TecAlliance has developed the new online catalogue ECat for MAHLE Aftermarket. It is based on the TecDoc White Label Catalogue  Solution, supporting two international standards. This solution was adapted to the needs of MAHLE Aftermarket within six weeks. ECat gives customers access to MAHLE’s parts portfolio and enables them to find the right product quickly and precisely – worldwide, in 41 languages, via mobile app, PC or tablet. 

Together with MAHLE Aftermarket, TecAlliance has designed and built the new online catalogue ECat based on the TecDoc Catalogue as a uniform platform for all MAHLE brands and customers worldwide. The e-catalogue provides access to the complete product portfolio of the brands MAHLE, BEHR, BRAIN BEE, CLEVITE, IZUMI, KNECHT FILTER and METAL LEVE, covering the powertrain, filtration and thermal management product lines. 

Online catalogue as a strategic tool 

The shift of parts sales to e-commerce platforms is one of the most important market trends worldwide. The development of digital sales channels is becoming increasingly important in the independent aftermarket. For MAHLE Aftermarket, digitisation is one of the main pillars of the future strategy and the new e-catalogue is an important tool.  

“Our customers operate with the MAHLE Aftermarket e-catalogue worldwide 24/7, accessing the company’s global portfolio of parts. It enables them to identify the ideal MAHLE solution accurately and quickly,” explains Christian Schanz, Head of Global Data Management and Category Management at MAHLE Aftermarket.
  
"ECat is now essential in building relationships with our customers and prospects. We believe that a professionally prepared, user-friendly e-catalogue has the power to inspire loyalty and repeat business. Therefore, we strive to provide our customers with the same great, information-rich experience of our product range online that they receive in other distribution channels," says Schanz. 

Quickly to an individualised online catalogue 

The TecDoc White Label Catalogue Solution provides parts manufacturers with a powerful and user-friendly solution in the shortest possible time. It can be adapted to individual requirements and design guidelines and is available in 41 languages. 

“In the past, we developed and maintained our own catalogue solution. On the one hand, this allowed us a high degree of customisation. Still, on the other hand, we recognised the need for a standardised high-performance solution with a great user experience,” Schanz recalls. “Thanks to our successful, long-standing collaboration with TecAlliance we approached their TecDoc Catalogue solution team to build a cutting-edge, fully individualised alternative to the legacy e-catalogue that we were using. The combination of the web version and the mobile app for online parts search was a compelling offer that we embraced. The TecDoc team has taken the lead. As a result, the new MAHLE Aftermarket e-catalogue went live after just six weeks! The switch to TecAlliance opens new possibilities to partner with an established market catalogue and concentrate more effectively on the products, the main core of activities, instead of the associated tool maintenance.” 

Lukas Huber, Specialist Data Management at MAHLE Aftermarket, also takes a positive view. “It speaks volumes that the new e-catalogue was implemented on time. We are pleased with how this project was coordinated and handled by the TecDoc team! And the new solution is future proof. We benefit from the TecDoc agile software development process: the solution is constantly being improved, and new features are added every two to three weeks. In this way, the system can respond quickly and flexibly to any future needs,” says Huber. 
 
International solution enables uniform communication  

TecAlliance supports its partners in business development – worldwide. The established TecDoc Catalogue is the strong basis for the optimal presentation of product information across countries and continents. 
 
“Working with different regions (Europe, North & South America and Asia), languages, and different data standards is not easy. Nevertheless, we aim to streamline the global product data across all our brands and consolidate it in a single platform,” explains Schanz. 

“The main goals are to provide consistent communication to our customers as well as improved cooperation between the MAHLE entities. Only by aligning and optimising global product data across all our brands on a single platform, this can be fulfilled. The catalogue solution offers a great chance to establish a unified digital presence of the portfolio with a strong focus on high data quality and best-in-class customer experience,” he concludes. 

A detailed interview on the introduction of the new e-catalogue and the benefits of the TecDoc White Label Catalogue solution with Christian Schanz and Lukas Huber is available at https://www.tecalliance.net/mahle-has-launched-its-new-global-e-catalogue-based-on-tecdoc-as-a-uniform-global-platform/