Automotive aftermarket parts suppliers: success or failure lies in logistics

There was once a distributor of auto parts asking me that the aftermarket was so big, but my profit was not ideal. I was always struggling on the edge of life and death. Why? Is there any good way to break through?

The author’s view is that this market is very large and the growth rate is also high. However, because it is easy to enter, there are many competitors, and the market characteristics are special, it is impossible to directly contact the owner, and it is difficult to brand the products. The products are standardized. Easy to imitate production. If you want to use the simple Red Sea model to do business, the end is like this, hard work and low profits. The breakthrough is to change the mind and win the service. The key lies in logistics.

According to statistics, in 2005, the turnover of China's "auto aftermarket" was 88 billion yuan, and by 2009 it had grown to 240 billion yuan, and it is expected to increase to 490 billion yuan by 2012, with a compound annual growth rate of 26.9%. Compared to the current vehicle sales market, this growth rate is very alarming and lucrative. Moreover, with the increase in the number of car ownership in China, this figure will increase, and it will not be affected by the sluggish sales of automobiles. It can be said that it is the most promising cake for the automotive industry in the future.

On the face of it, this market is a glorious scene, but if you go deeper into the analysis, you will find that compared to the vehicle sales, there are too many people who distribute the cake, because the entry threshold is relatively low, and the monopolization of the factory Compared to the vehicle market, this cake is not easy to eat.

First of all, this market OEM still has an absolute advantage.

The joint venture brand and the imported automobile factory have the intellectual property rights of the major parts, and they also control the purchase channels of 4S stores through cooperation agreements. Although there are policies, there are countermeasures. Under the attraction of high profits, many 4S stores still secretly use sub-factory parts, but after all, this is not a good thing, and the automaker will strictly control the small ones. Under the guise of war, the quantity is limited. For spare parts manufacturers, they cannot solve the thirst and cannot become a climate.

Even if spare parts manufacturers cooperate with auto plants, unless the auto factories invest, the deliberations of the depot's purchasing department will definitely be a matter of knife-wrenching, leaving you desperate to simply get what you want. A reasonable profit can only increase the scale of the depot as it grows. At the same time, it often has to worry about being replaced by a depot. After all, there will not be only one production capacity.

Coupled with the majority of car owners, or superstitious parts are better quality, more secure, non-factory channels of spare parts, it is difficult to be welcomed by the owners, the amount is still not up.

In addition, although not the depot itself, many internationally-renowned foreign companies have continued to be deployed in China. Their practice is very similar to that of a depot, and some of them also manufacture spare parts for themselves. It is even worse for the depot to sell through its own network.

Second, this market is too easy to enter.

Regardless of metal castings or plastic products, except for a few special parts of the material, based on China's manufacturing industry for so many years, any part does not need a design drawing. As long as there is a real product reference, almost all can be manufactured quickly. Not only are the spare parts in the car the same, but the same goes for the fine products or skin care products on the car. Such a low barrier to entry has brought about a mass production of small factories in various parts of China, and even a small workshop-sized workshop, which can be turned into a manufacturer of automobile spare parts and put into the market.

In this case, the big market can't afford to suffer. Whether it is the factory's 4S shop or the roadside repair shop, it can be fully supplied, or price parity, and how can profits be improved?

This is a red-eyed Red Sea market.

Finally, customers are too difficult to keep.

The customers of the spare parts supply system must know the customers themselves, so it is difficult for you to protect your customers' sources. Each of them is like a searchlight in the middle of the night. It invites countless colleagues to pay attention to him. A 4S shop is still in the preparatory period, there are countless suppliers to come to the door, and they want to cooperate with them.

Even if it is a small repair shop on the roadside, in a short time after the opening of the business, the salesman who came to the door may be more than his customer.

In these three reasons, the difficulty of operating in this market is definitely one of the highest. Selling toilet paper may be better than selling automotive spare parts. After all, the consumption of toilet paper is large, and it can also be used as a brand, and it is not so strong. Upstream factory control.

The author does not want to talk about the so-called market order issue in general here because it is the government's business. For every operator, the problem is still in their own survival and growth, so we are still focusing on how to make yourself more successful.
At the outset, the author pointed out that if you want to get out of this situation, you must not think about strategy with simple buying and selling, but look at the market from another perspective.

If you think from the traditional manufacturing industry model, you only need to lower your own production costs and grab the market at a lower price. As long as I lower the cost more than I would, I’ll earn more. Money. In this model, the most thorough implementation is in Japan's manufacturing industry. As a result, the authors absolutely do not approve of this mode of thinking. They also have to sincerely suggest that this can only be used as a supporting practice and cannot be considered as a major competition. strategy.

What should I do?

To learn Apple, their main thinking is to make the customer's life easier and more comfortable. Customers will be willing to pay more for this simple and comfortable, but the cost of the product does not have to increase a lot, and then they succeed.

The core idea of ​​"more simple and comfortable" is actually a customer-centered mode of thinking. It is also the mode of thinking that the author wants to recommend to all spare parts supply systems. This mode of thinking is in the service industry, not in the traditional manufacturing industry. In simpler terms, it is to provide the services your customers need in order to increase the value of your product and make it more expensive, but the cost will not increase too much. The reason for not adding too much cost is because it is more of a virtual service content than an entity's material.

With the concept in place, what should be the next step?

First of all, what we have to think about is that if I want to have a better profit, my customer will have to pay me more than others to pay for it. Who will pay for this money? Why is this money man willing to come out.

Do not think that the money that the customer purchases with you is the customer's own money. Our customers are also our goods and then sell it. Therefore, the extra money is best left to the customer's customers, not the customers.

To make a customer's customer pay, it is necessary to further help the customer to think why his customer is willing to pay the money?

Therefore, we must not only study what the customer wants, but also help the customer to figure it out. What does his customer, who is the owner, want? Of course, it must be related to your product.

In terms of spare parts-related maintenance services, apart from the fact that spare parts should be of good quality, there are two main concerns for car owners. One is the technical level of car repairers and the other is “fast”. It is difficult for us to help the repair shop at the technical level of the car repairer, but we can meet another requirement, that is, quick repair.

The key to “repair quickly” is that spare parts can be obtained in the warehouse of the workshop. However, it is not always possible for the warranty factory to have complete and sufficient inventory of all spare parts, especially for high prices, which is too costly. As a result, the painful experience of car owners is that the spare parts needed by other cars are sent. Everyone complains but they have no alternative.

This is the logistics problem of spare parts manufacturers. If you can assure your customers that the spare parts they need can be faster and punctual than other peers, you are even more expensive and the warranty factory is willing to pay for this cost. Because the price difference is not large, most owners are willing to pay this cost.

Similar cases Taobao shop manager is the most experienced, many buyers are willing to pay higher logistics costs in return for the next day arrival service, not only fast, but also good service quality.

In fact, many spare parts suppliers understand this principle and have requirements. However, there are few spare parts suppliers who are willing to systematically design this service.

The key point of this service is that you want to assure customers that all your supplied parts will have the same level of service in logistics, and that it will be maintained at all working hours. Only in this way will the customer trust you. It will be successful, but this is actually not easy.

To do this, suppliers must do a good job of thinking about and planning their inventory strategy and logistics system, and be inclined to this direction in management if they can further help customers reduce inventory costs (because of your Assurance and service, customers do not have to prepare more materials, and they can use it with you again.) You will definitely get the customer's loyalty.

For spare parts suppliers, logistics is the key to success or failure, and it is worth your investment in more resources.