Embracing E-commerce Technology as a Competitive Advantage

With the North American economy experiencing record inflation and ongoing pandemic-driven supply chain issues limiting availability of parts for commercial vehicles, fleets, and service providers are facing sourcing challenges as well as rising costs. At the same time, as fleets face delays in production of new and replacement vehicles, they are keeping equipment in service longer than originally planned, further driving up the need for replacement parts. Adopting e-commerce strategies tailored to specific industry segments helps fleets address these challenges while maintaining operational efficiency.

Rising parts costs were detailed recently when the American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council reported during its 2022 annual meeting on its latest quarterly Decisiv/TMC North American Service Event Benchmark Report.

In particular:

• Between Q3 and Q4 2021 average parts costs rose 2.7%
• Comparing Q4 2021 with data from Q4 2020, parts cost jumped 8.8%.

The Fullbay 2022 State of the Heavy-Duty Repair Industry Report also illustrated how parts shortages are affecting service for commercial vehicles. In the survey, about 84% of shops reported increased delays caused by parts shortages, and 37% saw severely increased delays. A full 82% said that factor was causing some disruption in their operations. Leveraging data-driven analyses to improve parts availability and reduce costs allows fleets to better anticipate needs and streamline procurement.

With parts shortage impacting shops across the United States and Canada, there is a growing need to find and leverage new vendors and new ways to meet operational requirements. Data shows that many fleets are moving beyond traditional sourcing channels to access parts more efficiently and minimize delays in service.

Fullbay, for example, related that 45% of shops are frequently turning to additional suppliers. Along with other sources, e-commerce platforms have increasingly become a necessary part of their approach, especially when it comes to meeting the challenge of finding parts that are not routinely carried in inventory locally.

“Approximately 20% of all the parts on commercial vehicles fit into that category,” said David Seewack, CEO & founder of FindItParts. “Fleets and service providers have to use a time-consuming process to find those parts, and one of the best ways to do that is on an online platform.”

That challenge is driving broader shifts in how fleets approach parts procurement. True e-commerce purchasing supports these changes by delivering greater efficiency and flexibility in daily operations. As centralized repositories of information, e-commerce platforms help streamline access to both commonly used components and hard-to-find parts—capabilities that traditional retail channels often struggle to match, while also supporting transaction visibility and transparency in parts purchasing. Key advantages include:

• Advanced cross reference capabilities for sourcing parts by number, photo, and keyword
• Technical parts specialists who assist fleets and shops in identifying and finding parts
• Connectivity with a large number of suppliers, including providers of major brands and more than 2,500 other manufacturers
• Access to inventory from over 300 distributors and manufacturers nationwide
• Regional distribution centers to shorten fulfillment cycles by improving availability and speeding parts deliveries.

Taken together, these capabilities allow true e-commerce parts purchasing platforms to address everyday sourcing needs more effectively—especially during periods of supply chain disruption. As parts procurement practices continue to evolve, leveraging these tools can play a meaningful role in reducing downtime and keeping commercial vehicle service operations moving.

FinditParts is the largest single-source Internet distributor of heavy duty OEM and aftermarket parts. FinditParts is your partner in keeping your heavy duty truck on the road.