The first-ever virtual Automotive Parts Associates Annual Shareholders & Suppliers Conference held March 23-25 was already considered a major success by all attendees prior to the conclusion of the event. Noting the primary focus for the event is to provide opportunities for shareholders and suppliers to connect and collaborate, and the APA organizers took every step to ensure a positive outcome. Proving all of the planning and training was advantageous and beneficial with almost 200 supplier representatives and 160 member participants taking part in the informational general sessions, supplier award presentation and most importantly, the one-on-one meetings.
The team noted positive feedback beginning with the registration process, with attendees immediately expressing how easy it was to get started as a result of the technical resources APA provided, like custom tutorials for both shareholders and suppliers along with live support.
Shareholders and suppliers embraced the event’s theme “Making Connections” in a digital environment, by taking advantage of the platform’s matchmaking and networking features to schedule one-on-one meetings with each other through system. The digital foundation of the conference was so popular that APA organizers had to add more meeting days before and after the event’s core dates to accommodate all of the connection requests.
Steve Tucker, President of APA commented, “This business runs on face-to-face relationships and while we would prefer to see each other and do business in person, I am proud of APA’s execution to ensure our shareholders and suppliers were able to continue Making Connections albeit in the virtual environment. I’m also proud of the way our membership stepped up to support the rest of the organization and participated in the event with each other and the supplier community. The pandemic has been a challenge for everyone, and we’re looking forward to seeing everyone again in-person in Atlanta next year. Based on the success of this virtual meeting, I cannot wait to see what we have planned for our return to live events!”
The event is scheduled to return to a live format March 16-18, 2022 at the InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta hotel.
About Automotive Parts Associates, Inc.
Automotive Parts Associates, Inc. is a shareholder-owned cooperative made up of over 475 independent auto parts distributor locations throughout North America. For more information about APA or about membership opportunities, visit www.APA.parts.
