In a move to diversify business, Wheeler Fleet Solutions opens new Somerset retail center
Every day, customers across the country order vehicle parts online from Wheeler Fleet Solutions in Somerset — and now locals have a pick-up option as well.
On Friday, Wheeler Fleet Solutions President Chad Wheeler and his son, Henry, cut a ribbon to officially open the company’s newest location at 1736 N. Center Ave., near Lowe’s. This site includes a retail parts counter and 65,000 square feet of warehouse space to support a rapidly growing online sales program.
The company has more than 50,000 vehicle parts in stock and offers 300,000 parts in its online catalog to order for light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles, including passenger vehicles, delivery trucks and tractor-trailers.
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“Our two primary centers in the industrial park are honestly out of room,” Wheeler said. “Over the last couple of years we’ve tried to diversify into e-commerce fulfillment of our own wheelerfleet.com website, as well as a whole commercial division.
"It’s been going really well, and we simply ran out of room.”
The retail parts counter is open to the public, but customers won’t see a typical store when they enter the building. The addition of a retail parts counter was intended as a service to commercial businesses in the area rather than another source of revenue, Wheeler said.
“I don’t want any local parts outfits to think we’re hoping to compete with them. That’s not what we’re here for,” he said. “We just have so much product now that we feel that, locally, the socially responsible thing to do is to say, in Somerset County, if you have a need for this level of (hard parts), it’s going to be here.
“Our idea was, if it’s all going to be here anyhow, we need a retail piece specifically for some of the parts stores around here. We feel like they would be a good customer because they’re getting demands for (parts) that they have to have shipped from other places — and they could be a customer of ours.”
Local auto repair shops, commercial businesses with a vehicle fleet and anyone who works on vehicles professionally can reduce the downtime involved in waiting for a part to arrive by calling Wheeler Fleet Solutions or ordering online, then picking up the order themselves.
“There’s so much stuff we have, everyone needs to be aware of what we have,” Wheeler said. “Everyone has air filters, oil filters, but if someone (has) a big truck that needs a power steering pump, no one’s going to have that. You can order it a lot of places, but no one’s going to have it on the shelf. We stand a good chance of having it.
“Those customers are ordering from us online and we’re filling those same orders. So all we’re saying is, you’re ordering off of us now — so businesses here, you should be aware of (the retail parts counter) because you can just come get the stuff.”
Wheeler Fleet Solutions held a grand opening on Friday and Saturday to introduce the new location to the community. The retail parts counter is to be open from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
More information can be found by visiting wheelerfleet.com, emailing info@wheelerfleet.com or calling 866-439-2329.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Wheeler Fleet Solutions new retail center in Somerset
