Companies throughout the automotive parts industry have themselves confronting a common problem. The quick pace of business, extensive data demands and unique marketing requirements have made automotive parts ecommerce a very complicated industry. More and more suppliers are seeking out specialist-integrated solutions in order to drive their profits.
This is where partnerships like Auto Plus and Shopping Cart Elite come in. Auto Plus is a bespoke automotive inventory catalog mapping software package that specializes in automotive ecommerce sites. The platform not only stands at the cutting edge of the industry, but it’s also fully integrated in line with the Aftermarket Catalog Enhanced Standard (ACES) and the Product Information Exchange Standard (PIES).
In a nutshell, Auto Plus is one of the leading software packages available with ACES and PIES catalog mapping. Supporting them in their journey are ecommerce experts Shopping Cart Elite. Shopping Cart Elite have become incredibly popular on account of the success of their software platform, which allows businesses to manage and automate their online shopping carts.
Combining the catalog mapping expertise of Auto Plus with the shopping cart prowess of Shopping Cart Elite will enable the pair to increase their efficiency. Where as a generalist shopping cart solution would not address the catalog mapping concerns of automotive business owners, integrating the two packages will.
The Auto Plus/ Shopping Cart Elite Alliance
One of the biggest advantages of blending these two is the combination of an efficient shopping cart with a data management system designed specifically for automotive parts. For example, the Autoplus platform makes it easy for users to create, manage, edit, import and export validated ACES and PIES XML data and files.
There are many shopping cart providers on the market that provide a good service, but few of them offer data managing features that are relevant to the automotive industry. Popular carts like Magention and X-cart don’t have the versatility that comes with Auto Plus’s ACES and PIES data. This is a problem because data management is the backbone of automotive ecommerce.
Likewise, Shopping Cart Elite brings to the table a wealth of marketing and support potential unparalleled by a non-integrated solution. Users have access to predictive search, auto ship, true live inventory, smart discounts, a square inch calculator, a gift registry, live chat and desktop/mobile page speed. These features all serve to improve the customer experience.
Integrating these solutions together means that you don’t have to invest in a library worth of third party apps in order to run your site and keep up to date with current industry trends. At a minimum, this will help customers reduce compliance time whilst increasing the speed of the marketplace. Effective data management and cart automation boosts internal processes and marketing effectiveness.
Marketing Automation
One of the keys to success in the ecommerce industry is marketing automation. The higher your level of automation, the faster and more efficient your service is. Shopping Cart Elite allows users to take control of their marketing handling everything from order management to CRM, ERP, shipping and inventory.
In addition, Shopping Cart Elite is cloud-based, so automotive businesses can store their data in a cloud hosted data center, using hypersonic CDN technology. This keeps marketing data secure in the event of unauthorized access or data destruction.
Electronic Inventory Management
Long before the Internet rose to prominence, meticulous inventory management has always been part of the automotive industry. Ordering and supplying specialist parts is and will remain the heart and soul of automotive commerce. Now the market has migrated online, it’s become essential to have a streamlined inventory management solution in order to make orders.
Inventory management is essential because an automotive companies inventory is one of the largest expenses incurred. Bespoke packages like Auto Plus allow users to track and maintain their inventory in line with customer demand. Having poor inventory management can be the difference between overselling on your stock and not.
Whether the customer is at a desktop or a mobile device, they expect a seamless experience. Generalist solutions, or sites that rely on third party apps to stay productive perform sluggishly when compared to specialist-integrated solutions like Auto Plus and Shopping Cart Elite.
What are ACES and PIES?
ACES and PIES are the automotive industry standard for displaying part and product information. Each part in Auto Plus’s system has a related PIES file that includes key information like the part number, weight, measurements and a brief description. Only parts that pertain to a specific vehicle have an ACES file attached.
These file types are the industry standard because the tell automakers and aftermarket companies everything they need to know about the parts in order to organize and ship them effectively. Inventory management solutions that don’t have ACES and PIES aren’t suited to the automotive industry, and can affect the company’s ability to transport goods effectively.
Aftermarket Catalog Enhanced Standard (ACES)
As mentioned briefly above, ACES is designed to help users exchange and manage automotive parts catalog data either internally or externally with other businesses (as pertains to a specific vehicle). ACES allow the user to exchange their catalog data without having to translate it into another format. This also cuts down on the number of formats users need to maintain their site.
PIES Automotive Mapping Catalog Software
One of the fundamental pillars of a successful ecommerce store is efficiency. This is where PIES comes in. Users can exchange parts data with different companies quickly and efficiently. In the past, automotive companies used to send spreadsheets to each other with a comprehensive list of product prices. The catalog will reveal everything from the dimensions of the part, product descriptions, warranty, shipping weight and whether there are any hazardous materials.
Integrated Solutions are a Must in the Automotive Industry
In order to find of long-term success in the automotive parts industry, having an effective ecommerce strategy and website is vital. Yet many businesses struggle to find a solution that provides shopping cart and inventory management all in one (Especially one that supports ACES and PIES).
Opting for an integrated solution like Auto Plus and Shopping Cart Elite is the best way to blend a high quality shopping cart experience with an ACES and PIES compliant inventory management system. Anything less than a bespoke solution will leave automakers ill prepared to handle large orders with other suppliers.
The integration of Auto Plus software with Shopping Cart Elite will help to bring the ecommerce and automotive industry closer towards a comprehensive integrated solution. As more and more automotive companies struggle to manage their inventories effectively, we can only expect to see more businesses make the transition towards integrated inventory management.