Imagine a river flowing down from the mountain. The water never stops. If you stay still in the river, you don’t remain in the same spot: the current slowly drags you down, and every minute you lose altitude. The spare parts market works the same way — not taking action also has a cost, month after month: losing performance without realizing it.
Our monthly analyses confirm this. When we observe the evolution of demand vs. sales indicators from different manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers, we see a recurring pattern: those who do not act constantly lose performance. Not because they do something wrong, but because the market keeps moving and evolving.
New part numbers appear that your catalogue does not yet identify or have an equivalence for, new products emerge that are not covered in your range or stock, products where demand increases and views without availability grow, competitors adjust prices, and your products stop being competitive. Without realizing it, your conversion performance — from demand to sales — drops significantly.
All of this happens every day, even if you don’t see it. And when you check the figures, you’ve already lost altitude — not because you slowed down, but because the river keeps flowing faster.
In such a dynamic environment, doing nothing also has a cost. It’s not visible at first, but it accumulates over time. Companies that update equivalences, review their assortment and optimize prices maintain and/or improve their position. Those who don’t, slowly go down, even if their operations remain the same.
The secret is not to row harder, but to know where to row. Having visibility, data and concrete actions is what allows you to stay in the right place in the river — even when the current speeds up.
In the spare parts market, stability doesn’t exist: you either move forward or you fall behind. And the only way to maintain altitude is to act with data — not with intuition or low-return investments. Because in this river, staying still is not being calm… it’s starting to go down.
With NEO System, Factory Data turns the complexity of spare parts data into clear and actionable decisions, helping companies sell more, improve customers service and work with greater efficiency.
By Joan Cabós
CEO & founder