Especially for independent dealerships who have service drives catering to any vehicle that ends up in a bay, a new resource from the Auto Care Association could help find parts more efficiently.

This week, the association announced a new data product designed to connect parts data for nearly 1.4 billion vehicles, making going global easier for automotive aftermarket businesses that aren’t already and more efficient for those operations that are.

UniLink can help connect data so that subscribers can see which vehicles are similar across the world. With that information, researchers are able to determine which parts fit where and on what vehicle faster, rather than manually researching each vehicle. Now, auto care industry companies can analyze and understand vehicles across the globe and more quickly determine if current or future components can be sold in new markets.

Association officials explained this global vehicle identification solution can provide benefits including:

— Significantly reducing research time by showing which vehicles are similar across the world

— Optimization of supply chains so companies can easily and quickly identify all the country-specific vehicles that are likely to be compatible with a given product, enabling them to see where two parts are being used when only one would be necessary

— Allowing organizations to more effectively allocate resources to areas that make, sell and stock the right parts, resulting in significant cost savings

— Highlighting the potential to sell more parts in more markets with better product management data

This solution is the result of a unique collaboration between two leading organizations, the Auto Care Association and IHS Markit.  Global vehicle production and sales insight from IHS Markit helped to link the aftermarket to details from the 1.4 billion global vehicle population like never before, ultimately enabling better business decisions.

UniLink will be available for purchase later this year, according to the Auto Care Association.

To learn more about UniLink and sign up for updates, visit autocare.org/unilink or send a message to goglobal@autocare.org.