INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE

Submitted by:
Napolson Mat Rama

From a company that struggles to make ends meet on their first year of existence into a billion dollar company that they are today, LKQ has come a long way since their inception on 1998. LKQ is the nation’s largest provider of used automotive and aftermarket products. LKQ is an acronym for Like, Kind and Quality, which resonates to the company’s mission to provide quality and affordable products to automotive and truck repair industries. "LKQ Corporation History." History of LKQ Corporation – FundingUniverse. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Aug. 2014. I’ll explain our company’s history, business process, strategy for success, organizational culture and lastly my plan for personal growth and development.
To begin with, Mr. Donald Flynn former executive of Waste management founded LKQ. He sought other business opportunities when his former company was acquired by USA waste services. Trying to stay in the same industry, he tried other possibilities like scrap metal but ended up settling down with used automotive parts. He envisioned a company that consolidates different auto recycling centers across the country that can offer a wide variety of auto parts at a lower price to their customers. LKQ stands for “Like, Kind & Quality” a standard designation for their products considered as good as new. "OEM Recycled, New Aftermarket, & Reman Parts - Cars, Trucks, and HD." OEM Recycled, New Aftermarket, & Reman Parts - Cars. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 July 2014.
For the first year, sales were minimal that they didn't make a profit margin at all. Mr. Flynn didn't lose hope He foresee a company that can merge different recycling centers across the country through acquisitions. In this way, he can take advantage of economies of scale and pass on the savings to their customers.
Moving to company’s strategy, Mr. Flynn look for companies that do well in the auto salvage industry and buy them through acquisitions. Moving to company’s strategy, Mr. Flynn look for companies that do well in the auto salvage industry and buy them through acquisitions. Their first purchase was Triplett Automotive Recycling in Akron, Ohio. Triplett was run by Stuart Willen at the time of acquisition, whose three decades of experience gave him a competitive advantage over other companies through sophisticated methods of salvaging that resulted to 20 % percent of revenue growth. Their first acquisition gradually increased overtime, and another notable acquisition is with Hunt’s auto parts in Bronx New York City, it later became LKQ hunts point. According to the website, funding universe.com; this monumental move increased the aggregate revenue of LKQ up to $200 million. It currently served 75% of its market all over the country. "OEM Recycled, New Aftermarket, & Reman Parts - Cars, Trucks, and HD." OEM Recycled, New Aftermarket, & Reman Parts - Cars. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 August 2014.
Due to LKQ’S rapid success other companies try to assemble a similar pattern. In 1999, Ford created Greenleaf acquisition to rival LKQ. On the other hand, LKQ brush it aside and focus on improving their after-sales support by offering a six-month free replacement guarantee in their products, arguably the longest one in the industry. Our company maintained a strong relationship to insurance companies and their other partners, which later LKQ was named the preferred supplier for both Nationwide and All-state insurance companies.
In 2003, the company had 38 recycling facilities and 12 distribution center, they decided to make an initial public offering in NASDAQ to fund further expansion and pay down debt. The initial public offering took place in October 2003 and raised $91 million moreover in the same year revenue surged to $ 328 million.
In the next year, they sought other opportunities and move to aftermarket business. They acquired Metro East Salvage, in Illinois and bought five self-service outlets in Tampa, Florida. In the middle part of 2004, LKQ acquired $75 million line of credit and started expansion overseas. They bought used parts facilities in Guatemala and Costa Rica; this move helped them earned $ 2.47 Billion, the first in the company’s history.
LKQ’S strategy for success is through acquisitions. LKQ look for companies that we think, can offer us a competitive advantage, that the end goal is we can offer of price and quality that we can give to our customers. LKQ stands out by offering the best after sales service to our customers. Moreover we try to keep up with the changing times by adapting to new innovations and technology. Our recent utilization of P.C tablets, in bidding cars is a good example. It made our work more efficient and faster.
Next is business process, and our business starts with acquiring damaged up to totaled vehicles from auction sites all over the country. We send our scouts in advance in each auction sites to investigate the vehicles that we are interested in bidding. The scout obtains the basic information like car’s model, mileage and determines which parts on the specified vehicles are recyclable. This information is forwarded electronically, through our bid analyst via their handheld device called Bid- pad. The bid analyst analyzes the cars that we bought comparing to our inventory system with respect to the parts that we need for future purposes. The analyst set a maximum bid price that our bidders could use to purchase a vehicle at an auction. Moving on we purchase other vehicles at the auction. Aside from auction sites, we obtain our vehicles from insurance companies, banks and vehicle; these arrangements eliminate the extra fees that we pay on auction sites, it would give us lower expenditure in our variable cost. Aside from auction sites, we obtain our vehicles from insurance companies, banks and vehicle manufacturers. These arrangements eliminate the extra fees that we pay on auction sites. It would give us lower expenditure in our capital.
In every business, organizational culture is different in every company. It might depend on the nature of the industry and location. In my part, as someone that came from a different background; which is the food industry, salvage car business is a different ballgame for me. I work for the buyer's department, part of the procurement section of the company. Most of the people who works there are predominantly white, and I felt that it was hard for someone from different ethnicity to mingle with them. First week of work; I greeted everyone and introduced myself. As a newcomer that’s my way of being nice and civil in the workplace. However after 2 weeks of work, I felt that some of my colleagues does not like me at all. I guess the saying is true that you couldn’t please every-body we just need to stay true to ourselves. Moving on to my typical workday; my typical work day consist of sitting down at my desk, working at my bid-pad and my computer. Occasionally, I chat with my friends around break-time and get to know them a little bit. In our office, there are 5 rows of cubicles and each row there’s a designated leader where we normally asked for help. Typically it’s a top to bottom company, where company rules and regulations are sent from above going down. What I like in our place is we have a casual work environment, where we can wear whatever we want. It gives me comfort and freedom rather than wearing a traditional long-sleeve and tie.
As for my career map, now that I'm on my senior year in college, I can see now the bigger picture. I know what I want, and I stand firm on my goals and aspirations. First is business, coming out from working in the restaurant for six years. It gives me an insight on how to deal with people and how to convince them. I learned how to read patterns and predict the best situation coming out from any specific situation. Moreover I love music; that is my other passion. I learned how to tap-in to my emotions and create songs that are special to me. I'm hoping to land a career, where I can do both business and music at the same time. It would be a great thing to do the thing that you love and earn money at the same time. The CEO should be aware that there’s not much diversity in his company because it is predominantly white which comprises 90% of the total workforce. I think that a mighty workforce should be a good mixture of diversity to enable different positive ideas to grow inside the company. If the CEO could instruct the H.R department to increase the chances of hiring other ethnicities given that they qualify for the said position. This would be a great step in achieving this goal.
Based on our Parts guide, here are some of the examples of parts that we sell at LKQ.
LKQ. Parts Replacement Standardization Guide. Chicago: LKQ, 2003. Print In the Front assembly this is where we can find headlamps, grill, hood lastly left and right fender.

