TecTalk - Automotive Aftermarket Podcast

Today we are going to talk about the international trading group business. Joe has plenty of experience in the north American aftermarket. We talk about the consolidation of distributors in the US and how that effects NEXUS, their USP for their members and an important part of that is an ecosystem of startups they are building providing both new technology to the market as well as new revenue streams to their members and even distributors. The increase of e-commerce sales in the US during COVID which jumped to nearly 15%. How Nexus is dealing with the sustainability & electrification topics and under which circumstances the bring your own part approach for workshops can be beneficial in the long run. Great insights on how NEXUS is working the N-American market and also their unique approach on trying to create additional value to their members.

If you’ve worked with Gates before in the Aftermarket chances are high that you’ve stumbled over the name of todays guest which is: Jonathan Amo – We know each other for quite some time and it feels at least for me that he is kind of the jack of all trades at Gates – all roads lead to Jon somehow. We talk about that of course but moreover about his favourite topic which is data. Jon’s a big advocat of data quality in the automotive aftermarket and his mission is to make Gates the #1 company for Data Quality. We talk about the timeliness of data & how important it is. Working with different Data formats between Europe/Asia and North-America, about the data situation in Mexico as a dual-standard country and the situation further south as well. If big e-commerce players are a chance or threat for parts manufacturers, the ongoing electrification and how it effects Gates as well as value added services they have to offer to their customers to stay competitive.

Today we’re getting nerdy again talking about data. Erik is a real expert of the matter and Experian is a massive company dealing with all sorts of data. We discuss their automotive or especially their aftermarket business. We talk about VIO data because that’s the field where we have a strong partnership with Experian, the differences of all the markets they serve. We talk about hiring and how to get the right people for all those data-related jobs in the industry, the exponential increase of data through topics like e-commerce or in-vehicle data. We make some predictions on the effect of Big Tec is stepping into the automotive industry and try to outline how data can support sustainability in the future.

Today we are talking about the collision & repair industry in North America. Dirk is outlining the whole I-Car program to us. How they provide education to technicians with a strong focus on ADAS & EV Technology. How the collision repair process in the US compares to Europe and why independent garages play a way more important role. How the I Car training and certification program works in detail, the missing regulation regarding workshops in the US, what role insurance companies play for the N-American repair industry and how EVS and advanced driving systems will shape the market in the future. Dirk is super knowledgeable regarding the collision repair industry with also strong background from planning & conducting trainings for a parts manufacturer in his previous live. He’s really passionate about educating the market and has a strong focus on future topics and how the collision and repair market must adapt to stay on top of their business.

Today we’re diving deep into the Data topic with Gigig Ho from SEMA data and I couldn’t think of anyone better suited for the topic. Gigi’s a real data nerd so to speak dealing with aftermarket data nearly all her professional life. We talked about the development towards a digital aftermarket within the last 20 years, why the discussion about data should be more about actual use cases, the uniqueness of the special equipment sector, the rise of e commerce and how to deal with it as well as how electric vehicles will affect the market of specialty parts in the future. Gigi is a real expert and a true advocate for the importance of good data. Great insights on Sema and the speciality parts sector in north America.

As she’s responsible for the whole AMERICAS region we talked about differences in the markets and their local approach. Motorsports sponsoring, specifically the Schaeffler Funny car – I am not making that up, that’s how its called. But also serious business as the difficult supply chain situation during and post pandemic, Annas favorite topic she’s dealing with Digitalisation and how it supports creating additional services, how telematics data plays into that and the two nig Es – Ecommerce & Electrification. Anna has a vast knowledge in all these fields, she’s pretty smart, it was great to get all the insights on how Schaeffler is approaching these challenges. She’s definitely one of the new generation of leaders you’ll want to watch.

