Reaching the goal faster with the Order Manager App
TecAlliance and TMD Friction have developed an innovative app that makes pit work easier for TMD's racing customers. Today, all Order Manager users benefit from the app, which enables them to order replacement parts while on the move.
TMD Friction, one of the world's largest manufacturers of friction materials, is a founding member and shareholder of TecAlliance, one of the leading data specialists in the independent automotive aftermarket (IAM). TMD Friction is a Certified Data Supplier and its aftermarket brands are listed in the TecDoc Catalogue. And they have been using the B2B Order Manager platform for order processing for twenty years. In the course of the cooperation, TMD Friction has been actively involved in the further development and optimisation of the TecAlliance solutions.
Digital order processes make pit work easier
The history of TMD Performance is inextricably linked to racing and rallying. Almost 100 percent of motor sport customers use the Order Manager to order replacement parts. In the past, a TMD staff member used to go round the racing teams in the pit lane with pen and paper, note down the parts and later order them on the PC via the Order Manager. "There were of course delays and the process was very error-prone,“ explains Sarah Schwarz, Global Business Process & Project Manager at TMD Friction. "Illegible writing, oil or water stains, typing errors when entering article numbers and so on. We thought it would be much more practical to have an app for mobile devices for that.“
As smartphones and tablets are being used more and more in the trade sector and workshops, TecAlliance has already developed several apps for its various solutions in recent years, e.g. for the TecDoc Catalogue. "We were immediately enthusiastic about the idea of developing an app for the Order Manager together with TMD,“ remembers Bryan Marshall, Product Lead Business Unit Order Manager at TecAlliance. Developers, testers and product owners from TecAlliance worked closely with employees from TMD and their customers to ensure that the app really met their requirements.
Reaching the goal faster with a mobile device
Today orders are entered directly during the race with the Order Manager App. The app transfers the shopping cart filled on the racetrack to the user’s account. The next time the Order Manager is accessed via the computer, the orderer can check the data again, add further information if necessary and then send it. In this way, nothing needs to be written down and later entered manually. And nothing is forgotten.
"The most important information about our products is clearly presented in the app, the whole process is very user-friendly. Once we have received the order, our service department delivers the required part to the orderer as quickly as possible," says Schwarz. She is certain: "It couldn't be simpler or faster.”
New projects for even better customer service
TMD Friction has been using digital TecAlliance solutions for years. Their article data are integrated in the TecDoc Catalogue. All order processes, from the availability request to the electronic invoice, are fully integrated and automated via the Order Manager SAP module. At the moment TMD is introducing the Order Manager module Warranty & Returns for the automated processing of warranty claims and returns.
In addition, TMD is intensively testing the CMD solution, which allows to display up-to-date article information such as dimensions, weight, EAN code or successor articles to TMD customers directly when they are searching for parts during the ordering process. “This is also very helpful for the racing sector: if, for example, the desired PAGID Racing brake pad is currently not available for the given sprint application, the customer is shown which PAGID Racing friction product can be used as an alternative. The test phase has gone very well so far and we are pleased that we can continue to make our customers' work easier," says Schwarz.
The Order Manager App is available for free download here:
