iStarXchange and OEConnection are planning a national rollout of online exchanges.
iStarXchange, the Toyota-backed online exchange, will move into a pilot stage in May. It will provide a marketplace for automotive dealers, collision repair shops and other players in the aftermarket parts business. The exchange hopes to provide a virtual link to the entire aftermarket and original equipment parts and services supply chain. In a similar venture, Ford, GM and DaimlerChrysler dealers amongst others are currently testing OEConnection, developed by the Big Three automakers. The OEConnection venture was announced in December last year and hopes to streamline parts purchasing between collision repair shops and dealers.
Both of these ventures are now preparing for a full launch as the test phases approach completion. Participating players as well as the users of the exchanges hope to benefit soon from a streamlined supply chain.
The backing of the vehicle manufacturers is not by accident. With vehicle manufacturers losing parts business to spare parts manufacturers in the independent aftermarket, these ventures will hope to increase sales of original equipment spares and help consolidate the original equipment manufacturers’ parts businesses.
Across Europe, these exchanges have the potential to flourish and the backing from the vehicle manufacturers is likely to ensure their long-term survival. However, the uptake at the retail level by outlets other than franchised dealers is fundamental for the ventures to succeed and the impending changes to Block Exemption may bring these ventures closer to reality in Europe.
