TecAlliance tells PMF how it has optimised the accuracy of spare part identification with new vehicle attributes.
Model variety and various equipment variants are constantly increasing. TecAlliance implements new attributes in the vehicle data in order to enable accurate identification of the right spare parts worldwide. The TecDoc Standard, which has been established in the worldwide automotive aftermarket for 25 years, provides all market participants with access to standardised vehicle and spare parts information; each vehicle type is clearly and unmistakably defined and linked to the corresponding spare parts.
“No matter if its vehicle manufacturers, parts manufacturers, ITGs or dealers, they all realised the growing importance of highquality vehicle and parts data, and that it is essential for their business success“, explains Jürgen Mehlis, EVP Data Management Product & Sales at TecAlliance. “Data from all stages of the vehicle’s life cycle is of interest to our customers, and its use is not limited solely to repair and maintenance, but extends to the economic management of the company as well. Product and vehicle data thus became a strong driver of future developments, and are increasingly important for companies across all sectors. In order to enable fair competition between all market participants, they must have access to data that is as standardised as possible and available worldwide.”
Availability and access to vehicle and product information are key to success. If the vehicle and the matching spare parts can be identified accurately, the most important step has already been taken. However, the demands on the global independent automotive aftermarket to deliver new vehicle attributes in a higher granularity are constantly increasing.
The extension of the TecDoc Standard enables accurate results. In the past, there was only one brake disc for the front axle of a vehicle according to the TecDoc Standard. Due to internationalisation and model diversity, however, vehicles are now offered with multiple equipment variants, which also entail multiple spare parts offers.
As a result, there are several spare parts from the same module for the same vehicle. The customer, workshop, or dealer only have the option of having all of the most suitable spare parts delivered to them because it is no longer possible to clearly identify the vehicle without having it present in the workshop.
TecAlliance has been working on this issue internally for quite a long time and has created a global solution for the market. This allows it to continue serving existing customers who are satisfied with the current structures as well as to provide the market with new ways and offers for more granular data.
“We will definitely continue to adhere to the current TecDoc KType standard. At the same time, we will provide data suppliers (parts manufacturers) and data users (dealers) with new vehicle attributes in a higher granularity“, says Ralf Pelkmann, EVP Information Management at TecAlliance.
“The vehicles are fully up- and downward compatible so that the parts manufacturer has the advantage that they don’t have to redo their previous work, and the data user can simultaneously use the advantages of more granular vehicles. In addition, this approach allows us to assign international vehicles to a TecAlliance vehicle ID as uniquely as possible, so that international formats such as ACES & PIES, MAM, etc. can also be referenced and distributed almost unambiguously in the future“, explains Pelkmann.
