What happens when you can’t get replacement parts when you need them? Longer downtime, loss of revenue for the company, and drivers with fewer paid miles (which adds to their dissatisfaction and possible defection). Shop management and parts workers are also taxed with the time-consuming task of finding all sorts of parts, from common maintenance items such as filters that are out of stock to the rare specialty items that always take longer to track down.
Today, especially, ongoing supply chain issues following the pandemic have heightened those challenges for commercial vehicle service operations and have shops adjusting their parts sourcing and procurement strategies. The new recipe for success will require that a shop manager have both analytical skills and a bit of artistic license. While the former relies on using readily available digital ecommerce tools, the latter has led to some unique approaches, some you might even call extreme.
Scavenging ingredients
One approach is the practice of cannibalizing existing trucks for parts, particularly taking usable parts from units that would have otherwise been sold for scrap. It’s something that is more widespread today than it was just two years ago, noted Darry Stuart, president and CEO of DWS Fleet Management Services.
“In the past, when a fleet had a truck that was in an accident, they would settle with the insurance carrier and sell the vehicle to a salvage yard,” explained Stuart, a former general chairman of the American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council. “Now, because of parts shortages and long delivery times, more fleets are stripping trucks to the bone and then selling what’s left to a scrap metal processor.
“The majority of what they can salvage and reuse are smaller parts that usually have to be ordered, primarily things like dash valves and other items that normally wouldn’t be stocked,” Stuart added. “Stripping trucks may not be the best monetary decision, but it can be the best choice for keeping trucks running. With all the uncertainty over parts supplies, fleets are better off that way.”
Making ecommerce the main course
While some fleets are cannibalizing trucks, ecommerce platforms have increasingly become a necessary and effective aspect of the approach to meeting parts needs.
“Parts supply issues are worse now, even for items that should be easy to get,” said Ivan Abarca, fleet maintenance manager at Home Run, Inc., a Xenia, Ohio-based flatbed hauler. “Especially for unconventional items, we’re burning up a lot of time searching for parts. What’s been most effective, though, is to have a reputable parts vendor.”
For the shop he manages at Home Run’s Maryland hub, where 50 power units and 250 trailers cover routes from New Jersey to North Carolina, Abarca has been working with FleetPride, a distributor of truck and trailer parts and service in the independent heavy-duty aftermarket, to source parts through the network’s ecommerce solution. The company’s platform provides access to over 410,000 parts, preferred pricing, and the ability to ship parts directly to the fleet’s shop or schedule a pickup at a local branch.
“The technology helps because it streamlines the process of finding parts,” Abarca said. “It’s a one-stop shop for maintenance items, replacement parts, and shop supplies that we can easily search to see brands, options, and quantities.”
The FleetPride parts site also has detailed parts descriptions and pictures, which Abarca said are especially helpful because the visuals give technicians an immediate way to verify that the correct part is being ordered. For example, the platform makes it easy to double-check specs for things like belts based on their length and style. With its cross-referencing capability, he added, the site also links common part numbers so a part can be ordered regardless of its brand name.
“Along with the parts platform, our local FleetPride rep helps us all the time,” Abarca stated. “We have his number on speed dial, and he’s even picked up parts for us to make sure we can get them the same day. It’s important to have a close relationship with vendors. Without them, we can’t keep the wheels turning.”
Darren Taylor, SVP of marketing and digital at FleetPride, said that ecommerce platforms can help fleets by providing visibility. “Inventory planning and management should be as simple as possible,” he stated. “On a single screen, you should be able to streamline the process of seeing what you’ve bought and what you need using vehicle- and customer-specific information, and then simplify matching it to rich product and parts data.”
Leading-edge ecommerce and digital tools can contain massive amounts of information in a very broad catalog of parts, Taylor noted. Additionally, along with detailed cross-reference data, they can open a network so fleets can see parts availability in real-time across all branches and distribution centers. In seconds, they can save time by knowing there is limited inventory in a branch or if more inventory is available elsewhere.
To promote its ecommerce capabilities, FleetPride recently introduced a new rebate program for customers. With eCash Rewards, customers earn cash back with every eligible online purchase. There is no cap on the amount customers can add back to their bottom line.
