How Auto Parts Go Omnichannel

The American automotive industry might be decades removed from its heyday, but that doesn’t mean that consumers no longer need a steady supply of parts to repair their old vehicles — just like it doesn’t mean that auto repair suppliers can rely on old retail maxims of selling only in brick-and-mortar stores.

It seems like O’Reilly Auto Parts got the modernizing message, though, as the retailer announced on Tuesday (April 5) that it had finalized a deal with Broadleaf Commerce to bring its omnicommerce capabilities to the next level. Jeff Lauro, senior vice president of information systems at O’Reilly, explained how the retailer evaluated Broadleaf’s ability to handle the particular practice of selling and shipping often cumbersome auto parts and how all parties came away satisfied.

“Within a few weeks, Broadleaf proved their ability to handle our complex challenges, including the ability to scale to millions of SKUs and handle our store integration requirements,” Lauro said in a statement. “With the move to Broadleaf, we will be able to modernize the overall experience for our customers.”

In particular, Broadleaf will standardize O’Reilly’s desktop and mobile sites to present “a uniform and optimized” shopping experience however its consumers choose to buy. The retailer’s site will also soon boast a souped-up search function and tailored content based on past purchases — all part of Broadleaf’s commitment to producing consistent yet personalized interactions with retail brands.

“The Broadleaf framework is designed for customization,” Brian Polster, CEO of Broadleaf Commerce, said in a statement. “Although we have provided solutions for the automotive aftermarket industry before, O’Reilly’s requirement for deep omnichannel integration across thousands of stores was an interesting challenge. We worked together with the O’Reilly team to prove that Broadleaf could sufficiently address these problems and are excited about partnering with O’Reilly to help them achieve their vision.”