Aaron Bickford, vice president, North American Aftermarket, says Meritor’s enhancements to MeritorPartsXpress were driven by the company’s focus on reducing downtime among its end user customers.
Bickford says Meritor believes the new MeritorPartsXpress will reduce instances in which distributors are required to call the supplier for product information and, when coupled with its online ordering capabilities, should streamline distributor ordering and improve customer experiences across the industry.
Meritor says key improvements to the site include
- Ability to find, benchmark, order and track replacement parts
- Optional email confirmation notifications for stock and emergency orders to let customers know when an order is in process or has shipped
- Cross-referencing to deliver information on competitive part numbers and product alternatives across brands, fit, form and functions
- Search-by-image tool for end yokes
- Visual search interactive function that helps users find products
- More images on the product detail pages
- New “My Orders” portal for registered users to track the status of orders, download open order boards, view invoices and request returns
“With these improvements, the 24-hour, self-service portal is not only for ordering parts – it’s also a comprehensive business resource for finding product information on more than 100,000 aftermarket parts,” says Christy Westrich, director, customer loyalty, Meritor. “Users who aren’t registered to order parts also benefit from using the site to find information about Meritor products, including product specifications, reference materials as well as alternate and part interchanges.”
Meritor also announced Tuesday its Aftermarket training program for 2020, geared toward dealers, distributors, fleets and service garages, that will focus on arming customers with specific product knowledge to drive part sales, improve customer satisfaction and keep trucks on the road.
“When customers bring inoperable parts to the shop, parts counter personnel need to quickly identify key characteristics that separate one part number from another,” says Joe Baumer, training manager, Meritor. “They need to understand what the component is and its application to provide the customer with the correct part and get the vehicle back into service as quickly as possible.”
Now in its second year, Meritor says the 2020 training program encompasses topics like better inventory management, improving market penetration and increasing customer satisfaction from sales. It also covers proper inspection, maintenance and service procedures for technicians that emphasize vehicle safety and uptime.
Regional training events for parts counter personnel, salespeople and management this year will be held in
Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; Little Rock, Ark.; Atlanta, Ga.; Edmonton and Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada; Fresno, Calif.; Denver, Colo.; Rochester, N.Y.; Green Bay, Wis.; Baltimore, Md.; Fontana, Calif.; Southgate, Mich.; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Times and specific locations are available on MeritorPartsXpress.
Doug Dole, general manager, product, strategies, Meritor, says the company also plans to offer live, online interactive distance training seminars led by an experienced industry professional at 11 a.m. ET on the second Wednesday of every month on MeritorPartsXpress.
The company says planned monthly topics for the 30-minute seminars include:
- A new way to service hubs, Feb. 12
- Identifying your suspension, March 11
- “Xcellence” in front axle: How to identify the correct king pin for the application, April 8
- What you need to know about automatic Slack Adjusters, May 13
- Run with the leader – Meritor vs. Dana, June 10
- Upgrading your trailer’s air disc brake to Meritor Genuine, July 8
- Understanding key factors in selecting the correct brake shoe, Aug. 12
- Self-adjusting clutch training for today’s truck, Sept. 9
- Air system compressors: a health check for the heart of the system, Oct. 14
- Drive for uptime by getting the most from your Meritor drive axle, Nov. 11
- Keep it tight, keep it right with the proper wheel-attaching hardware, Dec. 9