The program is designed to be simple and easy to use. After registering to participate in eCash Rewards, every eligible online purchase will automatically add to the customer's cash back balance for the year, accruing 1% once the program spend threshold of $10,000 is met. At the end of the calendar year, rebate checks will be issued.
Be flexible and seek consistency
For Bryan Funke, COO at HDA Truck Pride, one of the biggest benefits of ecommerce parts platforms for fleets is the flexibility they provide. “When fleets and service shops buy parts on these platforms, it levels the playing field,” he said. “A huge benefit of an ecommerce parts channel is that it provides a connected environment so everyone can see available inventory. And distributors can meet fleet needs based on value and service.”
While HDA Truck Pride does not currently have an ecommerce tool that is available to fleets directly, its members do offer platforms that it supports with aggregated parts content and data, as well as system recommendations and implementation processes. The capabilities are available through an internal ecommerce site to the parts network’s 150 distributors, many of whom do have customer-facing portals.
“Commercial vehicles have a lot of parts, which makes it harder for any one distributor to maintain product information from more than 350 suppliers,” Funke said. “We support them by working with all of our suppliers to consolidate product data and images so, in turn, they can provide fleets with rich information they need to make better purchasing decisions."
The ecommerce trend is accelerating for multiple reasons, Funke noted, in part due to the current parts supply issues, along with experienced parts people leaving the workforce and taking their knowledge and experience with them, making electronic parts data more important than ever.
“We’re actively speeding up the ability to supply good data and content from suppliers,” Funke said. “By adapting to that challenge, parts suppliers and distributors are taking advantage of an opportunity that will be beneficial for the industry.”
Consistent products and brands, along with technology and tools that provide a single facing platform for fleets, are more important today than ever before, related Jim Pennig, VP of business development for the VIPAR Heavy Duty Family of Companies, a buying and marketing group comprised of 860 locations operated by more than 230 independently owned companies across North America. The group works closely with its distributors and suppliers and maintains relationships with fleets directly through a national accounts program.
“Fleets are increasingly system- and technology-driven when it comes to how they acquire parts,” Pennig said. “Having consistency in pricing and reporting is an advantage to them, so we work as one across the VIPAR Heavy Duty network of distributors to provide those capabilities. Through our ecommerce platform that connects us and our distributors with fleets, order management system integrations keep data flowing and provide detailed reporting, as well as ensure part numbers are accurately matched with pricing for the fleet.”
The VIPAR Heavy Duty PARTSPHERE FLEET order management system is driven by advanced digital tools, noted Andrei Katibnikov, VP of information technology at VIPAR.
“It’s a master data management system that incorporates parts information from suppliers and uses an advanced algorithm to cross-reference and match individual items by their name, manufacturer, and internal part numbers,” he explained further. “It can even incorporate new part numbers, which are added regularly, based on probabilities. With fleet trade cycles bringing new models and specs into operations, that’s a key capability for a fleet ecommerce parts module.”
Obtaining elusive parts
“One of the biggest challenges is finding parts that are not routinely carried in inventory locally,” David Seewak, FindItParts founder and CEO, said. “Approximately 20% of all the parts on commercial vehicles fit into that category, so fleets and service providers have to use a time-consuming process to find and buy them.”
In addition to offering more than three million heavy-duty truck and trailer items from major brands and over 2,500 other manufacturers, FindItParts’ online platform specializes in providing access to hard-to-find items as well as common everyday parts.
“With a platform that is an electronic repository of information interconnected with the supply chain and has a very robust cross-reference engine, we can help access availability and enhance delivery of those items, saving you time and money,” Seewack added.
The FindItParts site includes what the company calls concierge service, which provides technical parts specialists who assist buyers in identifying and sourcing hard-to-find parts by number, photo, keyword, or cross reference. They have access to inventory from over 300 distributors and manufacturers nationwide to meet parts needs. In addition, the company guarantees two-day delivery for over 50,000 best-selling parts from its nine regional distribution centers.
According to Seewak, the key is to be source-agnostic and to partner with a large number of suppliers so they can help every customer.
Geo-locating parts sources is what improves availability and shortens the fulfillment cycle. Wide exposure to parts sources and ease of use provide value to the distributor and the fleet or service facility in the form of less downtime for service.
“Those abilities have greater value today when you have supply chain challenges,” Seewak stated. “Ecommerce parts platforms are a means of adapting to changing parts purchasing practices, and they offer continuity in products and pricing through a better buying experience.”
