The trend toward greater use of technology in trucks and trailers is clear and continues to increase. It is important to understand the impact of technology on the aftermarket and the opportunity that is represents. NEW 2016 Study will EXPLORE the current size and forecast of the electronic components aftermarket.

The study will:

• Quantify in units and revenue dollars the current electronic replacement market
• Examine failure modes and maintenance practices
• Assess distribution channels and points of service
• Identify life cycle differences and similarities

Coming from the parts business, I know why this happens. The distributor gets the sensor from one supplier and the o-ring from another. Parts come in separate shipments and are then placed in separate bin locations in their parts warehouse. The computer doesn’t know they belong together unless someone tells it.

In this increasingly competitive market, distributors need to set themselves apart from the competition. One way is to implement parts kitting solutions for your customers. If you hand a customer a more convenient way to do something, chances are, if it is a good value, they’ll take it.

Step One -  do a detailed analysis of your sales data. Where do customers buy related parts together on a regular basis. Offer the customer the opportunity to purchase those parts as a kit. For example, does a customer seem to continuously purchase a water pump and gasket as separate line items? Why? You know and they know the gasket is needed, so why not sell it as one SKU? This saves your customer time in ordering and from hunting down yet another part both in your parts catalog or website as well as in their own parts department.

Other potential kit ideas:

PM kits – create different SKU’s by recommended maintenance intervals. Depending on the interval, include Oil, Air, Fuel filters and other necessary items like belts, drain plug washers, etc.

Wheel bearing kits – seals and bearings, castle nut, pin; per wheel end or per axle

Brake kits – calipers, rotors, pads; rotors and pads and related hardware

Any part that requires a gasket – include a new gasket

Parts that require new bolts or fasteners – include the bolts or fasteners

Step Two - interview your customer. What do they have a particular problem with? Which jobs have become costlier? Become a solution provider. In my prior life at a parts distributor, we had a customer who had a lot of drum brakes in their light duty truck fleet, but didn’t like the downtime necessary to change them out piece by piece. We set up a rebuilding shop in our parts warehouse and rebuilt their drum brakes – repainting the backing plates and fastening new shoes and hardware. The new SKU became a bolt-on solution. It cost more than the individual parts, but the new solution saved in labor and downtime.

Step Three - analyze your inventory. Do you have excess stock in brake pads? Putting parts into a kit can help move excess inventory. What parts should be sold together?

Kits may cost a little more in your upfront labor and should be priced accordingly. Most of the kits listed above are parts that would have been placed in the same box for shipment anyway. You are just doing that upfront instead of on the packing line. So, in most instances the incremental cost should be negligible. The ROI has to be there, but convenience, lower labor cost and less downtime are universally an easier sell. 

PLANNING AHEAD

We are looking at booth space at TMC (Feb 27 - March 2) and if you would like us to tap into the minds of fleets, this show is one of the best!

Trivia Answer: Earth Wind & Fire