Last week, I was honored to speak at Aurora Parts’ annual Dealer Conference & Expo in Indianapolis, with this year’s conference title being “Beyond the Bo,” and what a great experience it was! My presentation was titled “Beyond the Counter: How Digital Expectations are Reshaping Parts Sales” - here’s the blog version of my speech:

There's a saying in the auto industry: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." But when it comes to the automotive parts aftermarket, that mentality is a one-way ticket to obsolescence. I’ve seen it firsthand over the last 13 years at Broadleaf Commerce, and let me tell you, the auto industry, especially the heavy-duty segment, is a beautiful mess of complexity.

Back in 2010, I was a consultant for Pep Boys, a company with around 600 stores and (at that time) no online sales. While they initially thought an online channel would provide the revenue of an average store ($2 million per year at the time), we told them their online store should easily match the revenue of ten physical locations ($20 million per year). We were both off the mark. Within 18 months, their digital channel was raking in $150 million, the equivalent of 75 stores. And get this, it wasn't cannibalizing in-store sales; it was all new revenue. That experience was my introduction to Broadleaf Commerce, and it proved a well-known axiom: a small team of top players can run circles around big, slow-moving companies.

After joining Broadleaf, we proved it again with O'Reilly Auto Parts. They’d licensed another well-known platform, but their search was a total bust. It couldn’t return sub-second results for 2 million parts, each part having fitment data (knowing the year, make, model, and engine each part fits to), and each part allowing for pricing overrides from 5,000 stores. That turned into 300 million search documents that needed to be accessed in less than a second. Our small team of a few engineers pulled off what a multi-billion-dollar competitor couldn't. It felt like a modern-day David vs. Goliath story, and it solidified our belief that innovative software can conquer even the gnarliest commerce complexity.

But here's the thing about the auto aftermarket: the biggest challenge isn't always about technology; it's about relationships. We saw this with Aurora Parts. Their question was simple: how do we launch an online store that helps, not hurts, our physical dealerships? The answer seems obvious now, but many companies have gone down the wrong road. Just look at Nike's "Consumer Direct Offense" strategy in 2017. They cut ties with thousands of retailers to prioritize their own D2C channel. It was successful at first, but they quickly realized they had underestimated the importance of retail for product discovery and convenience. They're now course-correcting back to a more balanced approach. Similarly, in the B2B space, the German toolmaker Festool launched its own D2C platform in 2022, causing significant friction with the very dealers who made them successful. My bet? Both see a short-term profit bump at the expense of long-term growth.

When Aurora Parts launched their Parts2Go platform in 2022, they did it with a Reserve Online, Pickup in Store model on purpose. This simple, elegant solution turned their dealers into fulfillment centers, creating a mutually beneficial relationship instead of a competitive one.

Diving Deep into the Digital Aftermarket Dilemma 

Let's talk numbers because that's where the rubber meets the road. The online automotive aftermarket is projected to see a CAGR of 13-18% over the next decade, with analysts all stating it’s an industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars. In the U.S. alone, the online-only segment is expected to hit a cool $41 billion by 2029. What's selling like hotcakes online? Brakes, filters, batteries, tires, and lubricants. What's surprising is that for these specific items, online sales are now outpacing in-store sales.

But with great opportunity comes great complexity. Companies trying to sell online face five key challenges:

1. Product Accuracy & Fitment: The average eCommerce return rate is around 17%. For auto parts, over half of all returns are due to fitment issues. This directly impacts your bottom line.
   
2. Inventory Management: Inaccurate inventory records cost retailers an estimated $400 billion annually. It's a "silent cost" that cuts into revenue, but more importantly, it erodes customer trust. One bad experience can outweigh dozens of good ones.
   
3. Logistics & Fulfillment: This involves navigating complex, global supply chains and managing time-critical repairs. You've got to deal with bulky parts and high transportation costs. And don't forget the curveballs like natural disasters, pandemics, and tariffs that can disrupt everything.
   
4. Price Competition & Margins: The online world is fiercely competitive, with a new option just a click away. This can lead to margin erosion and challenges in enforcing Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policies.
   
5. Customer Experience (CX): A poor user experience means price alone won't save you. Customers expect a seamless, personalized experience across all channels online, in-store, and on the phone. Remember, retaining a customer is far more effective than acquiring a new one.

The Heavy-Duty Hustle: B2B vs. B2C

The heavy-duty and truck parts market is a bit behind the curve on digital transformation. But make no mistake, it's primed for explosive growth, fueled by the same double-digit growth rates we've seen in the broader eCommerce market. The key challenges are similar to the B2C side, but with a much higher price tag on failure.

1. Fitment Fiasco: A wrong part in the B2C world is annoying. In the heavy-duty world, it can cost you 20-65% of the item's original value per return. A single error can lead to a truck being out of commission for two weeks, costing a business up to $88,000 in missed revenue. That's a serious headache, not to mention the erosion of trust and negative reviews.
   
2. Inventory Insanity: Just like in B2C, inaccurate inventory leads to lost sales and customer dissatisfaction. When a time-critical repair is on the line, a canceled order due to an inventory miss is a massive blow to customer loyalty.
   
3. Logistical Labyrinth: Shipping diverse, heavy, or hazardous parts is no joke. Last-mile delivery is a beast, and supply chain disruptions can bring production to a halt.
   
4. Pricing Pressure: B2B companies face intense online competition, leading to profit margin erosion.
   
5. Technology Troubles: This market hasn't gone through the digital transformation that retail has. It requires significant investment in new technology and training to catch up.

The most significant trend shaping this market is the shifting expectations of the B2B buyer. They're no longer content with clunky, outdated interfaces. They want the same rich features, intuitive navigation, and personalization they get from consumer sites. They expect the right product, with the right information, at the right time, with a seamless experience across every channel.

A Pragmatic Path to Progress 

This is where my team at Broadleaf comes in. We've seen firsthand that technology is only part of the solution; a clear vision and an execution-focused strategy are what truly matter. For enterprises stuck on monolithic legacy systems, the idea of a "big bang" migration is terrifying; it should be. It's risky, expensive, and disruptive.

That's why we champion a more sane, surgical approach: the strangler pattern. Named after the strangler fig tree that slowly replaces its host, this strategy involves incrementally replacing legacy functionality with new, modern services. It's not a complete reset; it's a phased evolution. You can isolate a single problem area, like a promotions engine, and replace it with a new, API-driven service. This allows you to prove ROI early and keep your business running without a months-long freeze on innovation.

Our platform is purpose-built for this kind of flexible, composable architecture. Every service, from pricing to cart to promotions, is API-native, allowing you to run new and legacy systems side-by-side. This is where the magic happens: a modular approach with the orchestration to unify it all. It’s not about collecting a bunch of flashy, disconnected SaaS tools with separate logins and fragmented data. It's about a curated mix of tools that align with your business objectives and capacity. We're all about making composable commerce sane again.

The digital transformation of the automotive aftermarket is already underway, and it's being driven by the relentless expectations of the B2B buyer. They're demanding the same experience they get from Amazon, and the companies that can deliver will win. It’s about leveraging technology to build trust, drive efficiency, and make life easier for your customers. You don’t have to rebuild everything at once. You just need to start replacing the parts that are holding you back.