Partakus’ project is to create a transparent market place for the online supply of auto parts in France, including original and re-used parts, to independent garages according to a recent article on autoactu.com
For those who knew the project under the name ‘PartsAdvisor’, its final version is deployed as of today under the name of ‘Partakus’. Everyone will have recognised the genesis of this name in the hero of the Roman era ‘Spartakus’, a gladiator who raises an army of exclaves, craftsmen and independents to fight against the Roman army.
“Raising an army to fight against a powerful foreigner, that inspired us”, says Julien Dubois, President of the company who presented the launch during a press video conference at the end of April. If the story of Spartakus ends badly, it is not the subject: “It is the cause which is more important than the individual and this is where the reference to Spartakus ends.”
In the spare part, the powerful foreigner is, of course, Amazon who will apply its usual methods of disintermediation in this sector by going one by one to seek the layers of margin in the value chain. “A model based on price is deadly for everyone. Low prices are less service”, explains Julien Dubois. “Each purchase taken from the local distribution that provides a service are missed sales that will weaken it. The fall in prices and the decline in margins will result in the destruction of businesses and jobs, it is a big danger to the industry.”
Partakus, therefore, offers a digital market place which allows garage owners to obtain spare parts from the spare parts distributors listed with the proposal of the original part via the dealers. “There is a wall to drop between the original part and the equipment part which complicates the life of garage owners,” notes Julien Dubois.
The platform also offers re-use parts with a partnership with Opisto, ongoing discussions with Indra and Faral for the standard exchange of engine and gearbox. “The reuse part is fundamental. Garage owners do not have this reflex, by integrating it into the parts route we will give it the place it deserves,” explains Julien Dubois.
Partakus wants to be an equivalent of the village market and will build an offer which covers 100% of the needs of the mechanic, in particular, the tire, the accessory, the telematics and the garage equipment.
The strength of the platform lies in the quality of its catalogue, where they aim to “have the best on the market” and the company’s ambition is to “revolutionise” the return rate which is estimated in general between 8% and 15% (with varied reasons). The return rate of the platform in the test carried out in Italy with 600 garages in the Milan region would be less than 3%.
In the demonstration to which the company assisted the realisation of an order is fast, with identification of the vehicle by the registration plate (or make, model), rapid identification of the part and presentation of the different offers according to the availability of the part (and not the price). Payment is made online. The system is directly interfaced with the management systems of garages and distributors.
Save time in ordering parts
The bias of the offer is to place oneself from the point of view of the mechanic and to simplify his life so that the saving of time in the search for the parts that he realises can result in more cars in the workshop. And have the parts delivered to him in a few hours. “This speed is made possible by the” collaborative supply chain “, in other words, the networking of the best regional distributors chosen for their complementarity and quality of service”, explains the company.
Access to the platform is via computer or via a mobile app which is more suited to technicians. On the application, they can request a quote by identifying the vehicle with a photo of its license plate and attaching a photo of the part and a voice comment to their request.
“The value that we bring is a single site, a single app for all the products needed by the garage which retains its freedom of supply and choice. It saves time and convenience. minutes to each car, it may be one more car at the workshop in the evening, “ underlines Julien Dubois.
For the distributor or the dealer for the original part, Partakus is a new sales channel.
A target of 12,000 garages in France by 2022.
The platform begins the process of recruiting sellers of parts (distributors and dealers) as well as garages. It currently has 400 and has 4,000 in prospecting. By 2022, its target is 36,000 garages in three countries (including Italy and Spain) including 12,000 garages in France.
Partakus is a project that was incubated by the Renault Nissan Alliance in which Renault is a shareholder and is developing in full autonomy. Its business model is based on commission payment, for example, 5% of the net price excluding taxes sold at the garage for equipment parts.
The company does not communicate a turnover target but a forecast of cumulative turnover of distributors present on the platform of 500 million euros (at distributor selling price) over a 4 to 5-year horizon.
What is Amazon’s position in the sector today? “We do not know the place occupied by Amazon on the auto parts market, we do not know the number of professional accounts and the number of transactions they carry out on the BtoB auto parts market in France. We know that the automobile part occupies 10% of the new Amazon warehouse in Brétigny-Sur-Orge, “ says Julien Dubois.
If we refer to the weight of Amazon in the American auto parts market, US $8 billion in BtoC, auto parts platforms have a problem.
The original article can be found here www.autoactu.com
