Editor’s Note: Few distributors across industries truly understand digital commerce and transformation. However, Parts Town stands as a notable exception. As a leading distributor of foodservice equipment parts — including components for commercial cooking, refrigeration, ice, and beverage systems — the company generates approximately $2 billion in ecommerce revenue,. That accounts for about 70% of its total sales.
As a digital distributor, Parts Town consistently unveils new initiatives, often on a quarterly basis. In October, the company expanded its presence in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) industry. To support this growth, it launched Truck Stock. Truck Stock is a new online category providing essential parts, tools, and accessories for HVAC technicians’ service trucks and vans.
Recently, Digital Commerce 360 B2B interviewed Parts Town chief digital officer Miron Washington, chief information officer Jamie Head, and senior vice president of ecommerce Paul Hancox to explore why ecommerce continues to be a major growth driver and revenue generator and to learn what it takes to successfully lead a company through digital transformation.
The following is the first of a two-part Q&A with Parts Town executives.
Q&A with Parts Town executives
Digital Commerce 360 B2B: What challenges do you face in serving contractors effectively, both online and offline?
Parts Town: Contractor needs are evolving, influenced by technological advancements, competitive landscapes, market conditions, customer expectations, supply chains, and macro factors. The key to managing this constant change is the ability to serve customers on their terms, whether offline or online. Identifying the right part to address equipment issues quickly and efficiently is a particular pain point Parts Town must get right, as we understand that time is of the essence. By leveraging our extensive inventory, advanced search capabilities, and streamlined logistics, we make it easy for contractors to get the right part fast with minimal customer friction throughout their buying journey. This not only helps with resolving equipment issues promptly but also builds trust and long-term relationships with our customers. At Parts Town, we are committed to delivering best-in-class service through various channels, including phone, web and app properties, chat, EDI, and other integration options.
Essential ecommerce capabilities
DC360: What are the essential ecommerce capabilities you need today? Does the technology market provide what you need regarding off-the-shelf commercial applications and/or the tools and human resources you need for customized technology systems?
Parts Town: To thrive in today’s competitive ecommerce landscape, several essential capabilities are necessary:
- Personalized Shopping Experiences. Utilize AI-driven search, recommendations, and dynamic content tailored to user preferences to enhance customer engagement and satisfaction.
- Voice & Visual Search Optimization. Optimize voice commands with natural language processing and visual search capabilities to make finding products easier and more intuitive.
- Augmented Reality / 3D Product Previews / Digital Twins. Implement augmented reality and 3D product previews to provide customers with a comprehensive view of products, helping them make informed purchasing decisions.
- MACH/Headless Architecture. Adopt a MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless) architecture to enable the integration of best-of-breed technologies, ensuring site speed, reliability, and flexibility.
- Authoritative Product Content. Provide detailed and reliable product content to instill confidence in customers when evaluating and purchasing products.
- Differentiated Payment Options. Offer varied payment options and terms tailored to different customer segments to accommodate diverse financial preferences and needs.
- Loyalty Programs. Develop loyalty programs to encourage repeat business and enhance customer retention by rewarding loyal customers.
These capabilities collectively ensure a robust, user-friendly, and adaptable ecommerce platform that meets the evolving needs of today’s business-to-business customers.
While there are many commercial off-the-shelf products to choose from, selecting the best one requires a robust vendor selection process that considers cost, performance, integration effort, and vendor stability.
Success metrics and measurement
DC360: How do you define and measure success in the evolving distribution landscape?
Parts Town: At Parts Town, we prioritize listening to our customers through Voice of the Customer (VOC) and Net Promoter Score (NPS) metrics. These core metrics highlight where we excel in meeting customer expectations and where improvements are needed. As an industry-leading parts distributor, our exceptional customer service and the most extensive inventory of parts on the planet are key differentiators. We track various KPIs to ensure customers can quickly and confidently find parts and receive them promptly to address their issue. Our commitment to fast and efficient service sets us apart. Additionally, we continuously evolve and develop new products that will meet our customers’ future needs, while also deepening our relationships with our manufacturing partners.
Integration and scalability
DC360: How critical is it for you to understand ecommerce/ERP technology integration and scalability? What are the challenges and benefits you’re experiencing with integration?
Parts Town: Ensuring we delight our customers and meet them at every stage of their purchasing journey is crucial. Real-time connectivity with pricing, inventory, shipping, and delivery exemplifies how an integrated ecosystem of applications can deliver complete customer experience. Companies achieve this by either adopting an end-to-end platform approach to align data and processes or leveraging modern architecture standards (MACH) and data integrity to provide a frictionless experience at scale and speed.
A common challenge with growth, especially with an expanding range of SKUs and customers, lies in data management. Without a common data model and governance around data domains, companies risk creating inefficient and ineffective “Frankenstein’s monster” offline models. Establishing robust data management should be a strategic priority, as it fuels core business growth and lays the foundation for AI, ML, and Generative AI capabilities. Once data foundations are solidified, syndicating this data to transactional systems like ecommerce, CRM, or ERP is crucial. Additionally, the speed of data integration and the costs associated with data transfer in a SaaS-driven world are often overlooked but essential considerations.
Business model adaptability
DC360: How are you adapting business models using digital tools while minimizing disruption and internal resistance? How has your business model changed, or how may it change?
Parts Town: Parts Town has a proven record of advancing the industry model, sitting at the intersection of manufacturers, service tech businesses, and end customers. Providing digital tools that make it frictionless to conduct business across all stakeholders is both a challenge and an opportunity for us. Whether it’s white-labeling ecommerce sites, aiding manufacturers with product content services, or leveraging and integrating field tech services, meeting customers where they are is a key strength of Parts Town’s value proposition.
Our commitment to finding mutually beneficial and innovative ways to adapt with our partners is crucial. For example, the next generation of the workforce prefers to interact with more digital tools to get the job done. Our mission is to ensure we are the partner that addresses that need. By continuously evolving and developing fresh solutions, we aim to support our partners and customers in navigating the ever-changing landscape. This includes enhancing our digital offerings, streamlining processes, and ensuring that our services remain relevant and valuable to all stakeholders involved.
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