For Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), managing spare parts ordering is a hustle between stacks of paper catalogs, chasing stock availability, and the inevitable grinding in case a wrong order gets placed. It’s a struggle where one misstep burns their distributors and retailers.
That’s where Intelli Commerce, a parts ordering software, steps in to work as an assistant for secondary scale channels. This mobile app is a lifeline for distributors and retailers, as it minimizes order errors, speeds up deliveries, and improves customer satisfaction. With features like AI-driven visual search and real-time inventory sync, Intelli Commerce is rewriting the rules of the aftermarket game.
Through this article, let’s walk through how Intelli Commerce is changing the spare parts ordering process for OEMs and their secondary sale channels.
The Challenges with Traditional Spare Parts Ordering
OEMs struggled with conventional parts ordering for decades, which involved recurring problems like wrong orders and a lack of instant stock visibility. This approach is stubborn, costly, and frustrating for everyone. Let’s discuss the challenges in parts ordering without a streamlined process:
Manual Processing
Relying on paper-based or outdated digital parts catalogs is the breeding ground for errors and wrong orders. One bad order experience can lead to a delay, a return, and an unhappy customer.
No Real-Time Visibility Into Stock Levels
Without live updates on stock data, distributors either run out of parts or pile up too many. This ties up unnecessary capital and fills up warehouses.
Inefficient Communication Among Stakeholders
Without a unified communication channel, orders get lost in a web of emails, faxes, or phone calls between OEMs, distributors, and retailers. This makes it difficult to keep track of part orders and leads to frequent delays.
High Operational Costs
Re-printing catalogs frequently, managing returns, and paying staff to sort out confusion in orders exhaust profit margins. These inefficiencies occur due to the use of outdated systems and manual tracking, costing OEMs excessively.
These roadblocks slow down the efficiency of the secondary sales network and impact spare parts sales. This is why OEMs need a streamlined parts ordering system like Intelli Commerce to overcome these hurdles.
What is Intelli Commerce?
Intelli Commerce is a mobile app-based parts ordering system that helps OEMs focus on their secondary sales channels (distributors and retailers). It is available on Android, iOS, and web and is built for the real world, where distributors and retailers need to move fast. For OEMs, it's a digital parts catalog that allows their field team to order parts with a few taps while syncing seamlessly with the existing inventory and Dealer Management Systems (DMS).
Intelli Commerce is designed with the people who use it in mind-such as a mechanic working in a greasy shop or the distributor struggling to place orders while in the field. We at Intellinet Systems consolidated our immense expertise acquired over the years in the aftermarket space to make this software robust and intuitive.
Notable Features of Intelli Commerce
Intelli Commerce is packed with features that solve real problems in the spare parts ordering process, such as:
Multiple Search Types
Earlier, the parts search process was nothing less than finding a needle in a haystack. To overcome these hassles, Intelli Commerce offers VIN lookups, QR/barcode scanning, figure searches, and even AI-powered visual search with 2D illustrations. These features cut guesswork for distributors and retailers, helping them find exactly what they need, fast.
Integrated Cart and Easy Checkout
Nobody has time for a cumbersome checkout. Intelli Commerce lets users add parts to their cart straight from the illustration page and sweep through checkout. It’s simple and is loved by retailers because it minimizes their time and effort.
Real-Time Inventory and Order Status Visibility
Nothing’s worse than informing your customers about a part you don’t have. Intelli Commerce integrates with the existing DMS and ERP systems and shows what’s in stock and order statuses in real time. With no more backorders, OEMs can keep their secondary sales network functional and reliable.
Visual Parts Identification
Incorrect parts identification and then placing an order for the wrong parts is a mistake that costs a fortune to the OEMs. Integrated 2D illustrations serve as a visually intuitive way to identify spare parts. These detailed and clear representations allow the distributors and retailers to prevent errors in identification and place an order for the right components.
Push Notifications
The sales team receives a push notification for every order that retailers place directly through the website. This feature also enables OEMs and authorized admins to connect with a specific retailer or a group of retailers.
Geolocation-Based Attendance Tracking
Sales executives may sometimes make false claims about site visits they never made. Intelli Commerce prevents this fabrication with its geolocation tracking and attendance feature. It requires executives to mark their attendance with geo-tagging, promoting transparency in the records. To prevent falsehood, distributors can also track their location in real-time. Executives can also cut through the regular approach of requesting leave by mail by marking their attendance directly in the app.
