A codification is the system adopted for accurate identification of products by assigning an alphanumeric code for each item procured and stored.
The codification is the mechanism used by distributors to manage their products and at the same time provides a systematic grouping criteria of similar products avoiding duplicate stocks.
The problem is that there are hundreds of codifications created by original or aftermarket parts manufacturers, vehicle manufactures, parts remanufacturers, distributors themselves, etc.
Taking into account that each different part manufactured by each manufacturer, each part mounted on a different vehicle, each part remanufactured and each part that appears in the catalog of each distributor, has its own reference number, we can imagine why there are millions of reference numbers associated to the different products that are marketed.
Top product families and providers with the highest number of reference numbers in the aftermarket:
Distributors are in the middle of this perfect storm. On the one hand they should be able to correctly identify the reference number that is requested by their customer and on the other hand find the solution in their warehouse or into their different providers.
How many different ways can a customer request a product to the distributor? According to the grouping criteria of the codifications of the main parts manufacturers and taking into account the market demand analysis in Europe during the year 2017, an average of 15 different reference numbers are used in the aftermarket to search each of the products (although in some cases they can surpass the 50 different reference numbers).
How can the distributor correctly identify any reference number requested by the customer and, most importantly, find his own reference number quickly and accurately in order to be able to supply it?
How can the distributor link and keep continually linked their own reference numbers with the most popular reference numbers in the market?
Using the providers’ catalogs, distributors only find the solutions that the provider knows or publishes. Partsfinder technology, embedded in all our products, allows to increase the level of distributor’s customer service an average of between 20-25%, that means more productivity and more sales.
In future BLOG entries we will explain more details about Partsfinder technology and we will answer the million dollar question: how many different products actually exist in the aftermarket?
