1. What is an Equivalent and Original Part?
- Original part: A part produced or approved by the vehicle manufacturer.
- Equivalent part: A part produced by independent manufacturers that meets the same standards as the original part.
Both types of parts play a significant role in the industry. Original parts provide brand assurance and full compatibility, while equivalent parts offer more cost-effectiveness and easy availability. Therefore, every business must manage both original and equivalent parts flawlessly.
2. Challenges Encountered in Catalog Management
Manually managing thousands of different makes, models, and equivalent part codes carries serious risks:
- Multi-supplier and manufacturer data: Combining information from different sources into a single structure.
- Constantly changing product portfolio: New vehicle models and updated part codes.
- Compatibility errors: Wrong product shipped due to incorrect coding.
- Price and stock differences: Frequently changing price and stock levels between equivalent and original parts.
Managing this complex process with classic spreadsheets or simple programs increases the risks of incorrect orders, customer loss and increased costs .
3. Advantages of Coding and Catalog Management with ERP
Auto spare parts ERP software simplifies management by centralizing this complex process.
The main contributions are:
- Central database: All part codes, technical information and equivalent references are stored in one place.
- Automatic matching and updating: Constantly up-to-date data is provided through global catalog integrations such as TecDoc.
- Fast and accurate search: Find the right part within seconds by searching for the part name, vehicle model, manufacturer or equivalent code.
- Price and stock integration: Supplier prices and stock levels are displayed in real time.
- Ease of ordering and shipping: Shipping errors are minimized with the right product selection.
These features both increase customer satisfaction and speed up internal business processes.
4. Strategies for Efficient Catalog Management
Some strategies that can be implemented by using the ERP infrastructure effectively:
a) Standard Coding System
Creating a uniform and meaningful coding structure for all parts speeds up the search and control processes for both warehouse personnel and sales teams.
b) Automatic Data Update
Thanks to integration with TecDoc or similar catalog services, new vehicle models and equivalent parts data are instantly processed into the system.
c) Multiple Price Policy
Defining different pricing policies for equivalent and original parts provides flexible and competitive pricing opportunities for dealers and retail channels.
d) Authorization and Data Security
Ensuring that critical changes to the catalog are made only by authorized users minimizes the risk of incorrect coding and data loss.
5. Contribution to Customer Satisfaction and Profitability
Accurate and rapid part detection shortens service times and increases customer satisfaction.
In addition, thanks to optimum stock levels , timely supply of both original and equivalent parts is ensured.
This both balances cash flow and strengthens the profitability of the business.
Conclusion
In the auto spare parts industry, management of equivalent and original parts has become too complex to be managed with manual methods.
Penamo's auto parts ERP software simplifies this process with features like robust catalog integration, automatic data updates, and flexible pricing. This helps businesses both increase customer satisfaction and maximize operational efficiency.
