• Turn 14 Distribution (T14) is a Performance Warehouse Distributor with distribution facilities strategically located across the continental United States.
• The automotive industry’s largest trade show, SEMA, is an annual pilgrimage that allows T14 to interface with current and prospective customers, vendors, and enthusiasts.
• The “Visionary 8” recognition is a rebrand of SEMA’s “35 under 35” award, which spotlights young industry talent who are helping drive innovation.
• Dan Ziegler, T14’s Business Partner Integration Manager, was a proud recipient of this 2024 award, echoing the WD’s forward-thinking, solutions-based commitment to its dealer network.

When it comes to essential ingredients, it’s seldom that compromise will yield the best taste. Indeed, there’s a reason why some things are considered crucial, and within the automotive aftermarket, there’s one wholesale distributor who has kept that important lesson in mind since its founding: Turn 14 Distribution.

Turn 14 Distribution has risen through the ranks quickly because of its steadfast commitment to its customers, vendors, technology, and staff. As a result, its reputation is vastly different than the distributor stereotype—Turn 14 Distribution exists in service of the industry—and this year, SEMA has helped reinforce that message by bestowing one of its most coveted awards to one of our own: Dan Ziegler.

VISIONARY 8

Ziegler became a proud part of the 2024 “Visionary 8.” If the name sounds unfamiliar, the Visionary 8 program is a rebrand of the longer-standing “35 under 35” award. Nevertheless, the intention has remained the same over the last 12 years: recognize the young movers and shakers—ones who are on track to become leaders in the industry and bring fresh perspectives and innovation in tow.

“‘Visionary 8′ will maintain the ’35 Under 35’ legacy while enhancing the quality of representation that is given to our industry’s rising stars,” said Jose Escobar, SEMA manager of recognition programs. “The list is now more competitive than ever, and the selection process will be even more rigorous.”

FAMILIAR FACES

Ziegler wasn’t the only familiar face at the awards presentation. We ran into Cavan Cameron, too—the young gun in the father-son duo that spawned the 2000-horsepower “Hammerhead” project. Deservedly, he was a part of the Visionary 8 batch, showing an entire generation of builders what could be possible with modern materials, engineering ingenuity, a knack for social media, and some valuable lessons from his dad: “Stay curious, ask questions, be humble. Listen as much as you talk. Racing is full of people who think they know everything.”

Ziegler didn’t build anything on the showroom floor, per se. Instead, his contributions—the ones that earned him a merited place among good company—were in the data that helps run the entire industry behind the scenes. As this “electronic gold” becomes increasingly important, so too will Ziegler’s contributions. He has created a viable pathway for its customers to grow their business without taking on the exorbitant expense of an in-house development team.

INTERVIEW WITH DAN ZIEGLER

After coming back from the whirlwind that is SEMA, I sat down with Dan Ziegler at T14 HQ to get the low down on the Visionary 8 award, how other young people can get noticed in the industry, and how he and Turn 14 Distribution are helping steer the automotive aftermarket towards the future.

The Visionary 8 award is the new 35 under 35. In what ways do you feel the new title highlights what the award should be about and who can/should win it?
I love that this revamp of the award is honing in on a smaller group of talented individuals who are “moonshooting” for the next generation of aftermarket enthusiasts from a wide variety of perspectives. We all have our unique perspectives on the “Vision” for the industry and the changes and evolutions we need to make to get it there, and we’re all well on our way to doing that in our own ways.

I love it. For the young enthusiasts in the industry, how do you recommend getting noticed for this award?
I’m a huge believer that if you love what you’re doing, that passion is infectious. It makes it easy to evangelize whatever you’re doing and find other people in the industry who align with your mission. Once you have your “tribe,” it helps facilitate collaboration and make waves. That’s how your efforts can be noticed and recognized by industry organizations like SEMA.

