latter’s founding.
When asked about her path to the car business, Kuntz said: “In 1989, I was working for a truck leasing company that a predecessor company of United Road utilized. They recruited me to car haul and I haven’t looked back since, performing multiple roles in administration, process improvement, customer service, carrier management and dispatch, among others.”
She added: “The entry was accidental, but car hauling gets in your blood. I’m from Indiana, but once in Detroit, it was easy to recognize that there was something very special about this industry. Great people. Great cars. Great opportunity.”
One of the opportunities that Kuntz has enjoyed has been mentoring the new generation of auto industry professionals. When asked about the advice she would give to folks looking to become leaders in the auto industry, she encourages them to learn, listen and be curious.
“Be willing to sacrifice and invest in your team, your customers and your company and love what you do,” she added. “The rewards will follow.”
Mentorship itself has been rewarding for her.
“Sharing what I’ve experienced to help mold the future leaders of our company is maybe the most rewarding of all. It’s a lot of fun and very complex — especially the evolving use of technology in logistics,” she said.
“I’m fortunate to work for a company that continues to invest heavily in tech advancements, patenting its own proprietary operating systems and continuously leading the logistics industry in new applications and efficiencies,” Kuntz added. “We’ve had the capacity to be fully paperless for 10 years, for instance, though many competitors are still catching up.”
Speaking of technology, that has been the biggest area of change, by far, that Kuntz said she has seen in the area of the car business in which she works.
“When I started everything was done manually,” she said. “Now we move 3 million cars per year throughout the U.S. and Canada, have real-time visibility, great load building efficiencies, can handle a move 100-percent electronically and are still making advancements. Who knows what’s around the corner?”
In the rare opportunity she gets to step away the work, Kuntz enjoys gardening, spending time with the family and getting outdoors.
Check out the April 15 edition of Auto Remarketing to learn more about the entire class of 2016 Women in Remarketing honorees.
These outstanding leaders will be honored at Used Car Week 2016, where we will be launching our National Remarketing Conference partnership with the National Auto Auction Association.
Used Car Week is scheduled for Nov. 14-18 at the Red Rock in Las Vegas.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration hosted a media conference call on Friday, outlining its current actions and future plans to prepare for the impending legislative needs of the United States in regards to future automated automobile technologies.
NHTSA’s communications director Gordon Trowbridge fielded many questions from journalists and industry analysts, including quite a few trying to get a better idea of when we can expect automated technologies, such as self-driving vehicles, to actually become a widespread reality. In short, Trowbridge made it clear that NHTSA’s role in the situation is to make sure it is prepared when such technologies do become widespread, not to decide when it actually happens.
The fact that the automotive and technology industries appear to be getting closer to making self-driving cars a reality in the next decade is evident, however, and NHTSA says it is taking several further actions to prepare.
One such action is to hold two separate public meetings in April to allow interested parties to come and provide feedback to NHTSA with their concerns and suggestions to help the federal body develop guidelines for the safe development of automated safety technologies.
The first will be held on April 8 in Washington, D.C.; the second will be held later in April at a yet-to-be-disclosed location in California, according to Trowbridge. He says that additional information for the California meeting, including the time, location and how the public can participate, will be released soon.
Trowbridge also said that NHTSA has engaged in a number of conversations with state legislations to get a dialogue rolling to keep the lines of communications open between state and federal governments on the topic of automated vehicle technologies. In terms of who will decide whether a vehicle’s automated technologies are safe, whether it be state or federal authorities, is still undefined.
In a release from NHTSA, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx commented on the organization’s goals in this situation.
“We are witnessing a revolution in auto technology that has the potential to save thousands of lives,” Foxx said. “In order to achieve that potential, we need to establish guidelines for manufacturers that clearly outline how we expect automated vehicles to function — not only safely, but more safely — on our roads.”
