One part, four numbers
The OEM number, two aftermarket brands and your own code all mean the same brake pad. Search for the wrong one and the system says you have none.
Auto Parts & Spares
Find the part by any of its numbers.
An auto parts counter is a search problem. The customer brings an OEM number, the shelf label carries an aftermarket one, and the part they need is at another branch. OrbitWix keeps every number on the item, offers the alternatives when it is out, and shows stock at every branch before the customer has finished asking.
The problem
Where an auto parts sale is lost.
The demand is there. The sale is lost in the minute it takes to find the part.
Out of stock means a lost sale
The asked-for brand is out. An equivalent brand is on the shelf, but nobody at the counter knows it fits.
Another branch has it
Stock at the other five branches is a phone call away, so the customer leaves before anyone has called.
Superseded numbers linger
The manufacturer replaced a part number two years ago. Half the stock is labelled with the old one and the reorder still uses it.
Typical workflow
How a counter sale runs.
From the number the customer reads out to the part in their hand, including when it has to come from another branch.
A counter sale moves through six stages: a search by any part number, the matching item found, stock checked across branches, an alternative offered or a transfer raised, the sale, and the branch replenished.
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01 Search
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OEM number
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02 Match
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Item found
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03 Branches
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0 here
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04 Transfer
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Raised
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05 Sale
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Invoiced
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06 Replenish
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Requested
The solution
What OrbitWix puts in place.
Six parts for a catalogue that is found by number, not by name.
Every number on the item
Your code, the OEM number and each brand’s number held on one item, and all of them searchable.
Alternatives when it is out
Equivalent parts linked to each other, so the counter is offered a brand that fits when the asked-for one is gone.
Stock at every branch
One search shows what each branch holds, and a transfer moves it to where the customer is.
Counter and trade prices
Walk-in, workshop and fleet price lists on the same item, applied by who is buying.
Buying by the supplier’s numbers
Purchase orders that print the supplier’s own part numbers, so what arrives matches what was ordered.
Slow movers by line
Which part lines sell and which sit, branch by branch, read from live records.
Example
One brake pad, one afternoon.
An illustration of a counter sale that crosses branches. The names are made up; the sequence is the ordinary one.
- 14:05 A workshop asks for brake pads by the OEM number on the old box. The search finds your item, BP-2207, which carries that number and three others.
- 14:06 City branch has none. The same screen shows four sets at Airport Road and two at the main warehouse, and an equivalent brand in stock here.
- 14:08 The workshop wants the original brand. A transfer of two sets from Airport Road is raised for the afternoon van.
- 16:30 The sets arrive and the sale is invoiced at the workshop’s trade price.
- 17:00 City branch has fallen below its level for BP-2207, and a request is raised to the main warehouse.
Visibility
Reports you read, and work you stop doing.
Both read the same records the work is done on, so neither needs an export to stay current.
Reports
- Lost salesSearches that ended without a sale, by part and by branch.
- Stock by branchEvery branch’s holding of a part line on one page.
- Slow-moving linesThe part lines that have not sold in 90 or 180 days.
- Transfers between branchesWhat moves where, and how often the same part travels.
- Margin by customer typeCounter, workshop and fleet, side by side.
Automation
- A transfer request is raised when a branch falls below its level and another branch has stock
- The customer’s price list is applied by who is buying
- A watch on parts asked for at the counter that no branch has Early access
Items marked early access run on Watcher, which is still being finished.
Recommended apps
Where to start.
Auto parts distributors start with stock and the counter, and add analytics once the catalogue’s numbers are on the system.
Inventory
Every part number, alternatives and stock at every branch.
Sales
Counter, workshop and fleet prices on one item.
Purchase
Orders that use the supplier’s own part numbers.
AI & Analytics
Slow movers and lost sales over the whole catalogue.
FAQ
Questions from auto parts distributors.
Can one part carry several part numbers?
Yes. An item carries your own code plus as many manufacturer and supplier numbers as it needs, and a search by any of them finds it.
What happens when the asked-for part is out?
Equivalent parts can be linked as alternatives. When one is out, the counter sees the alternatives and what each branch holds of them.
Can we search by vehicle?
Make, model and years can be held on the item as fields you define and searched like any other. OrbitWix does not include a third-party fitment catalogue; if you subscribe to one, talk to us about bringing it in.
How do superseded numbers work?
The old number stays on the item as one of its numbers, so a search by it still finds the part, while new purchase orders use the current one.
Have a different question? Talk to us.
See your counter find the part.
Bring five part numbers your counter struggled with last week. We will show how each one is found, and which branch had it.