In the Zone, Online or Off

AutoZone Inc.’s new product look-up system for driving in-store sales will soon be tried on its Web site.

The $6 billion company, which sells auto parts and accessories, has two customer segments: do-it-yourselfers and professional technicians. But it faced a challenge: How to make sure it had the exact parts customers needed.

“Substitutions don’t work in the auto world,” said CIO Ken Brame at ERI eXchange in Boston last month. “You either have the part or you don’t.”

Another factor is that price and location are not as critical in the auto parts business as they are in other retail fields.

“Customer service is the last remaining area where we can differentiate ourselves,” Brame continued.

AutoZone has more than 50,000 employees, but there’s huge turnover. And so a limited number of people had detailed knowledge of what the company offers.

Thus the goal was to turn every employee, new or old, into a “parts pro.”

The chain did that by creating “Z-Net,” an in-store automated system where employees can enter the make, model and year of a customer’s car, and come up with the right parts.

The system can look for needed parts in other stores, salvage facilities and “hub” stores, which stock double or triple the amount of parts ordinary AutoZone locations keep on hand.

AutoZone is in the process of redesigning its Web site to get it up to speed with the stores. Brame said that because customers research parts online before they buy at retail, the intent is to have all the information available on AutoZone.com so salespeople can access it in-store.

Customers can reserve a part on the Web, but they can’t pay for it online, a situation Brame said the chain hopes to change soon.