March 14, 2018—PartsTech today announced the launch of its parts-ordering API, a new service that gives automotive-software developers access to PartsTech’s auto-parts catalog and network of vendors.
The Parts Ordering API connects users to 20,000 parts stores and 6 million parts. The parts-ordering API allows shop owners and managers to easily research vehicle parts and prices, check local inventory, and purchase parts online, within their own shop-management systems.
“Eighty percent of aftermarket auto parts are ordered via phone, during office hours; that process is long overdue for an upgrade. The U.S. auto-care industry is worth $220 billion, and many shops are running decades-old software,” said Erik St. Pierre, co-founder and chief operating officer of PartsTech. “Our new API provides an ultra modern, intuitive user experience that helps drive shops’ efficiency and productivity. For now, our focus is commercial users, but we encourage developers of consumer-facing applications to check out our API as well.”
Today, shop owners and technicians must be equal parts mechanic and IT expert; printed parts catalogs and calendars aren’t enough for progressive repair businesses to keep pace. In response, a variety of shop-management systems (SMS) have been developed, but even those haven’t effectively addressed one of the barriers to entry–the complexity of auto-parts cataloging and ordering.
The PartsTech parts-ordering API aims to solve that issue, allowing virtually any SMS to tap into PartsTech’s extensive parts catalog and e-commerce infrastructure. Now, via the API, the PartsTech parts catalog, and its e-commerce infrastructure, are available to support the latest cloud-based shop-management systems and consumer-facing applications.
Carolyn Coquillette, CEO and founder, Shop-Ware, one of PartsTech’s premier partners, had early access to the PartsTech parts-ordering API, and offered her impressions:
“Shop-Ware has been designed from the ground up to provide shops with software tools that work for them, making their shops more efficient and profitable, with less effort than what’s out there today. What’s so great about our integration with PartsTech is how completely the PartsTech catalog and experience offers this vision of ease and efficiency through great software. The two solutions together are really terrific.”
How It Works
The PartsTech API is available for shop-management systems (and automotive-app developers) to integrate. Users without a shop-management system can still access all the benefits of PartsTech online at www.partstech.com
- Create a free PartsTech account for your shop here, if it doesn’t already have one.
- If you already have a PartsTech account, retrieve your access code from PartsTech here. If you need additional instruction on how to retrieve your API Key, click here.
- Enter your PartsTech username, along with your access code, into your shop-management system in your system settings (See your system provider for specific instructions on where to enter this information.). The list of currently supported systems is available here, and it continues to grow.
- Once the PartsTech username and access code has been entered into your shop-management system, it will have integrated directly into your partner system.
- When building a repair order within your management system, and you choose to add parts, PartsTech opens and immediately displays the parts you need to complete the work order, along with available inventory from your preferred local vendors. Once you select the parts, they will automatically import back into your repair order.
- PartsTech’s API offers:
- Search, via keyword, VIN or license plate
- Easy browsing of local parts vendors in a single search
- Geolocating of hard-to-find parts
- Order confirmation, tracking and shipment notifications
- High-res images and videos
- Mobile-friendly user experience
