e-commerce and online tyre business news
Following the news that Blackcircles.com opened its fourth PitStop Click&Fit tyre bay in Glasgow at the end of June, Tyres & Accessories spoke with the company’s founder and managing director Mike Welch in order to find out more about the company’s plans and hints that it is courting investment this year.
Exol Lubricants full range of products is now listed on MAM Software’s online vehicle parts catalogue Autocat+.Exol has taken the initiative in the marketplace and responded to the difficulties faced by distributors and installers in selecting the correct oil for a specific vehicle. The dedicated presence on MAM’s Autocat+ catalogue will place accurate information directly into the hands of the users, making oil selection simple and allowing for instant access to Exol’s new products, as and when they are made available.
At the end of April Cam International previewed its new e-jobsheet.com product at the CV Show. In May the product got its official launch at the Reifen show in Essen. In the month between the two events, the company finished the prototype system that it developed in partnership with Bridgestone and secured the interest of two further partners. Tyres & Accessories interviewed Bridgestone Europe’s Neil Purves (senior manager, automated inspection and systems development commercial product) and Cam International’s Steve Daly in April and attended the launch in May in order to find out more.
Point S has unveiled a brand new web site (point-s.co.uk) which offers additional benefits to members and is designed to make it quicker and easier for motorists to book a tyre change online.
Developed in response to members’ feedback about the previous version, the new Point S website is designed to offer a simpler, more user-friendly layout. It will also harness the power of social media, with links to the Point S Twitter feed and Facebook page, ensuring that member businesses are promoted to the widest possible audience.
It seems 2014 could be the year that tyre e-commerce hits maturity. It doesn’t seem that long ago that the NTDA published research showing that the number one method of ordering was phone and – wait for it – fax. Internet was a minority method, but e-mail (a medium of communication that is buckling under the pressure of increased demand for more and faster contacts) was showing some signs of growth. In fact it was November 2005, and therefore will soon be a decade ago. In 2014, virtually every significant wholesale and direct distribution operation is supported by a sophisticated online ordering system that is simply backed by other methods of communication.
UK and European motorists are increasingly choosing to purchase tyres through the Internet. The latest research published by one of the largest tyre e-tailers, Delticom also suggest – perhaps unsurprisingly – that consumers are increasing tending towards their online retail platforms. These results of the research have been published in the Delticom Report “Tyres Online 2014”.
Software and data firm DriveRight reports that it will release a variety of new products including a new version of TyreFit (version 4.0) at the Reifen exhibition in Essen, Germany in a week’s time.
At Essen, DriveRight is to release the next version of TyreFit 4.0 which has a new integrated search for tyre product data including images and label information. A new wheel database with multiple search functions as well as TPMS data in the vehicle database is also included in this one tool.
Michelin has launched a British sales promotion for the commercial vehicle sector, offering a three-year lease on a new Euro VI 6×2 tractor unit. Business customers in England Scotland and Wales purchasing two or more Michelin tyres from ATS Euromaster, a Michelin Truck Professional Centre, or the trucks.michelin.co.uk e-commerce platform can enter up to ten times.
Blackcircles.com has announced a growth in revenue of 20 per cent to £27.8 million (versus £23.2 million in 2012). The online tyre retailer said that the latest full year results mean its revenues have a compound annual growth rate of 22 per cent since 2008. EBITDA increased to £1 million. The results follow the announcement of former Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy’s appointment to the Blackcircles.com board.
MAM Software has announced the launch of its SalesRep tablet software. MAM’s second tablet app, SalesRep is designed to empower field-based sales representatives to strengthen customer relationships and improve productivity.
Over 100,000 articles across 205 brands are now under management in CAM’s Online Tyre Catalogue (OTC), facilitating the entry of many overseas manufacturers and importers into the UK. According to the company, the common tyre platform is helping companies outside Europe find agents and distribution outlets as a result.
Fleet operators visiting Bridgestone at this year’s Commercial Vehicle Show will get the first glimpse of an innovative new Bridgestone global application. The world’s largest tyre manufacturer has developed a digital fleet management solution to meet the needs of operators and the brand’s sales and technical teams alike. The ‘Toolbox Touch’ is a native Windows […]
Pro-Align has launched a new online Support Zone for technicians and workshop owners. The distributor of Hunter wheel alignment systems, balancers and changers says the site will give easier and greater access to support materials, including answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about Pro-Align. The Support Zone is available at www.pro-align.co.uk. “In […]
MAM Software reports that its MAM Autopart Tyres has helped Darcy’s of Durham get its business up and running. With in-built point of sale functionality, Autopart Tyres gives Darcy’s access to extensive features such as labour allocation, parts look up, and technical data. Darcy’s can also keep in touch with its customers by SMS and email, which reduces the cost of postage and paper. The cloud-hosted Software as a Service (SaaS) approach allows the company to spread server license fees through monthly payments.
Falken Tyre Europe is giving players of the free-to-play racing simulator, RaceRoom Racing Experience the chance to win a new set of Falken UHP tyres. The tyre brand has created the Falken Track Test Competition together with game developer SimBin, as a free extension to the simulator. Players drive a Falken-liveried RUF RT12R, and drivers […]
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