We reached out to a number of leaders and executives from the supply chain to jobber stores and asked them to highlight how business will change in the year ahead, what the biggest challenge for the industry is moving forward and what they see as the top opportunity in 2022. We will present their answers in alphabetical order over the coming weeks…
You can view the full feature in our January 2022 issue.
Tony Del Vasto, VP, Marketing and Corporate Development | Vast-Auto
For the next 12 months, there will continue to be labour shortages that will affect the aftermarket. Parts supply and price pressures will continue to be issues. Electric vehicle penetration will start to accelerate in the marketplace. E-commerce will continue to cannibalize brick and mortar. Automation in distribution centres will become more of a consideration. Right to repair, otherwise known as access to data, will continue to be a topic of conversation. Finally, the evolution of assortments into cheaper products in certain categories will continue.
Labour shortages and part supply issues will be negatives for the industry. These will be the biggest challenges going forward. Without parts or people, you can’t run a business. Electric vehicles will also be a negative, as they will take internal combustion engine vehicles out of the service bays.
On the positive side, e-commerce and automation are opportunities for the aftermarket.
Going forward, the aftermarket needs to learn to digitize the supply chain. From the manufacturer to the end consumer, there needs to be a digital trace of transactions and opportunity to work less based on human touch and more based on technology. We’re already seeing some of that with all of the shops being connected to the stores, the stores being connected to the warehouse, and so on and so forth. The trend will continue.
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