What Auto Recyclers can learn from a big organisation like eBay

There is no denying that large companies operate differently to small businesses.

It would be silly for me to suggest that an average automotive recycling yard is running their day to day operations in the same manner as a global organisation.

That being said, over the years, as my partnership with eBay has grown in the UK and Australia especially, I have come to realise that many of the successes that eBay have achieved, particularly concerning our industry, can be attributed to some key principles which even the smallest of recycling yards could benefit from.

So what can auto recyclers learn from a big organisation like eBay?

Strategic investments that may have a longer ROI are non-negotiable.

I know this is sometimes easier said than done. It can be hard to part with funds if you can’t see an immediate monetary gain.

However, more than ever before, now is when making strategic investments in your business (not just inventory) are necessary.

Technology is advancing so quickly and is coming at you from all angles. From the vehicles you dismantle, the systems you use to run your business, to the social applications you use in your spare time, like Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.

Future growth and profitability will, for many businesses and industries, only be possible with well thought out planning and investment in long-term growth strategies.. eBay are brilliant at this.

Just look at our current partnership offering with exactlinc and exactlist. Our current offer to Australian auto recyclers involves eBay funding the first 90 days of the program valued at over $10,000* (This is not a typo). They are literally covering $10,000 to onboard Aussie recyclers with these APS products. In the UK, eBay has been funding exactlinc for sellers since day one and the exactlist Digital listing service for the first 60 days. Why? Because eBay’s Return On Investment (ROI) is significant if sellers are selling more products, which is what we have been able to achieve for all participating recyclers. Sales are booming.

eBay understands that if they can help the auto recycler list more parts online, optimise these listings with Manufacturer Part Numbers (MPNs), Vehicle Compatibility (VC), Item Specifics and embeded video, sellers will sell more parts.

They invest in your success as your success is their success! They spend money - to make money. Auto Recyclers can (you could say must) do this too!

Listen to the demands of your customers

Often we think we know what our customers want. But all too often, we don’t actually know what they really want. We assume we know and you know what they say about ‘to assume’… it makes an a** out of you and me…

One of the things that I have experienced first hand with eBay, is their willingness to listen to customer feedback and what they want. eBay uses this information in the development of their strategies. After all, their customer is critical to their success, so why would they not listen?

For example, they run focus groups asking buyers what they want to see from sellers. Not just what products, but what look a listing should have (therefore how a template should be set up), or how they search for parts, which informs title format and item specifics, that all help with search and so on.

How about eBay UK’s investment in the auto recycling industry and what we all now know as the Vehicle Recyclers Association UK Certification program (VRAC)? eBay understood that building a seller cohort that is independently certified and audited annually was critical to their long term objectives to increase recycled parts sales. Today there are c.100 UK recyclers certified and their eBay sales are growing at significantly faster rates than any other eBay parts seller. In the UK, a recycled part sells approximately every 7 seconds.

Focus groups and consultants, who provide valuable feedback that informs good decision making, requires investment. The likes of eBay understand the strategic importance of this investment, which ultimately results in positioning eBay as the leader, the ‘go to’ marketplace for recycled parts for the B2C and now growing B2B buyers.

Innovation

It’s a buzz word, I know. But even small businesses need to be prepared to innovate.

The auto recycling industry has been around for a long time. It’s also experienced a recent boom off the back of a pandemic and supply chain challenges. But the savvy auto recycler also understands that, like everything, there are good and bad cycles in this industry too.

The future is less clear today than it has ever been. Exponential change in the makeup of the modern day vehicle will throw challenges at the industry and it will have to change more in the next 10 years than it has in the past 100 to remain relevant.

Auto recyclers need to be prepared to innovate and use new products and technologies. Imagine if your dismantler still used ratchets, spanners and screwdrivers to do his/her job?

eBay innovate on a large scale. They are continuously adopting the latest technology and evolving to meet their customer’s demands through innovation - platform optimisation, user experience and so much more.

Auto recyclers can also use innovation to optimise their customer’s experience, grow their sales, profitability and ROI. Today’s consumer wants a solution to his/her problem, they want it fast, they want to access it with ease, thus the growth in online sales, and they want to see value in their purchase.

Now, let me talk about value in the context of innovation. Traditionally, we have been focussed on the price and assumed that the cheapest option always wins the deal, and although this is true to a degree, I want us all to think carefully here. It has been proven that in the majority of cases, the consumer is prepared to pay more for a product that has a greater perceived value. Value could be in the warranty offered (quality), the cleanliness of the part (quality), the professionalism of their website or eBay store (quality), brand recognition, social posts (quality), testimonials or their feedback scores and Google reviews (quality)…

Have you noticed the common denominator? ‘Quality’ sells your product at a higher value and greater conversion rate. Innovate your thinking (it literally costs nothing) and consider how you can differentiate on quality and not rely on price to win the deal.

Open to New Ideas

In today’s world, we can’t afford to ‘set and forget’. How you operated ten years ago, won’t be the same now. Remember when the world shut down and people had to work from home? That was forced on us collectively, as a global population, but for the most part we thrived.

Don’t wait for a pandemic to force you into adopting new ideas that will automate and optimise your business operations.

I am always impressed by eBay’s willingness to listen to new ideas and that even as a large organisation, they are agile and prepared to try new ways of doing things.

An example that comes straight to mind is when I was able to help eBay understand that displaying just a photo of the part on the listing, does not necessarily get the best sales conversion, contrary to what was being touted as ‘best practice’ for the past few years.

Now, recyclers are listing parts that are often still on the vehicle, selling them, and only then investing the labour into the removal of these parts. The alternative meant recyclers were expected to take everything off (more dismantlers), clean, package, put it in a location (more warehouse staff), store it (more warehouse space), then finding that >50% of the parts dismantled, cleaned, packaged, stored and located didn’t sell, only to be scrapped (more labour again).

eBay knows that standing still is going backwards, and the auto recyclers I work with are thriving because they are open to new ideas, willing to invest, and do things differently for better results.

Look at the Bigger Picture

As big or small as your business may be - I urge you to be open to change and look at the bigger picture.

eBay didn’t look at how many parts were being listed for sale globally, and accept that number. They didn’t look at the quality of the listings by auto recyclers, and accept that it was the best they were going to get and that adding MPNs was just too hard. They didn’t look at the auto recycling industry, and accept that we couldn’t raise the image and change perceptions.

They have taken a bigger picture view of the opportunity. They have considered the feedback from buyers and sellers, and invested in industry experts to better inform their strategic direction and further increase their share of the used parts marketplace.

They looked at the bigger picture, understood their audience (not just the buyer) and realised that by supporting auto recyclers and making it easier for them to sell on their platform, they could grow their profits.

By eBay choosing to partner with Auto PARTnered Solutions to help facilitate these relationships, they focused on the bigger picture. Their investment in our partnership has helped both organisations to co-create, not only a strong long-term growth opportunity for eBay, but products and services needed by the auto recycler that enable this growth. We have built a true WIN for the recycler - WIN for eBay - WIN for the consumer model that drives amazing value to all parties.

So, although it may seem that a behemoth such as eBay cannot be compared to an auto recycling facility - in fact it can, when learning about smart strategic decision making and investment. There are many key principles of how they operate that are very much relevant to auto recyclers. What’s more, most of these don’t require an eBay/large corporate style budget.

They just require the right mindset and innovative thinking.