Establishing operational guidelines is just one of five of NHTSA’s initiatives that Foxx announced in January during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Here are the other four, as NHTSA listed in the release:
- President Obama’s budget proposal for a 10-year, $3.9 billion investment in advancing autonomous vehicle technology, including large deployment pilots in communities around the country.
- Working with states to develop model state policy.
- Using NHTSA’s existing authority to interpret current regulations, and offer limited exemptions from those regulations, in pursuit of advances that could increase safety.
- Determining what new regulatory tools and authorities might be required to meet NHTSA’s safety mission in an era of rapidly changing technology.
NHTSA also released its initial assessment of current Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to identify the key challenges ahead between now and the full deployment of automated vehicles.
The report, prepared by the USDOT’s Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, basically found that there are very few existing federal regulatory hurdles for the deployment of automated vehicles that feature traditional designs and equipment that accommodate a human driver, for example those containing traditional controls like a steering wheel, gas and brake pedals, etc. According to Trowbridge, the biggest challenge will be in the area for new automated vehicles designs that don’t feature such traditional designs.
NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind commented on the findings of the report in a release from the administration earlier today.
“The Volpe Center report is a great first look at current standards, and it highlights the need for the actions Secretary Foxx outlined in January,” Rosekind said. “It also shows there are few current restrictions on some automated vehicle concepts, which highlights the need to establish clear expectations for their safe operation. At the same time, for other vehicle designs, the agency has more work to do to ensure the safety of new innovations, and we look forward to learning more from stakeholders as we start that work.”
The full report from The Volpe Center can be accessed here.
Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems’ fourth appearance on the Triangle Business Journal’s annual Fast 50 list is also its first time coming in at No. 1, representing the top of the top of the fastest-growing private companies in the Raleigh-Durham area.
The company was founded by two software supply chain experts, Steven Norwood and Terry Groves, in 2005.
“We have a long history of growth and profitability,” Norwood said. “Our financial stability in the industry makes us the partner of choice for many service providers such as repossession, skip trace, door knock and auction agents. We are extremely grateful to our employees, customers and partners for helping make us the number one company on this year’s TBJ Fast 50 list.”
The Triangle Business Journal selects and ranks its Fast 50 winners annually based on a formula that counts revenue growth and profitability in the preceding three years – in this case, 2012 through 2014. The results and rankings were analyzed and verified by PwC, an accounting firm.
To find out more about CARS, visit its site here.
MetroGistics announced Thursday that its 4th Annual Monster Mash Halloween costume party fundraiser on Oct. 3 netted nearly $15,500 for two nearby charities.
Hosted in the Soulard Preservation Hall in St. Louis, the event raised funds for the Humane Society of St. Clair County, Mich., and Helping Strays, the Human Society of Monroe County, Ill.
More than 100 attendees enjoyed food, drink, music and prizes, with those in attendance receiving special Monster Mash t-shirts to commemorate the event.
William Billiter, MetroGistics’ managing partner, said the event has never seen such a turnout.
“This annual fundraiser has outgrown our office, so we had to move it offsite,” Billiter said. “We appreciate all of the sponsors and participants who supported this event, and we’re already looking to see how we can top ourselves next year.”
Sponsors for the event included Backup Parachute Software; McCarthy, Leonard & Kaemmerer; and Twist Integrated Marketing, collectively allowing 100 percent of the proceeds from ticket sales to directly benefit the charities.
For more information on MetroGistics, visit its site here.
Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems — again the sponsor of this year’s Re3 Executive of the Year Award to be presented during Used Car Week — is offering two chances to attend a free webinar examining the issues associated with vehicle transportation.
The session titled, “Leveraging Transportation to Optimize Recovery Costs: A Look Into the Future,” will delve into four specific topics, including:
• What does the existing transportation industry look like?
• What are the challenges we face?
• What steps to take to manage a more efficient /compliant model?
• What does the future hold for transport?
The free webinar is being presented by Steve Brown, CARS’ director of sales for the Central and Western U.S. The hour-long session also will include a Q&A segment.
