Ford Retail

Online parts ordering delivers results for Ford Retail

Supplying parts is big business

One of the key factors to Ford Retail’s continued success as one of the UK’s largest dealer groups has been its strong retail parts business. Through a network of four regional parts distribution centres, one in Yorkshire, two in London and another in Bristol, the business supplies parts to all its companyowned dealerships, as well as a vast network of other trade and dealer customers across the country. Four regional parts call centres, supported by over 150 delivery vans, ensure over 10,000 line items a day are processed and delivered to the correct customers. All the company-owned Ford dealers, plus a small number of other important Ford dealers are provided with a service known as ‘3D’, which means they can expect up to three parts deliveries per day, if required.

Online parts ordering is vital for Ford Retail’s larger customers

To ensure this large parts business runs as smoothly as possible and particularly to support their larger customers, Ford Retail took the decision to implement ADP Exchange, ADP’s online parts trading platform, which integrates directly into the Autoline dealer management system (DMS).

ADP Exchange allows registered customers to place orders 24/7 over the internet via a secure portal, removing the need to call through an order. When asked about the effect ADP Exchange has had on the business, Andy Pocock, Ford Retail’s IT Director commented, "ADP Exchange allows us to offer a web-based parts ordering platform for a number of our largest customers, a service that several of them had previously requested. It has had a positive effect on the business, particularly for our parts call centres. A number of the staff, who were previously focused solely on taking inbound parts orders over the phone, have been re-deployed to more pro-active outbound customer activities, such as direct parts and accessory sales."

Ford Retail is the world’s largest dedicated Ford dealer group, as well as being one of the largest dealer groups in the UK.

The company operates over 50 Ford main dealers and currently employs over 3,000 staff, turning over well above a billion pounds a year.

Ford Retail also has a successful parts business, @first Parts Solutions, turning over in excess of £100 million annually.

When questioned further on his comment about the pressure being placed on the business to implement web-based ordering, Andy continued, "ADP Exchange has helped us win additional business from customers who previously would not buy from us due to the absence of web-based ordering. We still find that one or two of the customers who use the service put in a courtesy call to ensure their order has been successfully received, however, it has greatly speeded up the process of placing an order with us."

Integration with Autoline streamlines a number of activities

ADP Exchange helps make the customer’s experience of dealing with a supplier, such as Ford Retail, much smoother than placing traditional parts orders over the phone. By using a ‘shopping list’ function, as is common with a large number of e-retailers, regular parts orders can be placed quickly, without the need to build an order list from scratch each time. As ADP Exchange integrates directly with the Autoline DMS parts inventory, customers can confirm that a particular part is in stock before placing an order. For those suppliers that offer unique customer discounts or competitive pricing for individual customers, ADP Exchange ensures they are always applied. Once an order is placed, the integration with Autoline ensures that pick lists, parts sales orders and invoices can be quickly created. Most importantly, the status of any order placed via ADP Exchange can be tracked via the online portal.

"The parts business went through a re-structuring in 2007 and we set ourselves a target of becoming the largest Ford parts retailer in the UK within three years. This was achieved in only one year and I firmly believe that ADP Exchange played a part in achieving this." Andy Pocock, IT Director

ADP Exchange helps improve the quality of service to customers

When Pocock was asked what he believed the key benefits of ADP Exchange for Ford Retail were, he replied, "Firstly, it is the improvement in the quality of service we can offer to our major customers. Secondly, it is the increase in parts sales and thirdly, it has made our parts staff much more efficient because we are processing fewer phone orders. The parts business went through a re-structuring in 2007 and we set ourselves a target of becoming the largest Ford parts retailer in the UK within three years. This was achieved in only one year and I firmly believe that ADP Exchange played a part in achieving this."

@first Parts Solutions, as Ford Retail’s parts business is now known, supplies over £100 million pounds worth of parts annually and continues to grow. Asked about the future of ADP Exchange within Ford Retail, Pocock responded, "ADP Exchange allows us to deal with customers in the way they wish to be dealt with. If we are to continue to grow, this is vital for our business."