THE RACE TO THE END CUSTOMER HAS BEGUN!

The digitization of the customer journey is the first time that the automotive manufacturers can hope to win the Holy Grail of the end customer. Some other industrial sectors have already succeeded in doing so by exploiting their specific strengths.

In an aftermarket industry being revolutionized by digital technology, vehicle manufacturers are working on it, tire manufacturers are trying it out and part manufacturers sometimes dream about it. But overcoming the legitimacy of the proximity and services of parts distributors and repairers will not be so simple. Whatever the appetites of each party, hopes of domination will have to give way to a more pragmatic collaborative approach.

For a long time now, automotive manufacturing players, in the broadest sense, have dominated or at least controlled their markets. In Europe, vehicle manufacturers have appropriated the new car sale through exclusive and selective distribution. The major part manufacturers have kept control of the spare parts market by succeeding in imposing their premium brands and their market shares thanks to the vehicle manufacturer’s price reference system. It is a reference system that has been adopted and maintained in many European countries - by all the players in the aftermarket sales value chain -since they get the best possible margins from it.

Other industrial examples are even more striking. Luxury industry has simply integrated its distribution and points of sale with exponential profitability. Oil companies too, whose 5 majors hold 85% of the distribution and sale of their products. The chemical, aeronautical and marine industries see their main representatives powerful enough to dictate prices and strategies. And what can we say about the Gafam who, in just two decades, have revolutionized customer experience. They reserve full control of the upstream profitability