Original Equipment Manufacturer are those who make parts, sub systems and components that are used in the end product of other companies; thus making them a B2B cardinality. The parts catalog is published with user in mind to navigate through the exhaustive big data available and keep them informed. The OEM parts catalog categories products and parts in normal forms such that the database can be queried or filtered for specific vehicle make & model. There are several OEM’s present in the market who publish their own catalog data to be visible in the market and for the sake of information. The catalog services help gain visibility and deliver competitive awareness to the market.
Catalog services enable OEM’s to communicate to the market their technologies, specifications, insights and features. With increase in e commerce market the virtual catalog services are also gaining growth of the momentum. Catalogs need be designed to deliver standard information and still preserving their unique selling propositions. The purpose of parts catalog is to make a summary of the parts or products such that it guides the user to make a purchase. A catalog is one of the frontends of the OEM with which the user generally interacts to evaluate the replacement part.
OEM’s are different than other aftermarket parts supplier in terms that they cater directly to the business and also seldom to the individuals. They are more interested in the bulk market or stockiest who keep large inventory on their racks. The catalog is a pre sale document which informs user of the new features added and the new product line introduced in the market. The catalogs are mostly published annually and in few instances every 6 months as most products don’t change often times. They might or might not carry a price tag and discounts on them to attract the user.
With increase in use of internet and ecommerce services more and more users are going online to research the products before they buy. This makes the OEM service providers improve their online presence and to be alert & publish information good for circulation. The OEM parts catalog comes into play here when interacting with consumers virtually. The parts catalog is a comprehensive document that gives user sufficient information to compare and make quick decisions. As the OEM makes sales through multiple channels; it becomes important for information to be made available across multiple channels. For the purpose several managed service providers come into play to process the parts catalog data for the OEMs who provide semi-automated services.
