ACDelco is introducing what it
believes is the “Holy Grail” of aftermarket e-catalogs — parts
illustrations, application information and VIN information all on one
screen — according to Steve Sigg, ACDelco eBusiness manager. “Our
intention is to provide the catalog to anyone who is selling our
products,” he said.
ACDelco began a full-court press to integrate
VIN into its catalog in this manner several months ago, when it began
soliciting bids from various catalog providers. Bids came in and the
vendor was recently chosen, however, the vendor’s name hasn’t been
revealed.
In addition to VIN lookup, the new catalog will feature GM
Regular Production Option (RPO) codes (sometimes called “service parts
identification codes”) that reveal almost every feature a vehicle was
built with.
Why’s VIN so important? It’s the DNA of an automobile
and being able to decode it takes the guesswork out of finding parts,
for one thing.
Not only does having VIN-assisted look-up lead to
choosing the correct part every time, it’s much faster than eyeing up
parts or cross-referencing between various information sources.
Expect others to follow ACDelco’s lead.