CARS is hosting the webinar twice on Aug. 18. Managers interested in participating in the session that begins at 1 p.m. ET can register here while managers who prefer to join in at 4 p.m. ET can register here.
Ready Auto Transport announced Tuesday the release of a set of new transportation tools available within AutoIMS, the Auto Auction Services Corporation’s remarketing technology application.
The toolset gives consignors more control over logistics management as part of the end-to-end inventory management process.
The aim of the integration, according to John Blobner, Ready Auto Transport’s vice president of technology and general manager, is to increase the speed of the process from consignment to delivery of a vehicle as well as assist customers with multiple consignments and “create robust processes for order processing, transportation service and business reporting.”
“This technology marks the beginning of a near to real-time transportation communication experience for customers, connecting all transportation activities from Ready’s system, our partner auctions and qualified carrier network within the AutoIMS communications infrastructure,” Blobner said.
Robert Williams, the chief software architect at AutoIMS, commented on the qualities of the upgrade.
“Our integration with Ready Auto Transport gives consignors greater visibility into the transportation process and promises to reduce cycle times and costs for all participants, thus furthering our mission to bring the remarketing industry together,” Williams said.
The AutoIMS program provides automated transportation alerts, communicating updates or changes to vehicle specifications, pick-up or drop-off locations, estimated time of arrival changes and special notes.
For more information, you can contact Jane Gitere, Ready Auto Transport’s senior director of commercial sales, at (480) 729-8725.
Car Delivery Network recently announced the launch of vinYARD, a cloud-based yard-management solution that helps shippers and carriers track and manage vehicle inventory at various storage points.
One key feature of vinYARD is its eGATE system, which replaces paper bills of lading and load sheets and simplifies the overall process by allowing truckers to exit facilities electronically, and increases the accuracy of real-time inventory and damage monitoring for shippers and carriers.
Several companies have successfully piloted the solution, including Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Union Pacific, Sierra Mountain Express and Alliance Inspection Management at the Council Bluffs railhead in Omaha, Neb.
For what CDN says is the first online yard and inventory management system, vinYARD also accomplishes the following, as listed by the company:
- Includes a single data connection interface (API) for truck carriers and rail operators to pass data back and forth, in real-time, facilitating the “eGATE out” process.
- Supports inbound vehicle process, “eGATE in.”
- Provides a single data connection interface (API) which allows carriers and their sub-haulers to connect to multiple rail operators at different yards.
- Pre-integrated with CDN’s other solutions: vinDELIVER and ePOD application.
- Allows any truck carrier to add eGATE functionality to its existing ePOD application.
- Allows on-site inspection companies to verify and sign off on damage electronically on the truck carrier’s device.
For more information on CDN’s offerings, including vinYARD, visit its website.
The AutoWurld subscription-based wholesale network now has transportation services available.
The company has partnered with United Road, adding auto transport to the list of third-party volume-priced support services that AutoWurld member dealers receive at a discounted rate.
That list also includes warranty and inspection services.
The launch of AutoWurld was announced in early March, and the company has since added Prime Auto Care and One Guard to provide those warranty and inspection services, respectively.
“Last year, United Road impressively delivered more than 3 million vehicles for over 10,000 unique customers,” said AutoWurld founder and chief executive officer Troy Mack.
“With a network of over 6,000 company owned and carrier partner trucks that operate out of numerous terminals across North America, we are pleased to extend United Road’s diverse service offering, highly trained driving professionals, expansive geographic footprint, proven safety record and patented technology to our members at a discounted rate,” Mack added.
Liza Nuernberg, United Road’s director of business development for the Midwest, said: “One of our key differentiators is our proprietary OVISS (Online Vehicle Information Shipping Solution) management logistics information system.
“Our patented technology gives customers real time GPS order visibility, event reporting and car delivery confirmation,” she added. “The status of a customer’s auto transport is never more than a click away. We have a trusted reputation in the industry and are pleased to partner with AutoWurld.”
