Management in the early years was provided by individuals hired by Mr. Butler to run the stores. The Butler family remained in Alma until 1967 when the Chevrolet dealership was sold and the family moved to Macon. At that time Marshall Butler, the younger son, became general manager of Butler Supply Company. The company continued to expand and in early 1981 Marshall Butler left to manage Butler Toyota Company. Milton Butler, Jr., the older son, assumed management of the company as well as Parts Central, Inc.
Parts Central, Inc. was founded in 1961 and was an outgrowth of the warehouse distributor function of the Butler Supply Company. Milton E. Butler Jr. was the first president of Parts Central and had been employed with Butler Supply since 1958. Parts Central opened a 10,000 square foot building adjacent to the main Butler Supply store in Macon and began supplying the Butler Supply stores as well as other independent jobbers in the area. As with the Butler Supply Company, this began a gradual expansion into a company that is one of the largest warehouse distributors in Georgia, serving over 100 accounts in Georgia. This represents over $20 million in sales.
Expansion began in 1972 when Parts Central moved into a new building of 44,000 square feet and 6,000 square feet of double decked area. In 1977, Parts Central became a part of the Bumper to Bumper franchise outlets and the following year expanded the warehouse by 4,000 square feet. The same year a continuous loop conveyor was installed. In 1986, the warehouse was expanded by 25,000 square feet to a total of 75,000 square feet. Several new offices were built and many others were remodeled.
1988 marked the first year of a unique "cost plus" pricing program called V.I.P. (Volume Incentive Pricing). Parts were priced at the warehouse cost "plus" the costs required to process and deliver them to the customer. This innovative type of pricing allowed our customers to determine their own discounts by the way they made their purchases. Parts Central customers began to realize increasing profits and better operations, in a time when the rest of the industry was temporarily depressed. Our customer base as well as Parts Central, Inc. emerged stronger and more efficient organizations because of V.I.P.
Another area of innovation and industry leadership has been in the area of data processing. The company has been involved with computers since the early 70's, first through a service bureau and then through its own computer system. Parts Central has also developed its own "Point of Sale" computer system, The Parts Central Advantage, for customers. Today, the innovation company, has developed the "first" automated inventory management system (A.I.M.) for our customers to better manage their assets and increase sales.
Management of Parts central has remained with Milton E. Butler, Jr. In 1981 the management of Parts Central assumed the management of the Butler Supply stores and the general accounting offices of Butler Supply were moved to Parts Central's headquarters on Whitfield Street. As with Butler Supply, the future success of Parts Central will depend upon innovative management, committed auto parts professionals and teamwork.
