Parts.com Unveils "Parts Anywhere" Toll-Free Locating & Procurement Service; 458 New Dealers Join Supplier Network, Total Dealer Distribution Tops 1,000
12 December 2000
Parts.com Unveils "Parts Anywhere" Toll-Free Locating & Procurement Service; 458 New Dealers Join Supplier Network, Total Dealer Distribution Tops 1,000
SANFORD, Fla.--Dec. 12, 2000--Parts.com, Inc. (Stock Symbol:MIRM), a marketplace and software solutions provider for the automotive parts industry, announced today that it will soon be launching a "Parts Anywhere" toll free parts locating & procurement service which utilizes TradeMotion Solutions and parts.com's fast growing "just-in-time" nationwide distribution of automotive dealerships. Parts.com also announced that the recent signing of 252 new dealership franchises in addition to the 206 new dealerships reported last week. The success of the campaign dramatically impacted the parts.com distribution base to more than 1,000 dealerships nationwide.Parts.com presently has a parts fill-rate of 93%, with returns totaling less than 3%. The 7% of orders that went unfulfilled were mainly due to lack of distribution points in conjunction with time-sensitive orders. With its rapidly expanding distribution points, parts.com is poised to experience an even higher fill-rate.
Beginning December 18, 2000, parts.com can locate and procure OEM parts via the parts.com Marketplace and its toll-free "800" number. This service will extend the benefits of parts.com's existing online Marketplace to those customers whom continue to utilize the telephone and fax to locate and procure auto parts. Customers can simply call parts.com at 1-800-432-1114 and speak to a parts advisor from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. EST. The parts advisor will guide the order through the parts.com Marketplace to one of its authorized dealerships that will fulfill the order utilizing parts.com's TradeMotion Solutions.
"This is the next step in our multi-platform strategy to extend the efficiencies we have created through our parts.com marketplace and enhance the benefits of locating and procuring auto parts to dealerships, collision repair facilities, service repair shops, insurance and fleet companies, as well as consumers," stated Shawn Lucas, President of parts.com. "We have also experienced an excellent response to our free 12-month trial of TradeMotion Storefront, bringing our distribution total to more than 1,000 dealers nationwide."
Existing "800" number parts locating and one-touch systems only inform customers of the possible location of a specific auto part. These services rely on inventory information that can exceed thirty days and has no assurance the part is even in the inventory when a subsequent call is placed to the dealership. These services can run as much as $300 a month for GM alone. Dealerships refer to these services as "eliminating systems" because they narrow the possibilities, yet they do not find the true availability of the part. In contrast, parts.com not only determines the exact location of the part, but also procures the part for the customer.
Dan Gaul, General Manager of New York's Botnik Chevrolet stated, "With parts.com's release of "Parts Anywhere" locating and procurement service, I will be able to cancel our Reynolds & Reynolds One Touch parts locating system. And, with parts.com's upcoming TradeMotion 4.0 release, I can cancel my Bell & Howell parts catalog service as well. By eliminating these redundant and inferior services, parts.com will not only save my dealership thousands of dollars a year, but they will also provide for a 30% increase in the productivity of my parts counter personnel. Had parts.com been available five years ago I could've saved tens of thousands of dollars by throwing out my existing system," concluded Mr. Gaul.
"Dealerships have been misled for so many years into paying for all these additional service fees that total hundreds of dollars a month and we are just getting tired of getting stuffed into the mud," stated Barry Wilson, parts manager at Botnik. "In my opinion, the present catalog systems are cumbersome, redundant and not user-friendly; and, the locating system utilizes inventory information that is more than 30 days old. Parts.com has a user-friendly marketplace and will not only save me thousands of dollars a year but make my parts department more efficient."
The additional dealership lines added since late last week total: 165 Chevrolet, Pontiac, GMC, Buick, Oldsmobile and Cadillac dealerships; 119 Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge and Jeep dealerships; 53 Ford, Lincoln, Mercury dealerships; 115 European and Japanese Imports and 6 Saturn dealerships.
"Since the GM, Daimler Chrysler, Ford and Bell & Howell announcement last week, we have added 458 new dealerships into our supplier network. It appears their announcement has accelerated our growing supplier network as dealers look for a neutral third party to represent their interest while protecting their local brand," concluded Lucas.
About Parts.com
Parts.com, based in Sanford, Florida, provides business-to-business e-commerce software solutions for the auto parts industry and other verticals. Parts.com's TradeMotion Solutions create value for participants throughout the supply chain, including manufacturers, distributors, dealerships, collision repair shops, garages, recyclers and insurance companies as a result of its unique, direct business model which offers a number of efficiencies and opportunities throughout the supply chain.
This announcement contains "forward-looking statements." Words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," and other similar expressions as they relate to the Company and its management are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Although the Company and its management believe that the statements contained in this announcement are reasonable, it can give no assurances that such statements will prove correct. Factors that could affect the occurrence of events or results discussed herein are included with those mentioned in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Chevrolet, Pontiac, GMC, Buick, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge and Jeep, Ford, Lincoln, Mercury Reynolds & Reynolds and Bell & Howell are registered Trademarks.