Locally based but nationally available parts management solutions are available as well. For example, fleets can utilize Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) services from NAPA Integrated Business Solutions. Through local facilities that are backed by nationwide network support, they can take advantage of customized inventory analysis, obsolete inventory reduction planning, and min/max ordering reviews.
VMI, according to NAPA, is a path to transaction cost reduction because the parts distributor network works with hundreds of vendors to provide full coverage, and its invoice reconciliation services streamline paperwork for accounting.
The online program from NAPA also integrates with fleet management software. The supplier noted that seamless integration with the inventory system guarantees that all parts issued are reflected on work orders and in a vehicle's service history. The platform also provides compliance and special-order reporting along with parts cost analyses.
An example of the benefit that comes with integrating fleet management and parts inventory systems can be found in the Central Fleet Management division of the Public Works Department for the City of Boston. At its shops, the division maintains 1,100 vehicles for about 20 city departments and several outside municipal agencies.
When Boston wanted to standardize its fleet processes across the city’s fleet, the aim was to gain visibility into all operating costs and fleet utilization. Goals included driving efficiencies and eliminating labor-intensive manual processes. Following a review process, the City of Boston chose Chevin’s web-based FleetWave application to manage its Central Fleet Management division. An important feature of the software for the organization was the ability to improve parts inventory management.
Boston handles all of its fleet inventory needs on-site. Technicians bring work orders and vehicle information to a parts room where the data is entered into a point-of-sale system. FleetWave is able to integrate with that system to facilitate automatic charging of parts to work orders.
Matt Bradley, logistics specialist for the City of Boston, explained the value of this parts management approach. “With our fleet management and parts point-of-sale systems fully integrated, we are no longer in the parts business,” he said. “We don’t have to tie up employees for managing and restocking inventory, and we don’t have carrying costs for obsolete items. The integration also enabled significant savings in workload and administration.”
As that story illustrates, parts are ultimately sourced at the shop level, noted Andy Turnbull, SVP of customer solutions at Diesel Laptops. The provider of diesel diagnostic hardware and software tools also offers Diesel Parts, a searchable database of over 2.5 million items. The site, which is updated daily, includes diagrams, measurements, and cross-reference and VIN lookup capabilities.
Another capability that Turnbull said is important is an approach that links diagnostic tools to parts identification in a single infrastructure. Accordingly, Diesel Parts was designed with a data-informed approach and that type of integration.
“Identifying what part is needed based on fault codes is one thing, but sourcing it quickly can be more difficult,” Turnbull stated. “When a technician or shop manager can use a diagnostic tool to not only get repair instructions based on a fault code but also instantly find the parts that are needed, that’s how next-generation ecommerce technology uses the power of data to help make correct, extremely specific, and effective parts-buying decisions.”
Help at the OE level
Manufacturers are also enabling more effective parts-purchasing practices. Major vehicle, system, and component suppliers offer online replacement parts-purchasing tools.
“At an elementary level, these sites benefit fleets and service providers with an ability to cross-reference parts,” said Christy Westrich, director of customer loyalty at MeritorPartsXpress. “Across many OEM and competitive platforms, customers don’t have the luxury of everyone using the same part numbers or identifiers. By providing standardized data on parts across the industry, the best ecommerce platforms provide accurate parts identification.”
Recently, MeritorPartsXpress rolled out several updates to its ecommerce platform, including configurable text alerts for order confirmation and messaging about the location of parts to determine shipment delivery times. There are also web chat capabilities for connecting with technical service representatives. Updates planned for the coming year include faster data mining, a VIN decoder tool, and search engine optimization (SEO) improvements.
“The pandemic has pushed the value of ecommerce parts purchasing technology to the forefront,” Westrich said. “Before it was a necessity, fleets and service providers had to call a supplier to gets parts and cross-reference information. Now they have that capability instantly and at all times.”
Westrich continued, stating that relationships still remain extremely important in the commercial vehicle industry—and those relationships carry their importance into the ecommerce space when it comes to the sharing of data.
“Not long ago, suppliers mostly kept information about their parts and availability to themselves, preferring to work with customers one to one,” he said. “Today, we’ve all realized that by putting our collective intelligence together and collaborating, we can all help each other—and our customers—meet their parts needs.”
