Any auto parts wholesaler or distributor must search every day for hundreds, if not thousands, of part numbers requested by customers.
Regardless of whether they have a small or large stock, they must ensure whether the requested part is available in the warehouse or not.
Having a database with cross-references, or consulting catalogues from different manufacturers, is essential to be able to search and find solutions in the warehouse. But if we take into account that there are millions of part numbers from thousands of different brands, it is very difficult to have all the possible equivalents on the market.
We have made an estimate of the number of equivalents available from different manufacturers, and have found the following data volumes:
Now, if we calculate the number of equivalences that could actually exist for these part numbers from these manufacturers, we realize that a much lower number of equivalences are actually published.
Why does this happen? Because manufacturers do not have the capacity to generate all the equivalences for all the brands on the market (and if they did, they would generate many potential errors), nor for all the OE part numbers that exist and are equivalent to each other.
At Factory Data we have created NEO code® technology for data clustering that intelligently connects all part numbers to each other. This way, the solution is always found in the warehouse, if it is there, of course!
These would be the increases in equivalences that our NEO code® technology is capable of generating in the brands and types of products analyzed above:
Let’s look at some examples of equivalences that are not found in the published data (you can check them in Tecdoc or in the web catalogues of each manufacturer):
1) For “Brake discs” in BOSCH, the increase is very important, +305%, many OE crosses are missing but also many IAM. Try to locate the part number “0 986 479 046” of BOSCH from VW “7B0 615 301 B”, you will not find it in Tecdoc. You will not find it either if you search from many IAMs, MAGNETI MARELLI “361 302040626”, JAPAN PARTS “DI-915”, ASHUKI “P330-127”, etc. etc.
2) For “Compressors, air conditioning” in SIDAT, the increase is spectacular, +450%, but it is not that they have few cross-references, which on average they have 40 per part number, which is a lot, what happens is that there are still many more. Try to locate the part number “19063” of SIDAT from HYUNDAI “97701-17610”, you will not find it in Tecdoc. You will not find it either if you search from many IAMs, ACR “135227”, BOSCH “1 986 AD1 057”, PSH “090.155.072.310”, etc. etc.
3) For “Air filter” in COMLINE, the increase is not as spectacular, +115%, but we easily find missing OE and IAM cross references. Try to locate the COMLINE part number “CSZ12946” starting from SUZUKI “8-94137-339-0”, you won’t find it in Tecdoc. You won’t find it either if you search from many IAMs, MAHLE “78728867”, NPS “S132I16”, WILMINK GROUP “WG1216593”, etc. etc.
4) For “Air spring, boot/cargo compartment” from QUINTON HAZELL, the increase is also moderate, +142%, but as always there are many equivalences missing. Try to locate the part number “CSZ12946” from COMLINE starting with FORD “1053880”, you will not find it in Tecdoc. You will not find it either if you search starting with many IAMs, STELLOX “11-10926-SX”, TOPRAN “301 036”, VAICO “V25-02357”, etc. etc.
In fact, this problem of missing equivalences exists, to a greater or lesser extent, for all manufacturers on the market.
If you want to know more about our data technology, which is revolutionizing the auto parts market, do not hesitate to contact us.
