AUTOMECHANIKA JOHANNESBURG 2023
Automechanika Johannesburg 2023 was recently held at the NASREC showgrounds. The show, although small in size, saw decent attendance from quality visitors from around South Africa and further north, which made it a success.
There were also several conferences held over the three days from various sectors of the automotive industry that were well attended and proved beneficial to those who attended.
The show kicked off with the Innovation Awards where Strategic Fulfilment Brand Mapping took first prize. Strategic Fulfilment Brand Mapping have partnered with Syncron, a Swedish based business, to transform the intricacies of supply and demand within the automotive aftermarket field.
Poor stock availability led to their customers buying stock from any of their regional branches, instead of their closest branch. This meant that their historic sales by branch did not reflect the actual requirement of the customers in that region, but rather what was sold regardless of where the customer was located.
Stock was then replenished with stock into the incorrect branch based on the forecast – and again the customer had to buy their stock from the incorrect branch – a self-fulfilling prophecy.
What is the solution? All active customer accounts were geo-coded and mapped to a primary fulfilment branch based on their location relative to warehouses and the delivery method used to service the customer (Own Fleet or Courier). The transactional history file sent to Syncron is intercepted and remapped based on their master remapping file. This means that regardless of where the customer buys from, the demand for that customer will always reflect in the history of their primary fulfilment branch. Branch stock profiles and stock levels will be corrected systematically and will be determined by the requirements of the customers linked to that branch (based on actual sales to those customers).
The innovation lies in location-based input into Syncron, by correcting historical imbalances caused by inefficient stock distribution. This advanced approach ensures that each customer’s demand is attributed to their primary fulfilment branch, resulting in a more accurate reflection of regional requirements. A very smart innovation for sure.
Another innovative product in the running that should be highlighted because of its environmental impact is Cubic38 Tyre Shine. It is a tyre shine made from recycled carbon (tyres) – a world first. This product will help reduce the number of tyres being dumped and filling landfills to capacity.
There was a great presence from oil, parts and finance companies as well as other ancillary businesses such as clips, glass and more. A large contingent of Chinese exhibitors displayed their wares and looked for local distributors to partner with.
Other countries looking to form relationships for distribution in SA were Brazil, India and Turkey. Each of their stands were divided into smaller sections to highlight products from their country from polishes to parts and other interesting inventions. Overall show attendees were knowledgeable about the industry and in general had come to see what was new and what to expect in the near future.
The exhibition saw brands like MAB Autobody, CRA, RMI, YATU, Launch and a smattering of parts people on show specifically for collision repair. Outside of Hall 6, the Motor Accident Group (MAG) were enjoying the display vicinity with gearbox specialist neighbours and other petrolhead highlights.
The truck displays for the Future Road Show were eye catching in their enormity and most certainly proved interesting for the attendees.
Networking and creating better brand awareness is what exhibitions are all about and those at this year’s Automechanika Johannesburg definitely achieved this.
Story by: Claire Macfie
Pics by: Jay Groat and Sarah Macfie
