Technologue President Nick Porrini has deep roots in the aftermarket, having started his career behind the parts counter at a NAPA store. He founded Technologue after spending 10 years at legendary repair manual publisher The Chilton Company and is active with a number of industry associations. He also serves on the technology committees for the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIS) and the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA).
What's the No. 1 technology setback you encounter in the aftermarket?
It's really that a lot of the legacy system that are out there are restricting or inefficient in the way that critical information flows, especially catalog data going to the parts counter.
The aftermarket is often accused of under spending on IT. Do you think this is true?
I would imagine that everyone is cautious. I've been around the industry a long time, and particularly on the catalog side, a lot of technology companies have come and gone, which has left a lot of people in the dark in terms of getting support. That's one reason why companies are cautious. I don't know if it's true that they're under spending on IT.
What I do know is that the legacy systems or proprietary systems that are out there are holding the industry back. It still takes anywhere from three to six months or longer to get catalog information to the counter. Several years ago there was a study that showed we are losing billions each year in sales, and those parts sit on the shelf because the information is not there. I don't know that we've even taken a dent out of that yet. A lot of those sales go to dealers, because if the aftermarket doesn't have it they go to dealers to purchase those parts.
What do you think it will take to achieve more widespread acceptance of the industry data standards?
I believe it's going to take pressures placed on those who don't adopt the standards by those who really want to aggressively move forward. That could mean a buyer requiring that suppliers provide them information like ACES or PIES data because they see it as a competitive advantage.
On the supplier side, it will be pressure placed on those that don't adopt by those that do, because their information will get to the customer in a more timely fashion, helping them sell more parts.
Have there been any new technology developments in the past few years that you think could potentially help boost e-commerce adoption in the aftermarket?
From my perspective, I think the standards, particularly ACES and PIES, have paved the way for new developments in technology. AAIA has a whole suite of products and initiatives going on with Internet Parts Ordering (IPO) and iSHOP and the PARTnerShip Network. I think because of those standards, there are now a lot of systems developers out there who provide catalog or product information management (PIM) solutions. I think that's because the standards have opened the door for these new technology companies, and for new technology to be developed around the standards.
