The annual North American Parts Benchmark began in 1993 as a forum for participating OEMs to examine warehouse data, establish metrics to measure their performance, and share best practices with one another. Beginning with a focus purely on warehouse operations, NAPB has since expanded to cover various topics across the supply chain, including transportation and logistics, sales and marketing, enterprise solutions, and more. Today, NAPB includes 30 member companies representing all the major motor vehicle sectors, including automotive, truck & engine, construction & agriculture equipment, and powersports OEMs.
Automation in Warehousing
Although our industry has seen enormous warehouse benefits from human-centric improvements, the improving cost and flexibility of automation demand a closer look. Automation can solve three problems: footprint, headcount, and throughput. However, these may not all be possible from the same installation. First, this session will cover how OEMs have implemented (or have considered implementing) automation in their warehouses, providing a baseline for what everyone is doing in this space and their key lessons learned. For the middle portion of the Focus Day, we’d explore bringing in outside experts and/or vendors in the automation space to share what they have to offer as well as trends they see in the industry. Finally, the group of OEM participants will close the session with a debrief on what was learned from the day and key next steps.
Retail Inventory Management (RIM)
Retail Inventory Management (RIM) is a critical business tool used by most OEMs in the industry – it is key to achieving high dealer off-the-shelf fill and ultimately, end-customer satisfaction. For this reason, the RIM Focus Day is the only one that we conduct on an annual basis, with participants continuing to see significant value in the increasingly detailed discussion. Due to the expansive and detailed nature of the topics covered at this focus day, it takes place over 2 days, as opposed to our normal single day offering. Exact topics vary each year depending on OEM interest levels, but typically cover items such as:
- Overview and updates on each OEM’s system
- Detailed functionality deep-dives
- System demos
- Next generation technologies
Supply Chain Leaders
Each year, we gather supply chain leaders for two meetings – at the conference in the spring, and then about six months later at this Focus Day. Unlike our traditional Focus Days, this session is a more free-flowing discussion amongst OEM participants, with Carlisle facilitators guiding the discussion. The scope of this Focus Day is limited to a few key topics, in order to drive deeper discussion and more meaningful, actionable insights. Specific topics for this Focus Day will be driven by executive input following the NAPB conference. This Focus Day answers questions such as:
- What keeps OEM executives up at night
- What are the new “hot topics” that will be impacting our industry in the next several years?
- How are OEMs planning for these impacts?
- How are OEMs handling a world in which there are so few parts out there to sell?
South American Parts Benchmark
Participating OEMs will receive a comprehensive Data Book containing over 85 supply chain metrics, which is hosted on the Carlisle Insights Online Dashboard. This interactive dashboard allows users to analyze the data and create customizable charts, both at the OEM and warehouse level.
The benchmarking scope will include data collection from Brazil and Argentina parts operations. Network, policy, and performance comparisons will be organized into the following sections:
- Terms & Conditions
- Distribution Networks
- Customer Volumes
- Fill Rates
- Inventory Management
- Supplier Management
- Warehouse Space
- Warehouse Labor
- Quality
- Transportation
- Supply Chain Costs
- Key Performance Indicators
The Non-Disclosure and Use Agreement for Proprietary Information ensures participants are protected when they share information. Benchmark data and results are shared only among participating OEMs.
European Parts Benchmark
The European Parts Benchmark (EPB) has been continuously collecting supply chain data and sharing best practices since 2002. From core supply chain topics such as inventory and supplier management, to cutting edge research in the areas of Autonomous Vehicles and 3-D Printing, the EPB Conference is the go-to-place in Europe for motor vehicle manufacturers to ask questions and be part of the solution.
The Data Book is the foundation of EPB and contains over 400 pages of performance comparisons that cover 16 brands and approximately 170 warehouses.
Australia & New Zealand Parts Benchmark
Carlisle offers the Australia & New Zealand Parts Benchmark on a periodic basis. The focus of this benchmark is on Australia and New Zealand construction and agriculture service-parts industries. This study compares OEMs across a wide array of data points such as: distribution networks, customer volumes, fill rates, inventory management, warehouse space, quality, supply chain costs, and more.
Participating OEMs will receive a comprehensive Data Book and access to an Online Insights Dashboard which allows users to analyze the data and create customizable charts, both at the OEM and warehouse level.
Asia Pacific Parts Benchmark
Carlisle offers the Asia Pacific Parts Benchmark on a periodic basis. The purpose of benchmarking goes beyond merely comparing other companies. The ultimate goal is to lower costs and raise revenue. Participating OEMs will receive a comprehensive Data Book, containing network and performance comparisons across Asia-Pacific parts operations. Additionally, participants will gain access to an Online Insights Dashboard for an interactive and customizable tool which allows the user to analyze the data and create charts, both at the OEM and warehouse level.