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.
