Introduction
Disruption and transformation are the key elements for a business to thrive in this dynamic and evolving market landscape. Today, a business needs to implement and adopt strategies and practices that make them stand out of the competition.
The aftermarket industry is often referred to as the secondary market and it has been accumulating significant traction in recent years. Technology in the aftermarket has been the driving factor that caused disruption in the overall industry. The enactment of technology through aftermarket software, parts catalog software, and warranty management solution are a few that can be named. Today’s aftermarket businesses have shed the focus on data and how that data can be used to improve customer experience. The realization of automation has led to significant improvements in the aftermarket industry too, such as automating the warranty management processes and ensuring clear and transparent communication channels.
In this blog, let us explore the technologies that have been disrupting the aftermarket and reshaping the industry for the years to come.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI has been at the center stage of disruption for many industries and the aftermarket is not lagging behind. Technology in the aftermarket businesses has been utilizing the disruptive nature of AI to craft tools and solutions, enhancing operational expertise and customer experience. Today, there are aftermarket software solutions that revolutionize traditional operating procedures. A perfect example in this regard is infusing AI in modernizing product manuals. Product manuals are immensely huge documents that provide details about the parts used in a vehicle. These are documents that are referred to in case of any repair or maintenance service at shops, etc. As these are heavy files, they may not perform as per the user expectations and provide delayed responses while they are used. In such situations, customer experience goes for a toss. To handle such intricate tasks, there are spare parts management software and catalog software to cater to this need.
Big Data & Analytics
Today, data collected can yield results and help aftermarket businesses in making informed decisions on the strategies that they need to implement. This also helps personalize any offerings and empowers businesses for targeted marketing. Utilizing big data and analytics can also help businesses with lifecycle management of products which comes in handy during predictive maintenance and repair. This also has applications in warranty management software solution that would help aftermarket companies in managing and tracking warranty of parts, services, and repairs. Data helps bridge the gap and highlight the scope of improvement in many cases. It also shares exemplary details about the customer journey, their preferences, and buying behavior, and also informs about the latest trends and technology in the aftermarket.
Internet of Things (IoT)
IoT offers huge potential in the aftermarket industry. IoT has applications in predictive maintenance and monitoring, thus improving the overall efficiency of vehicle parts. Implementation of IoT involves connecting parts to a software terminal via the internet. According to Forbes’ Working Ahead research report, about 43% businesses globally have a fully functional IoT implementation in place. IoT is used exclusively when businesses want to apply this for fleet management or vehicle management where data is exchanged with other devices via the internet. IoT can also be enabled to inform about the latest and real-time traffic updates which have applications in navigation systems as well. This is one of the most sought-after technologies in the aftermarket today as businesses are increasing their investment.
Blockchain
Blockchain aims to radically simplify and accelerate the business operations of key stakeholders like suppliers, distributors, etc. Blockchain enables better tracking and protecting the true identities of vehicles. Many businesses have been investing in blockchain technology to bring all the users and the technology in the aftermarket on the same platform and enhance business operations and processes. Blockchain implementation helps businesses by improving the supply chain, streamlining production, and also ensuring they can innovate further with the help of the blockchain platform.
Online Retail
The way we purchase vehicles today has seen immense transformation. And not just vehicle purchases, even the aftermarket has started reaping the benefits of online stores. Today, there are companies that offer a dealer storefront for dealers to manage all their business activities through a single application. This has eased the dependency on relying on multiple platforms to order, manage, and maintain inventory, track requests, and so on. This caters to a major challenge of dealers managing multiple spare parts for all the products. Solutions like these offer web-based or application-based spare parts management software to enhance operational efficiency and maintain attractive TATs. In addition, these applications can also be used as an e-commerce storefront that improves the way dealers create orders by automating the order management systems. Implementation of this technology in the aftermarket industry has helped businesses enhance operations and reduce overheads thereby improving both the dealer and customer experience.
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)
AR and VR have immensely transformed and are the technologies in the aftermarket industry which is on the rise in today’s time. They can be utilized in a number of ways such as training the workforce through visual aids, troubleshooting and repairing, and even remote assistance. PwC states that by 2030, there can be an addition of around $1.3 Trillion to the GDP through these technologies in the aftermarket. This shows the potential of these technologies, specifically in the aftermarket industry. Aftermarket businesses can also track real-time data and collaborate with experts which aims to improve the overall efficiency and significantly reduces the turn-around-time for repair services.
Conclusion
Today, technologies in the aftermarket businesses are leading the competition in terms of value-added services that they offer to their customers. Automation is used to streamline processes and ensure operational efficiency. Companies are investing heavily in implementing solutions for AR and VR, IoT, Blockchain, Predictive Analytics, and building online storefronts for their stakeholders. All of these together have been reshaping the aftermarket industry. This disruption brought about by technology in the aftermarket will pave the way for the future and how customers interact with businesses. Intellinet Systems has been at the forefront of transforming the industry through technology by offering spare parts management software, parts catalog software, aftermarket software, and warranty management software to be a growth partner in the future-forward journey of OEMs.