We talk about how remanufacturing fits into the broader sustainability topic, what MERA has achieved in its already 12 years of existence, that wording plays an important role in the whole process of bringing remanufactured parts back into the market, that these parts are also a great business case and how topics like electrification & E-commerce affect the remanufactured parts business. John’s highly knowledgeable in the field, extremely passionate, he’s a real advocate of the remanufacturing topic and I think he’s on the right track with all his initiatives we’re going to talk about, genuinely nice guy as well – so without further ado let’s jump right into the podcast.

We talked about how it feels having the first proper Automechanika Frankfurt since four years, how difficult it was keeping his business running during the pandemic, if we still need trade shows and how the concept might change in the future.

We are going into the ITG segment again talking telematics data and use cases, what makes Global One Automotive unique, E-commerce and the big platforms stepping into the aftermarket, electrification of the car park and if big fleets will be future of mobility.

Today we are talking about one of the biggest topics in the marketplace right now: E-Commerce. eBay created a lot of buzz at Automechanika Frankfurt because they setup their E-Commerce Networking Lounge in Hall 4. Our guest, Michael, who is responsible mainly for eBay's automotive aftermarket business in Germany is telling us more about their strategy, how market participants can sell on eBay, what value they are bringing as a marketplace and which customers they are trying to address.

We catch up with Caruso on what the current state of the platform and regarding the access to in-vehicle data is. How Zurich Insurance and Caruso came together as partners. How to manage or better how to get user consent when accessing vehicle data. What data is exactly available for service providers. Why insurance companies especially Zurich is way more agile and innovative than you may think – and not a big dinosaur. How the lost of ownership will affect the mobility industry and what it means for their respective companies when the big tec players like Apple and Google are now entering the telematics and even the car market.

We talked about additional services in ecommerce for workshops, how they are expanding into the car sales business as well, the ongoing consolidation of the tire market, how the metaverse will be the next big step for his business – how he adapts best practices from the fashion industry because he’s also involved in there and we talked about basketball because he is also the owner of the Basktes Würzburg – a german first league from the home city of the German Wunderkind Dirk Nowitzki.

Today we're dealing with one of the biggest topics in the aftermarket right now: Sustainability. Our guest Jan Bambas from Schaeffler is the perfect fit for that. We are talking about Schaeffler's sustainability program and were they are currently at in their roadmap. Why sustainability can only be achieved in close collaboration with their partners and why sustainability will be one of the key KPIs of parts manufacturers in the future.

We'll be talking about the Italian Aftermarket & the differences to other markets in Europe, developing value-add services for workshops, the role of digitisation, the ongoing electrification of the car park and the effects on a lubricant distributor.

We talked about electrification and the latest study conducted by CLEPA in cooperation with Roland Berger. The importance of circular economy with electric vehicles, the current state of invehicle data, that sustainability will be a competitive KPI for manufacturers in the future and his view on big e-commerce players stepping into the aftermarket.

Marco is one of the biggest advocates of increasing the data quality in the market. So he is highly knowledgable in all things data related. He has also a global perspective on the topic because he's very experienced in working the emerging markets. We also discussed the timing & availability of data, global differences especially in China, what the electrification means for a brake manufacturer and how TMD Friction is going to tackle the e-commerce topic.

In this episode we are diving deep into the International Trading Group Business with our guest Robert Stevens, Director Workshop Networks and Technology at GROUPAUTO International. David really is an aftermarket veteran with experience along the whole value chain. We've been talking about the latest expansions of GroupAuto especially South-Africa, the state of telematics data, why e-commerce is more about additional services than pricing and about the fact that changes in the market always happen more slowly than we initially expect.

We start the first season of TecTalk with quite a big topic: Sustainability – or more precisely Circular-Economy. Maria Bonelli and her company C-ECO are one of the biggest experts in the field. They are kind of hidden sustainability champions & mostly known for their core management service brand Coreman-Net. We discussed the challenges that come with the electrification of the car park, why companies must now invest into the sustainability topic, what role publicly funded projects play for C-ECO and how the whole topic will get even more drive with a new generation of leaders stepping into the market.

Christian is giving a quick introduction of what TecTalk is about and what to expect from the first season of our new Automotive Aftermarket Podcast.