Platform Pioneers in Spare Parts Offer Inspiration for Automotive Industry
The automotive industry is a complex sector dominated by a small group of large car manufacturers and suppliers. However, there are also thousands more companies worldwide, from electro-mechanical engineers to body shops, that play a smaller but vital role in supplying spare parts. The marketplace model provides an ideal opportunity to digitally transform the automotive spare parts industry, currently built on a network of highly autonomous dealers.
While markets such as the music industry, travel and healthcare have been transformed through the rise of digital platforms in recent years , the automotive industry has lagged behind. But there are signs this is changing, particularly in the spare parts sector.
McKinsey estimated that eCommerce share of automotive parts sales will increase to 20 to 30% by 2035, and that “digital will allow aftermarket players to further increase the automotive aftermarket’s value as connectivity helps them move closer to the end customer and generate big data”.
The marketplace model provides the ideal solution for companies to scale their eCommerce offering at speed. And the automotive industry can take inspiration from Platform Pioneers in similar or relevant sectors that are using their Mirakl-powered marketplaces to sell and distribute spare parts:
ANIEL, the auto parts marketplace pioneer
ANIEL, an auto parts distributor, launched its Mirakl-powered marketplace in March 2019, with the goal to deliver better customer service right at the core of its strategy.
"Digital transformation is happening in every sector, there’s no question about that” - Mael Le Capitaine, Managing Director of Aniel Marketplace and Deputy Managing Director of Groupe Faubourg
In doing so, Aniel has been able to grow its product offering from 15,000 catalogue products in 2016 to 12 million today. They receive 50,000 visits per month on their website, plus a 60% conversion rate. As a result, 85% of all sales revenue is now generated through the marketplace.
Toyota Material Handling USA, using the platform model to benefit both dealers & customers
The traditional buying experience for Toyota Material Handling USA (TMHU) customers often involved a lengthy in-person or over-the-phone sales process. TMHU recognized that, for its business to grow, this experience needed to be improved for the next generation of Toyota customers. It placed eCommerce at the center of its strategy, and started by launching a site to sell its forklifts online.
Because Toyota’s relationship with its dealer network is strong, and it didn’t want to impact their sales by selling parts directly to buyers online, they decided to launch a marketplace and bring dealers on as sellers. The marketplace offered their dealers a digital sales tool to capture more customers, and gave Toyota a way to bring the customer online and give them a better experience, without creating channel conflict.
Through this marketplace, TMHU is now able to sell more than 600,000 offers. Marketplace sales are growing by 220% YOY and 70% of marketplace orders are placed by new customers.
“It was critical for our authorized dealers to join us online in an effort to upgrade the customer experience in the material handling industry. The marketplace model provides the perfect solution.”
Nick Ostergaard, Manager of Digital Transformation, Toyota Material Handling USA
Satair, a marketplace for the global leader in commercial aeronautical spare parts
Satair, part of Airbus, is a global leader for commercial aeronautical spare parts. They are making it easy for their customers to find all the parts they need in one place through their marketplace. With their Mirakl-powered Marketplace, they are becoming the first one-stop shop in the aerospace industry, increasing their parts catalog by 6x without investing in new inventory. Their vision for the marketplace also goes beyond spare parts. The long-term goal for Satair is to create a true digital ecosystem that connects their customers with all of the aftermarket products and services that they need for aircraft maintenance.
“We want to become the lighthouse for digital within the aerospace industry. We want to do this with a one-stop marketplace, so all our customers can buy all the parts they need for aircraft flying from us." Christian Agger, former Head of Digital & Business Transformation, Satair
Airbus, flying high in their digital transformation
Last year, Airbus Helicopter launched their Mirakl-powered marketplace to bring B2C e-commerce practices to the helicopter industry. An evolution of the current eOrdering service of AirbusWorld, the Marketplace proposes a wide selection of high-demand products and parts - tools & ground support equipment, chemicals, hardware and more - to customers via specialised vendors.
Customers benefit from: a more diverse worldwide product inventory; a one- stop-shop approach at one online location; a more competitive offer; faster turnaround times with delivery direct to customer premises; and the ability to choose from a wider range of quantities.
We know there are many more processes and customer journeys waiting to be disrupted through digital transformation. Now is the time to seize the platform opportunity.
Contact the Mirakl Team to kick-start your marketplace journey.