Makes sense! Talk to us about the steps you’ve taken to get noticed for this nomination.
I’ll be honest: none of this has been about getting noticed. I’m super passionate about helping people use technology to their advantage, and I’m lucky to have a job and career path that has allowed me to do this every day. I’m appreciative that our dealer network (and the industry as a whole) recognizes my contributions through Turn 14 Distribution. Our leadership also does an amazing job highlighting our team’s impact on our customers.

Talk to us about your field of work and how it’s become more pertinent in the modern e-commerce/WD world.
My background is in software engineering. In fact, when I came on full-time at Turn 14 Distribution—after doing two Drexel co-op cycles—working on our in-house built API was one of my first projects. While building our API, I thought about how to maximize the volume of dealers who could take advantage of our great data without having to be a website developer.

In this day and age, when someone is looking to get repairs or buying parts, they’re likely to start their research on the internet, so just having a presence online is non-negotiable. Where you set yourself apart is the experience once you get there. It must be robust, tout a fast-and-easy fulfillment process, and be easy to use—from finding the products to having all the right details—descriptions, fitment data, etc.—that help consumers confidently make the right decision.

Today, the Integrations Department at Turn 14 Distribution—an automotive and powersports industry first for a wholesale distributor (WD)—can help guide our customers through that journey, whether you have an existing site you want to integrate or you’re starting from scratch. We can provide guidance and feedback based on our experience with our dealer network and showcase partners that meet their platform requirements. As a result, our customers can confidently partner with the right company that will help make their vision and goals a reality.

I love this approach. And it’s incredibly humbling to be part of an organization that’s keen on being such a pioneer for the industry. Talk to us about how it feels to win this award and what it means for T14.
It’s extremely rewarding and humbling to get this recognition. I love my job; our Integrations Department (Mark and Erik), leadership, co-workers, dealers, and partners are all amazing people to collaborate with on a daily basis. The award shows how committed we are as a company to advancing technology that not only helps create a great fulfillment experience but also a time-saving one. It ultimately represents a massive sales growth opportunity for our dealers. We have always been a proponent of enabling dealers of all shapes and sizes to have access to these levers so they can grow their business, and I’m proud to be a conduit for that through the Integrations Department at T14.

To know that’s been a part of Turn 14 Distribution’s working culture for so long is fantastic to hear. Can you contextualize how T14 has helped you pursue the right solutions for the industry?
I’m extremely grateful to have the support of our co-founders, Jon Pulli and Chris Candido, who have supported my growth and personal development from being an intern on our Web Development team to building my own department focused on getting customers integrated. When I talked with Chris about supporting our dealers via our API—by building out that support/developer evangelist inbox—I got his full support, along with some key advice that has continued to guide us today:

1. Find partners that already have mutual customers. This will allow us to align on a common goal and mission: best serving our mutual customers.
2. Instead of picking a single platform that is a winner, build a network of viable partners and educate our customers on all the options available to them. This will allow them choice, and they can find the best partner that works for their business. Having competition also drives our partners to continue to improve their integrations.
3. Listen to the feedback of our partners and customers. Think about how we can continue to develop our APIs or create new partnerships that will continue to provide an industry-leading integration experience.

Of course, none of this would be possible without our fantastic development team that not only creates these endpoints but ensures they remain performant, reliable, and bug-free. We’ve optimized the internal feedback loop so we can quickly resolve issues that impact our customers and partners.

I’m also grateful that we’ve been able to become our own department within the company and have the appropriate staffing to not only support our customers, but also expand our capabilities. As we continue to grow and get involved in more industries— like powersports—we’ll continue to evolve our vision of what an integration could look like, or what mediums it can take. We know we have the support of leadership and ownership to grow and evolve, becoming even more flexible and accommodating for our dealers and their integration needs.

Thanks for taking the time to chat with us, Dan. Congratulations on bringing home one of SEMA’s top honors; we are all incredibly proud of the work you’re doing with Turn 14 Distribution and the industry as a whole.

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