Online trade is one of the winners of the Corona crisis, and Klickparts GmbH is also benefiting from this. For almost two years now, the German web shop www.klickparts.com has been offering spare parts and maintenance products for construction machinery of well-known brands through online sales. The start-up went live in 2019, just in time for the world’s leading trade fair, bauma. Since then, a lot has happened at klickparts on all levels. The product portfolio has been significantly expanded, new suppliers have been acquired as partners, and supply chains and logistics have been consistently improved.
For many construction companies, the procurement of machine spare parts used to mean one thing above all: effort. In order to find the right parts, several phone calls and website visits were necessary – and there was no trace of price transparency. Today, on the other hand, a single search query on the B2B platform klickparts.com is enough to find the right spare parts – with all prices, availability and manufacturers.
“As a young company, the Corona crisis hit us at a time when we were not yet able to build on a solid customer base. Nevertheless, despite all the uncertainty, we were comparatively well equipped for this exceptional situation,” says klickparts managing director Stephan Bäumler, describing the development. Even before the outbreak of the pandemic, the company had made great strides, especially in expanding its product range. In the meantime, more than 200,000 spare parts and maintenance products for construction machinery from various manufacturers are listed in the webshop.
A positive factor here is that klickparts has relied on cooperation with well-known suppliers from the very beginning. The best-known partners include ZF Friedrichshafen, Würth AG, ITR/USCO, GumaTech, Atlas Copco and Donaldson, to name just a few. Thus, products of different manufacturers and quality levels can be offered for numerous types of equipment at klickparts.com. “With us, the customer has a complete overview at a glance,” explains Bäumler, that the company has been committed to total transparency from the very beginning. Prices, delivery times, which product is suitable for which machine, all this is immediately visible to every user – whether logged in, registered or not – at klickparts.
Bäumler is particularly pleased that klickparts not only succeeds in gaining more and more new customers, but also receives many orders from “repeat customers”. “We have the impression that our reliability and quality are first tested with smaller orders before customers dare to order larger and more complex parts for their construction machinery from us,” Stephan Bäumler suspects. The “Trusted Shops” seal, a buyer protection seal of quality, also has a confidence-building effect. The customer reviews for klickparts are correspondingly positive, emphasizing not only the high-quality goods but also the fast and uncomplicated processing.
“For us, this feedback is enormously important, because on the one hand it encourages us on our chosen path, but on the other hand it also shows us areas where we could possibly improve even more,” Bäumler once again confirms the claim that he wants to make things as easy as possible for customers. The role models here are the classic consumer shops. “What the customer knows from the private sphere, he should also find in the professional environment,” the klickparts managing director emphasizes the convenient search function in addition to the transparency already mentioned.
“With us, you can enter the type of equipment or the construction machinery manufacturer or the corresponding product or even the article or product number in the search field and the required article will be displayed,” Bäumler continues. The function is constantly improving because it is self-learning in the background thanks to artificial intelligence. The “responsive design” of the web shop is now almost a matter of course, as the size and resolution of the page adapts to the respective end device, whether computer screen, laptop, smartphone or tablet. This makes it easy to search for and order the right spare part from the construction site.
The heterogeneous customer structure is striking; klickparts seems to be interesting for companies of all sizes. “Both larger construction companies with their own workshops and fitters order from us as well as smaller companies, such as in gardening and landscaping, where the owner still screws on the machine himself,” Stephan Bäumler elaborates.
“After two years on the market, I see klickparts on a good path,” Bäumler is also optimistic about future development. “The development process is never complete by nature,” he says, pointing out that the offer will constantly expand and change. Those in charge are constantly in talks with other suppliers and manufacturers. Stephan Bäumler feels a tailwind from the general trend towards digitalization, which has been significantly strengthened not least by the pandemic. He does not want to rely on the trend and is counting above all on his own strength. “We want to become a “one-stop shop”, i.e. the full-range supplier, for spare parts and maintenance products for construction machinery of all sizes and makes,” is the ambitious goal of the klickparts managing director.
KLICKPARTS GMBH
Zeppelinstraße 19, D-85399 Hallbergmoos
Email: info@klickparts.com
Website: www.klickparts.com