Demand for an online parts website

[F_22]

I buy parts, supplies, and accessories everywhere but my NH dealer. Why? NH and their dealers are not online. Pointing and clicking sure beats having to take off work (NH dealers are not open weekends nor evenings) and driving 45 minutes one way. The only time I patronize NH is when I can't get something anywhere else. As for service, the counter guys know less than I do and I usually have to help them.

JD's excellent online system will figure into my next tractor purchase in about a year or so. Time to join the 21st century, NH! Any dealer that strikes out online on their own will make a killing in my opinion.

 

[MikePA]

<font color="blue"> NH dealers are not open weekends nor evenings </font>
Not true of all of them. Mine is open Saturday mornings.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

Yea we are too We also have a 24 hour number. I feel your pain though.

I am starting to put togehter some ideas here. Depending on what this winter holds I might get my butt in gear and do somthing. Its still up in the air though.

 

[BXRICK]

In general, I prefer buying online, all else being equal. As previous posters have said, a few clicks is a lot easier than driving to a dealer.

I do, however, think the "which types of parts to carry online" question needs some thought. It seems to me that there are several broad categories of parts (obviously with some overlap):

- Comsumable parts. Filters, belts, etc. These parts work well online, since the need for them is usually known in advance for scheduled maintenance, and owners don't mind buying a few extra, since they will use them eventually. The problem here is competition for commodity parts. What can you offer than no other online parts service offer? And, as is seen here on TBN, a lot of these types of parts have local (NAPA, Wix, etc) equivalents that are cheaper/just as easy to obtain as the manufacturer's part. Maybe offering the equivalents online (with a good cross-reference system) would be the ticket?

- Emergency repair parts. Parts that break (as opposed to wear out) infrequently, but when they do, the tractor is out of commission until the new part is obtained. The problem with these parts is that owners won't want to stock up on these parts, and (assuming a decent inventory) a dealer can get the parts to the owner immediately, whereas an online service will force the owner to wait at least overnight. Price is not a major advantage here, since owners will likely pay a (slight) premium to get the tractor running again within hours instead of days.

- Major overhaul/restoration parts. These parts could work well online, since the tractor is already torn apart, likely for "known ahead of time" service.

So, I think it's worth thinking about what types of parts you would offer, and what you can offer regarding those parts that other online services (including the manufacturers') cannot (or don't) offer.

As I mentioned above, it might be worth considering offering aftermarket consumables with an easy-to-use cross-reference system. There have been an awful lot of posts about what Wix filter matches a Kubota <fill in the blank>. I don't know if the tractor brands you carry "allow" you to do this, however.

Anyway, food for thought.

Rick

 

[AndyMA]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">(
Perhaps in an ideal world. However the 'clerks' at my local dealer can't
do more than order a part based upon the manufacturer's PN. Ask them if
it is a JIC or SAE fitting and you get a blank stare. The most effective
measure here is an educated owner (professional or otherwise).
)</font>

Fortunately that is not the case at my NH/Kubota dealer. The parts people are well trained and about as far from clerks as you can get. In fact the owner fo the business runs parts and has a General Manager to run sales and ervice.

Andy

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

The issue with other filter options has always confused me. I would think that people would be looking for a better quality filter than the OEM's, not a cheaper lesser filter. Most people never do their maintance when they should anyway, why not pay the extra $2 to cover your butt. I don't have sourcing right now for cheaper, non OEM filters. I do however have fleetguard which makes a more premium line. I thought this might do well, but am I wrong?

 

[BXRICK]

No, you're not wrong - I didn't write quite what I meant.

The idea about an easy way to identify/order non-OEM filters doesn't require that the non-OEM filters (or other parts) be cheaper.

The idea was centered more around the ability to quickly and accurately identify which filters cross to the OEM filters, and order them from a web site.

Of course, I'm not sure how to solve the problem of using your site to identify the correct Wix (for instance) filter, and then stopping on the way home to pick it up, rather than ordering it from you and waiting a day or two.

While I'm hardly an expert, I think in general that to succeed selling on the web, you (or anyone) must offer something different/better. Otherwise, what you offer becomes a commodity, and in the commodity world, the lowest price wins every time, ratcheting down margins until no one is actually making money.

This follows with the discussions that occur frequently on this site regarding buying from dealer A or dealer B. Even if dealer B's price is a bit higher, service down the roard counts for a lot and should therefore be considered in the buying decision. If all dealers offerred the exact same service, then all buying decisions would be based only on price. Dealers vary in levels and quality of service, so there is more to consider than price.

On the web, you're competing (whether in service or on price) with a lot more people than just the other dealers in your area.

Another angle might be to look at a web-based service for your local customers as a value-add to buying from you as opposed to your local competitors. I don't have any ideas in this area, though. I'm also not sure about the cost/benefit of this, since it would be potentially serving many ferwer customers.

Would anyone be interested in a service (maybe for a small fee) that emailed relevant manufacturer service bulletins to them as soon as they come out? Again, not sure how the manufacturers feel about this.

Just throwing stuff out there...

Rick

 

[CMunger]

Does anyone know how many companies make filters anymore?
I think we might be surprised on how few. Wix makes Napa. Fleetgard, very high quality, OE to Cummins and may own part of the company, when these companies get behind they farm out to there competitors. The thing that bothers me about filters is everyone is bitching about price because some filter cost 2 dollars less, and they are protecting a 5,000 dollar engine. Its easy to have somone to check gasket size and threads and if it spins on and is cheaper, buy it. Chuck M.