Truck and automotive parts carry a lot of numbers. There is the OEM number on the parts list, the aftermarket brand's number, your number, and very often the fleet's own stock number in their maintenance software. A brake shoe kit, an air dryer cartridge or a fuel filter can have half a dozen names. When a tech searches for the wrong one, he calls, or he orders from whoever's label is on the shelf.
Let fleets order with their own numbers
With customer part numbers, a fleet orders with its own stock numbers. The number in their maintenance system maps to your item, and their techs and parts clerks never have to learn your catalog. On a master account, those numbers carry across every location, which matters for a fleet with terminals in several towns using one stock numbering system.
My Catalog shows a customer everything they have ever ordered from you. For a parts clerk at a busy shop, that list is often the quickest way to order: the filters, lamps and brake parts they use all the time, without searching. It also reminds them of things they forgot you carry.
Scan a competitor's bin label
Many fleet parts rooms are already labelled by another supplier. The app lets a customer or rep scan that supplier's bin label and get your matching item. A rep can walk the parts room with a phone, scan the shelves and come back with a list of your equivalents.
Underneath is the cross-reference table, every competitor part number matched to yours, with each match checked against the specs that matter. For fleet and heavy-duty parts that means things like:
- Application: make, model, axle, engine.
- Brake shoe kit size and lining type.
- Filter thread, gasket size and media rating.
- Lamp size, voltage and connector.
- Chamber type and stroke.
Cross-reference progress shows how many items are crossed to each competitor so far and what is still in progress, so you know how ready you are before you go after a fleet's parts room.
Why the cross wins the account
Fleet managers rarely leave a supplier because they love the old one. They stay because changing is a pain. Every stock number has to be re-learned, every shelf re-labelled, and nobody wants to risk the wrong brake part on a truck that carries a load down the interstate. A checked cross reference answers both worries. You print new labels, their stock numbers stay the same, and the techs keep working the way they always have.
Be strict about it. If an aftermarket filter has a different bypass setting or a different micron rating from the one it replaces, say so and offer the right part. One bad cross on a brake part can cost you the whole account, while a list that flags the differences builds trust in every other line.
The same idea works for dealership and OEM numbers. When a fleet's maintenance software lists an OEM part, crossing that number to your aftermarket equivalent can save the fleet money and keep the order with you rather than the dealer.
Keep the list tidy as the fleet changes. When old units leave the fleet or new ones arrive, the parts they need change too, and the cross references and stock numbers should follow.
Pick the competitor whose labels you see most often in your target fleets. Cross their top hundred items, check them properly, and take that list on your next visit.
Want to see it with your own parts and fleet accounts? See how it works.