In pick bidding front and rear door we make sure that there’s no major scratches and dents.

In pick-bidding this parts, we are extra careful especially if the primary damage is rollover or top roof damage.

This is the rear part of the car, where we took the tail lamps and sold it separately.

In picking up these parts, we try to make sure there are no dents and scratches.

We try to stay away from these parts if the primary damage is rear and side collision.

In picking the front side of the car we’re careful not to pick a door with no side mirror because there’s a big chance that door is damaged as well.

In headlamps and taillights, we’re careful not to pick any headlamp that is faded and blurred and older than year 2000 lamps.

We have a rule for pickups, if its 2006 model and higher, we knock off the other box and subtract 50 on both lid and the box.

In picking the steering wheel, we are just cautious to take it, if the left tire is damaged and its front wheel-drive.

In wheels and strut assembly they are always included in the front and rear bumper.

In picking the rear axle, we are cautious if rear bumper is damaged or not.

From the pictures that we see in picbids, we couldn’t decide if the full frame is damaged or not, but we rely on how the front and rear bumper looks before we decide.

In picking Engine assembly, we consider it as long as the engine is not moved or crushed.
In picking up transmission, we need to consider if it is FWD, AWD or RWD, because of the way they are sitting in the hood.
In RWD and AWD the transmission is sitting at the back of the engine that would make it safe from any front collision. On the other hand, FWD is sitting beside the engine that would make it susceptible to any front hits.

In summary, LKQ has come a long way since their humble beginnings; I enjoy my entire internship experience with LKQ. It’s a different industry from the restaurant business that I get used to, but at the end of the day it’s all worth it. Working at LKQ teach me how to think outside the box and be creative. Furthermore, LKQ is a true testament that another man’s trash can another’s man’s treasure, and I’m proud to be part of it.

Bibliography:
"LKQ Corporation History." History of LKQ Corporation – FundingUniverse. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Aug. 2014.
LKQ. Parts Replacement Standardization Guide. Chicago: LKQ, 2003. Print.