Parts E-Commerce Differentiation – Parts Catalogs

OE service parts e-commerce requires a parts catalog which the buyer uses to select the needed OE part numbers (except for same-franchise dealer-to-dealer parts trade and other special cases where, unaided, the buyer can provide OE part numbers with at least moderately high accuracy).

Types / Sources

Widely available AM (aftermarket) parts catalogs (generally known as e-cats) enable the buyer to build a list of part numbers for substitutes to the OE parts from a range of independent part manufacturers but a list of AM part numbers is not useful to dealers selling OE parts. There are two classes of OE parts catalogs. The first consists of EPCs that are initially built for use by dealer parts departments. Their advantages are: excellent coverage (all OE service-parts for all vehicles produced, for at least the last 20 years), integrated vehicle configuration database that automatically filters out any part that does not fit a specific vehicle (as defined by a VIN) and nearly-perfect accuracy. The disadvantages of using dealer EPCs for parts e-commerce vary by automaker and may include: an overly complex application (and data) that some buyers will not be able to use effectively, dissimilarity to the normalized AM parts catalogs (that are popular with independent repair facilities) and automaker high licensing fees. However, in many cases, automakers’ dealer EPCs are not available due to licensing restrictions.

The alternative to dealer EPCs in OE parts e-commerce is an all-makes OE parts catalog. All-makes OE parts catalogs have evolved from two sources: (i) repair estimating publications and (ii) AM e-cats. In both cases, limited parts data is supplied/licensed by automakers such as files listing all parts, their applications and MSRP. All-makes OE parts catalogs have the advantages of: being easy to use and being consistent across automakers. The disadvantages are: (i) less complete coverage and (ii) less automated filtering, resulting in the risk of more part number errors. Several parts e-commerce vendors claim to have made proprietary improvements to the parts catalogs embedded with their e-commerce application – to the point that, weighted by parts actually ordered via e-commerce, the accuracy is approaching that of the dealer EPC.

Impact / Significance

There is little agreement on how significant the impacts of parts catalogs are on parts e-commerce. In terms of coverage, while all-makes e-cats cover far less than 100% of parts, the parts covered account for nearly all parts weighted units consumed in maintenance and repair. The criticality of part number accuracy is lessened by the practice of franchised dealerships to re-specify all inbound parts e-commerce orders with their dealer EPC. Any errors result in an adjustment to the order, and in those cases where the price changes significantly, the buyer is contacted for authorization.

Shortly after the start of the new century, a parts e-commerce solution was sold and deployed to hundreds of franchise dealers. The parts catalog was so inaccurate that dealers cancelled (and more than a few sued) and the product was withdrawn from the market. The lesson appears to be that while perfect accuracy is best in a parts catalog, a lower (but still high level of accuracy) is satisfactory in many cases – but low accuracy is unacceptable.

 

Last Updated: January 12, 2012.