Shoppers who buy car parts from PartsAmerica.com, a leader in the automotive parts aftermarket, can now pick up, return and exchange parts in any of the 2,900 PartsAmerica.com suppliers including all CSK Auto and Advance Auto parts locations.
Launched in September 2000, the PartsAmerica.com site created by Integrated Information Systems Inc. enhances the Internet shopping experience with live customer service assistance, online mechanical diagnosis and real-time inventory updates on more than 1 million products representing $1.4 billion in auto parts and accessories.
PartsAmerica.com faced the challenge of joining forces with two independent retailers, Advance Auto Parts and CSK Auto, to leverage their brick-and-mortar stores in a manner that would provide traditional retail services online. IIS approached this challenge by creating a supply chain integration system that permits customers to make a purchase over the Internet then pick up the order almost immediately in a nearby store from a PartsAmerica.com supplier. In the alternative, the customer can still opt for standard product shipping.
PartsAmerica tested the pick-up-and-return-to-store option for four months and found that when a customer had the choice of ordering online and picking up at the store, 90% chose to do so. On the return side, 98% chose to return to the store.
"We were very impressed with the way that IIS handled the complexity of our e-business model," said John Morel, vice president of marketing at PartsAmerica.com. "These supply chain integration systems have resulted in improved customer relations and have ultimately increased PartsAmerica's bottom line."
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