Automotive Aftermarket & Spare Parts
In the parts trade, a sale depends on a question the customer cannot always answer: will this part fit my vehicle? The answer sits in fitment data, part-number cross-references and stock records spread across supplier feeds, the ERP, the web store and branch systems. When any of them is wrong, the result is a return, a trade customer lost to a competitor or a marketplace listing suspended. We work with parts distributors and retailers on the catalog, search, feeds and stock data behind each order.
Discuss this with usMarket context
There were 36,676,185 cars in use in the UK in 2025, up 1.4%. A record 45.7% had been on the road for more than ten years, and the average car was 9.7 years old.
Source: SMMT, One in 22 vehicles now zero emission as UK fleet reaches record high, April 2026
The EU Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation, which covers agreements for the sale of spare parts and for repair and maintenance services, expires on 31 May 2028. The Commission published its evaluation on 25 June 2026, and an impact assessment of policy options follows.
Source: European Commission, Review of the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation
A car parc that combines ageing combustion vehicles with a growing number of electrified models widens the range of parts a distributor has to list, stock and describe correctly.
Business challenges
01
Fitment data that disagrees with itself
Supplier feeds, licensed catalog data and in-house corrections often disagree on which vehicles a part fits. Each disagreement that reaches the storefront becomes a wrong-fit order, a return and a customer who orders elsewhere next time.
02
Search that misses part numbers
Trade buyers search by OE number, supplier reference or a competitor's code, typed with spaces and separators in different places. If search cannot match those forms, a part on the shelf shows as unavailable.
03
Trade and retail buyers on one setup
Garages expect account pricing, credit terms and quick reordering. Retail buyers need vehicle lookup and clear fitment. A store configured for one group makes the other harder to serve.
04
Marketplace listings rejected or suspended
Marketplaces require structured compatibility data, identifiers and condition fields. Listings built from an incomplete feed are rejected, or they attract wrong-fit returns that count against the seller account.
05
Branch stock the website cannot see
When branch stock syncs overnight, the website sells parts that left the shelf that morning. The order is then canceled, or a part is transferred between branches at the distributor's cost.
Where the opportunity sits
One maintained fitment record
Reconciling supplier, licensed and in-house fitment data into one record per part, with the source of every correction kept, means each fitment error can be traced and fixed once.
Part-number search built for the way buyers type
Indexing OE numbers, supplier references and cross-references in a normalised form lets a search for any of them return the part that is in stock.
Returns coded by cause
Coding each return as wrong fit, wrong description, damage or change of mind, and linking it to the listing and data source, shows which catalog errors cost most.
Stock visible by branch
Syncing branch stock to the store and marketplace feeds on a short cycle, with collection by branch, shows the website what each branch can supply before an order is accepted.
How we approach it
We start read-only with the catalog and its sources: supplier feeds, any licensed catalog data, the ERP or stock system, the web store, marketplace accounts and the returns log. We trace a sample of returned orders back to the listing, the fitment record and the feed it came from, and test search against part numbers taken from real trade orders. Findings become a prioritized task list, each item with an owner and an acceptance check. If the client wants us to build, the same team delivers the data reconciliation, search configuration, feeds, trade account setup and reporting, documented and left in the client's own accounts. We do not sell or license catalog data; sources such as TecDoc in Europe and ACES and PIES data in North America come from their providers under the client's own license. Repair procedures, type approval and competition-law advice on distribution agreements are outside our scope.
How our experience is evidenced
THEFOCUS has worked with businesses in this sector, with parts distributors and retailers on catalog, search and sales-channel work. Client engagements are confidential, and no anonymised record has yet been approved for publication.
Questions executives ask
Have you worked with parts distributors or retailers?
Yes. The engagements are confidential and no anonymised record has been approved for publication, so this page describes the work in general terms. A proposal would set out which parts of the scope we have delivered before.
Can you supply fitment data for our catalog?
No. Fitment data comes from your suppliers and licensed catalog providers. We reconcile those sources against each other and against your own corrections, and set up the process that keeps the record maintained.
Can one store serve both trade accounts and retail buyers?
Often it can, provided pricing, credit terms, search and checkout are configured for each group. We map how each group buys before recommending one store with account-based pricing or separate trade and retail storefronts.
How would you show whether the work reduced returns?
We code returns by cause before changing anything, then report wrong-fit returns per hundred orders for the same product groups afterwards. If seasonality or a range change makes the comparison unreliable, we say so.
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