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Data is the New Master of Business
The marketplace demands data.
The availability
of data to consumers has made this industry a
shared marketplace. Once you’ve embraced putting
more parts (more data) and quality data in your in-
ventory system then you must bring those goods to
market. That is also a data driven task.
With cores, the integrated
system or the core buyer
gleans data from your sys-
tem based on the data en-
tered. Different from core parts, the repair parts
markets are also driven by data entered but have an
additional data dilemma,
how to get your parts seen
by the consumer
. Data from your system must be
available to the customer to even be in the running
for a part sales. Many new platforms have cropped
up, some more welcomed than others.
Online systems that sell to repair shops are opening
data driven marketplaces by pairing used auto parts
stores (recyclers) with repair shops through an
online system usually requiring registration or sub-
scription.
These systems are matching recyclers with
auto repair shops they had not been doing busi-
ness with previously.
Embrace change as an op-
portunity to put your parts in front of new buyers.
Maintain an edge by providing good quality data.
Buying groups or trading partners are wholesale sys-
tem that help a consortium (a group) of recyclers
wholesale parts to one another. Data integrity is ad-
dressed up front in these groups by mandating ship-
ping standards or parts grading assurances.
The final frontier in data driven retail parts sales is
direct to the consumer. Online searches and APPs
are making this possible as long as the recycling in-
dustry is providing data by listing parts or sharing
parts inventory data.
Quality data is key.
Like repair
shops, consumers make choices based on price,
quality and availability. All data integrity issues.
The
quality of your part is only as good as the data
presented to the decision maker.
The challenge lies in getting consumers to look for
used parts as a viable cost savings alternative to
new parts, but that is another matter that can only be
addressed once auto recyclers are supplying data to
any or all of the systems available now and in the
future.
Once your data input
has increased in
quality and quantity
the information
should paint a different picture than before. Your
buying habits may change. Your manpower will be
re-allocated to prioritize data management. And I
hope that you will be able to mine more parts from
your existing inventory, present more parts to the
market and have your data help you work smarter
not harder.
Page 17
Recyclers News Press
The quality of your part is only as good
as the data presented to the buyer