Digitalization is no longer an optional question but a must-answer for the survival of the auto parts industry
Against the backdrop of the automotive industry's accelerated transformation towards electrification and intelligence, the scale of China's auto parts market has exceeded 6.79 trillion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of over 10%. However, this seemingly booming industry has long been confronted withThe supply chain is lengthy, information is asymmetrical, and transaction efficiency is lowDue to these pain points, the average gross profit margin of the industry is less than 15%, and the inventory turnover rate is only one-third of that of the leading enterprises in the industry。
As a brand management company serving the global automotive aftermarket parts supply chain, Feier Auto Parts is also confronted with the challenge of digital transformation. With the expansion of the enterprise scale, Phil Auto Parts now has domestic and foreign trade companies as well as multiple stores. Its organizational form has transformed from a single organization to a group. However, the inventory management systems used by each company are different, which leads toProduct data is not unified, customer data is not unified, and the capabilities of suppliers cannot be reused and integrated。
PerformanceThe main products of Phil Auto Parts are over 15,000 categories of products deeply integrated with the supply chain of Mercedes-Benz, BMW and German car brands. However, before the digital transformation, there were multiple information systems within Fei Auto Parts, and the data were not interconnected, forming numerous "data silos".
The IT director of Phil Auto Parts recalled:The system covers the suspension system, steering system and braking systemIt features a series of core components and a wide variety of products. To meet the needs of customers from different channels, our tens of thousands of products are available for users to adapt to. The procurement, sales, various orders, and product inventory management are quite challenging。”
SolutionEstablish a unified data middle platform
Phil Auto Parts has established by introducing the Guangtui Digital Middle PlatformUnified management of the three major master dataThe system includes a global product master data pool, a customer credit hub and a supplier capability bank. This system has achievedData middle platform + Ordering Pass + Diancang WMS+CRM+ Official websiteSeamless connection of 12 major systems, including "".
“Refined management has enabled Furui (Phil) to grow to a certain stageThe refinement of social division of labor and the refinement of service quality are inevitable requirements for modern management" Through unified master data management, Phil Auto Parts has achieved unified management of a global cross-border product library of over 300,000 SKUs, established a global credit system covering over 2,000 dealers, and integrated a resource pool of over 500 suppliers.
PerformanceBefore the digital transformation of Phil Auto Parts, there existed within the companyExtensive managementThe problem. Although extensive management enabled rapid development in the early stage of an enterprise's growth, as the enterprise developed, this management approach brought about many problems:
It sows the seeds of "communication barriers" for enterprises.
If enterprises rely on extensive management to drive economic growth for a long time, it will lead to high cost consumption, difficulty in improving product quality and reduced economic benefits of the enterprises.
Chaotic management and unclear rights and responsibilities have plunged the enterprise into a management "quagmire"。
SolutionFull-process digital reconstruction
In response to the issue of process efficiency, Phil Auto Parts has introducedIntelligent procurement driven by processesandA sales roadmap for transparent management。
In terms of procurement, the system manages inventory, sets a minimum threshold for inventory, and when the inventory drops below a certain level, it will send a message push to the sales staff of the procurement department, who will then initiate a procurement application。
In terms of sales, while communicating with customers, salespeople will prepare sales quotation sheets and offer quotations to customers. Once the customers confirm their needs, the quotation sheets will be submitted for approval by the sales team leaders. The entire process becomes transparent and efficient。
The IT director of Phil Auto Parts said:"Kingdee Cloud · Starry Sky truly connects Xinjiang Furui (Fei 'er) with enterprise finance, business, processes, and customer CRMThus, real-time control over the actual business situation can be achieved, realizing the comprehensive informatization of the enterprise from business, management to operation。”
PerformanceThe supply chain of the auto parts industry involves multiple links such as original equipment manufacturers (Oems), first/second-tier suppliers, dealers, and repair shops. The traditional model relies on Excel, phone calls, and emails for communication, which leads to difficulties in inventory management。
It is specifically manifested in
Long procurement cycle: From the submission of requirements to the delivery by suppliers, it often takes several weeks or even months.
Low inventory turnover rate: Due to the lack of precise demand forecasting, some auto parts enterprises have severe inventory overstock.The overstocking rate is as high as 20% to 30%；
Manual reconciliation is inefficient: data from the finance, purchasing and warehousing departments are inconsistent, the reconciliation cycle is long and errors are prone to occur。
SolutionIntelligent inventory management and demand forecasting
Phil Auto Parts has achieved this by deploying an intelligent supply chain collaboration platformSupplier Managed Inventory (VMISuppliers can view the inventory levels of customers in real time, automatically trigger replenishment orders, and reduce the risk of supply disruptions。
Meanwhile, through AI demand forecasting technology, based on historical sales data, market trends, and seasonal factors, future demand is predicted and inventory is optimized. This measure helped Phil Auto Parts achieve remarkable results, with a 35% increase in inventory turnover rate and a 30% reduction in slow-moving inventory。
Through digital transformation, Phil Auto Parts has achieved remarkable results:
Efficiency revolution
The generation of financial statements has been reduced from 7 days to 2 hours
The global order response speed has increased by 300%
The inventory turnover rate has increased by 200% (reaching the top 5% in the industry)
Cost optimization
Four duplicate systems were cut (saving 2.8 million yuan in annual licensing fees)
Reduce the order-following team by 27 people
Release 3,500 square meters of warehouse space (equivalent to an annual rent of 1.6 million yuan)
The IT director of Phil Auto Parts concluded:Phil's digital system and digital intelligence capabilities are three years ahead of its industry peers. This achievement is attributed to the three-year in-depth co-creation of the digital middle platform project by Phil Auto Parts and Guangtui Network Technology Co., LTD."
With the continuous development of technology, the digital transformation of the auto parts industry will be further deepened
Intelligent procurement driven by AI large modelsBased on GPT-like AI, achieve natural language interactive procurement；
Digital twins optimize the supply chainBuild a virtual supply chain model to simulate the performance of the supply chain in different scenarios and optimize decision-making；
Blockchain empowers quality traceability and supply chain financeFrom raw material procurement, production processing, logistics transportation to terminal assembly, all data is recorded on the blockchain for evidence, ensuring quality traceability。
The digital transformation of the auto parts industry has evolved from the replacement of a single system to the reconstruction of an industrial ecosystem. Just as the case of Phil Auto Parts shows, by building a unified digital middle platform, achieving full-process digital reconstruction, and introducing an intelligent inventory management system, auto parts enterprises can effectively address three major pain points and achieve cost reduction and efficiency improvement.
In the century-old transformation of the automotive industry, digital transformation is no longer an optional question but a must-answer question for auto parts enterprises to survive. Only by actively embracing changes can we remain invincible in this era full of challenges and opportunities.