Order From the Purchase History
Spending time on finding parts that are frequently needed is a task no one enjoys. Users can simply browse the catalog and order parts based on their purchase history. They can also choose from the most popular parts in the network, saving them a lot of time.
Smart Route Optimization
Unplanned routes are the simplest recipe for wasting time and resources. Smart route optimization suggests the shortest route for daily visits based on geographical coordinates and real-time traffic conditions. With less travel time and an efficient commute, technicians can visit more customers, experience less travel exhaustion, and improve their overall performance.
AI-Assisted Sales Pitch
Sales representatives can now pitch efficiently and with confidence. AI-backed sales pitch feature generates discussion points for the sales personnel using the past order history, ongoing offers, and slow-moving parts. This AI-powered feature helps in enhancing engagement during the demo, improving retailer satisfaction, and boosting conversion rates.
Advanced Analytics
Parts order management is not only about filling orders; it’s more about planning smarter. Intelli Commerce tracks user activity within the app to identify what’s selling, spotting trends in spare parts ordering. These insights assist distributors and retailers in stocking the parts with higher demand.
Brand-Focused Customization
Every brand has its identity, and Intelli Commerce allows OEMs to showcase it. OEMs can add brand logos and customize the app’s interface that match their product category. It’s a small yet effective consideration that ensures a seamless user experience for the dealers.
In-App Payment Collection
This feature helps OEMs and their stakeholders to efficiently manage all payments within one place, including cash records, digital payments, and cheques. Sales executives can also access retailer ledgers to look into past transactions and ensure a smooth collection process.
User-Friendly Interface
An organized, easy-to-navigate interface ensures that distributors and retailers find what they need in minutes. It saves time, reduces order processing delays, and improves operational efficiency.
How Does Intelli Commerce Facilitate Spare Parts Ordering?
More than just a tool, Intelli Commerce is a real game-changer for spare parts ordering. By making the entire process smooth and quick, it is reforming spare parts ordering for OEMs and their secondary sales network. Here’s how:
Simplified Sales and Service Activities
Life’s too short for complicated processes, so Intelli Commerce helps OEMs skip them. It streamlines the complete ordering flow by allowing distributors and retailers to place orders with a few taps on their phone. No matter if a mechanic is looking for a part using a QR code or a distributor needs to instantly check stock, the app streamlines the process. Parts search and ordering become easy tasks for users when everything is organized.
Eliminates Errors in Ordering
Mistakes are adversaries that obstruct operations within the secondary sales network. Features of Intelli Commerce, such as visual search options, confirmation processes, and QR code scanning, help rule out errors in the parts ordering process. The 2D illustrations of parts serve as a visual map of the right part. By increasing accuracy, it also helps distributors overcome the fear of returns.
Makes Parts Ordering Cost-Efficient
Earlier, OEMs wasted money and resources on printed catalogs that required frequent updates and on fixing order mix-ups. Going digital gets rid of printing costs, and real-time stock visibility prevents overstocking. And that’s not all; automation in parts ordering handles the busywork and allows teams to avoid confusion and focus more on selling.
Strengthens Secondary Sales Network
The strength of a secondary sales network depends on the relationships OEMs hold with their distributors and retailers. With real-time data visibility and effective communication among stakeholders, Intelli Commerce secures these connections. This way, the distributors and retailers work as a team to ensure that parts move fast and responsibly. It helps OEMs develop a network that makes their brand a valuable name in their industry.
Boosts Aftermarket Sales
At the end of the day, what matters for OEMs is whether parts are moving and generating revenue. In-app analytics of Intelli Commerce spot the high-in-demand parts so that stakeholders can stock what is actually selling. Faster order processing and happier customers drive repeated business. Just by learning the basics with this parts ordering software, OEMs can increase spare parts sales and achieve steady growth.
Takeaways
Spare parts ordering doesn’t have to be a headache for OEMs, and Intelli Commerce certifies it well. This parts ordering software tackles the errors and delays involved in the parts ordering process and turns the secondary sales network into an efficient chain that generates continuous revenue for the OEMs.
With features like AI visual search, an integrated cart, and live stock updates, Intelli Commerce enables OEMs and their stakeholders to handle spare parts orders efficiently. Using this software gets parts orders right, dealers happier, customers satisfied, and an exceptional brand value to the OEM.
Want to make spare parts ordering the easiest part for your secondary sales network? Connect with our experts today to learn how Intelli Commerce can transform your business or request a free demo.
