Dec 3 2024
The success of an e-commerce automotive parts platform depends on its ability to accurately convey the parts its customers need to complete their projects, but the automotive industry itself is making this easier said than done. Part returns are unfortunately a significant facet of their operations – the most recent National Retail Federation report showed that auto part returns are the most significant percentage of all returns in retail industries at 19.4%.
The frequency of parts returns is primed to only increase thanks to the worrying trend of parts proliferation; the significant expansions of vehicle trims in recent years, as well as new EVs, have led to enormous increases in the parts needed for effective service and repair. Lang Marketing, which released a study on this topic, has noted that “parts proliferation in the car and light truck aftermarket will soar for the foreseeable future, increasing inventories and the logistical burdens on manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and installers.” The necessity of a much larger parts inventory will naturally mean an increase in needed returns. The time needed to catalog this large volume of returns could disrupt businesses not prepared to handle it, possibly causing damage to your business’ brand and revenue flow.
One of the largest drivers of auto part returns is receiving the wrong part in the first place. This could occur because when performing a simple year, make, and model lookup, important details can be missed to correctly identify the needed part. An example of a part that needs an option-level VIN decode is the powertrain control module (PCM), which can run between $1,000 and $2,000, and is central to the car’s functionality.
DataOne’s option-level VIN decoding mitigates the potential for inaccurate ordering. This 17-digit decode, supported by OEM build data and records verified by DataOne’s independent research, returns a single specific vehicle trim. DataOne’s methodology for normalizing option-level data also enables users to more easily identify the feature packages within the vehicle, providing a more direct pathway to confirming the needed parts to order.
DataOne also ties its vehicle database to the Aftermarket Care Exchange Standard (ACES), which empowers users to decode a vehicle's VIN and be returned the appropriate ACES IDs. This convenient identification of the appropriate vehicle parts expedites discovery and ordering, while also minimizing the number of returns. E-commerce auto parts organizations using this VIN decoding pipeline can gain confidence in their vehicle parts management and allocate greater resources to revenue-driving operations...
If you are interested in learning more about DataOne’s capabilities for supporting all facets of their vehicle parts industry, you can reach out to our data experts by clicking the button below:
