Truck Parts and Service | Heavy Duty Trucking, Aftermarket, Service Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/821175
continues to play a greater role in the aftermarket. "With the internet becoming a more important aspect, we are seeing the market change where folks are buying online," Sherbourne says. "As they do, they are often looking for several parts from one source." Many suppliers have developed online catalogs and ordering systems featuring OE and all-makes product lines where customers can place orders, check prod- uct availability and much more. Dealers and independent shops have access to this information as well, allowing them to see instances where an all-makes prod- uct would be a proper sell. "That has made a tremendous differ- ence," Crotzer says. "That's why we have developed our app and created several ways that customers can look up their parts on our website." The proliferation of all-makes parts also has impacted how software provid- ers develop products for the trucking industry. Kristy LaPage, business manager for Mitchell 1's commercial vehicle group, says providing access to all-makes repair information is important to technicians and the customers they serve. "In the past, shops were doing ex- treme work around trying to diagnose is- sues and to locate parts," she says. "About 11 years ago, we developed the software to diagnose issues in just seconds. It works with all-makes, all models." LaPage says "time is money" and the quicker a truck can leave the garage, the quicker it can be put back to work. Mitchell 1's program diagnoses issues on trucks from model year 1990 to pres- ent, complete with estimated repair times and a list of all-makes parts that could al- low for the quick completion of a repair. "It's important that it functions with all-make products because it allows tech- nicians in any shop that uses this soft- ware to work with almost any customer and help them quickly get back on the road," LaPage says. Just as with the price of the product, the age of the truck should not be the sole factor in determining what type of part to use in a repair. Fleet managers try to maximize uptime at the lowest prices with the least amount of risk. They can con- sider the age of the vehicle, trade cycle, performance of the part, quality of the manufacturer and many other aspects in fi nding the right part. During the truck life cycle, the defi ni- tion of the value changes. First or second replacements may value highest quality while later life cycle owners may priori- tize lower price as the vehicle ages. "Everything changes after the vehicle rolls off the assembly line," Sherbourne says. "Having quality tested all-makes parts available is invaluable to fl eet own- ers, especially to the second and third owners." 23 Sales & Marketing W W W . T R U C K P A R T S A N D S E R V I C E . C O M M a y 2 0 1 7 | T R U C K P A R T S & S E R V I C E The growth of the internet and the ability to purchase products online has been one factor in the increased sales of all-makes parts, as end users look to buy more products from single sources, rather than shopping around to multiple distributors. You can't just have bits and pieces. Distributors are looking to have everything that a tech needs to do a particular job. They need to be able to offer everything needed to complete that job, so all the parts can be purchased from a single source. – Walt Sherbourne, vice president of marketing for Dayton Parts