General
Who is providing the platform for eCommerce?
SimplePart (SP) is the eCommerce business partner for this National program. They are a capable solutions provider in the eCommerce space with 8 years of experience launching and maintaining National programs with OEMs such as Audi, BMW, Subaru and Volkswagen.
Onboarding
How long will it take dealerships to onboard?
The timing will vary based on the dealership. A safe average is 7-10 business days with 4-5 hours of dedicated time. This timing can be expedited by having all the items in the On-boarding Check List completed prior to launch.
How many dealerships do you plan to put on the Program, and will all dealerships be competing for online customers?
There is no target number of dealerships. Not all dealerships will choose to participate because of the engagement and commitment level required to be successful.
SimplePart has experience working with OEMs who have multiple dealerships in centralized metro areas. Dealerships are encouraged to leverage SimplePart’s experience when setting customer facing policies regarding freight, returns and customer support to be competitive.
Will dealerships who already have an eCommerce site be able to continue operating it?
No. Dealerships will not be able to operate separate eCommerce parts stores. If the dealerships parts eCommerce URL fits TMNA requirements e.g. parts.dealertoyota.com, it will be assimilated for use with Toyota Parts and Accessories eCommerce program.
If URL does not fit the requirements, dealerships must take down their existing domain and redirect traffic to the new URL provided.
If online payments are a requirement for the dealerships – how long will the setup take? Is there a fee for taking online payments?
Online payment acceptance is required to participate in the Toyota Parts and Accessories eCommerce program. It is critical to involve your business office as early as possible in the onboarding process to ensure your payment account setup takes as little time as possible.
The primary channels (PayPal, Authorize.net) for taking online payments will charge a percentage of the transaction amount and/or a small fee per transaction. SimplePart has negotiated favorable rates for our dealerships with both channels.
Daily Operations
How will discontinued parts be handled? We spend a lot of time calling customers regarding discontinued parts.
This is one of the advantages of the National program – use of Toyota’s EPC. Discontinued parts are identified and will not be displayed to the customer. Superceded part numbers will be noted if applicable.
How do we implement part restrictions at dealership level, if the part is showing at national level?
When a dealership restricts a part for selection, customers who choose the part at national level will not be shown that specific dealership as an online purchase option.
Will the EPC be limited or restricted in any way, or will it have all our parts & accessories? If all parts & accessories are searchable, how (or should we) will we restrict shoppers from purchasing TMS recommended non-ship parts like hazmat, glass or heavy metal?
The EPC will contain part numbers back to 1980, but the vast majority are parts that are in PDC Inventory that have no restrictions on availability. Certain types of parts will be excluded (e.g., part numbers on Stop Sale and Manual Allocation). In addition, dealerships will have the ability to restrict parts from their site or designate parts as pick-up only.
MAAP: What are the MAAP rules? What will be the MAAP minimum price?
For this Program, Toyota established a Minimum Display Price (MDP) that is set at Cost + 15%.
Can dealerships offer discounts at checkout to reduce the MAAP pricing?
Minimum Display Price applies to the advertised price. Dealerships control and set final transaction price. Dealerships will have the ability to apply discounts during checkout and offer other online discounting alternatives.
How does the system work for states that charge sales tax?
Dealerships are responsible for collecting and paying all applicable taxes. SimplePart’s system supports multiple tax collection scenarios.
Who will payments be collected by?
Dealership onboarding includes payment account setup to facilitate the transfer of customer funds acquired from transactions directly to your dealership.
What are the customer/dealership shipping options?
In Phase 1 dealerships will have only two shipping options: In- Store Pickup or Ship to desired location. We are exploring customer installation for a later phase. Target launch: CY 2019
Will the customer be able to select shipping options such as overnight or 2 day?
This capability will not be available immediately but we are in discussions with SP as an enhancement.
Will the national site link directly to the dealerships’ inventory?
This capability will not be available immediately but we are in discussions with SP as an enhancement.
What is the return policy and what are the limits?
Dealerships establish their own return policy. Each dealership’s custom policy will be discussed and uploaded to the website during the SimplePart configuration process.
Search Engine Optimization(SEO)/Search Engine Marketing(SEM)
How will the Parts and Service SEM and eCommerce programs function together, and how will TMNA prevent various programs from bidding against each other?
The eCommerce program will offer 4 package options. Dealerships enrolled in the Base package will keep their current Parts and Service SEM provider. Dealerships enrolled in the Plus, Advanced and Pro packages will have their SEM/SEO performed by SimplePart.
With the Plus, Advanced and Pro Packages, is the SEM spend in line with the Parts & Service SEM Program? Will this SEM cover service too?
Yes, the required SEM spend is in line with the P&S SEM Program. If a dealership elects the Plus, Advanced or Pro Package, SEM for service and parts will be performed through SimplePart. Dealerships on Plus, Advanced or Pro programs will be required to spend at least 50% of their SEM spend on parts.
What will SEO look like for this program? Especially in Base and Base+ Packages?
SimplePart’s platform is designed and optimized to support search engine crawling to maximize SEO benefits. Base and Plus packages include the SEO optimized platform as part of the dealership website templates. The Advanced and Pro package includes additional SEO optimization services.
Will the dealership pay for Tier-1 SEM, Tier-3 SEM, or both?
Dealerships will support SEM for their own website (Tier-3). TMNA uses a portion of the monthly subscription fees to fund Tier-1 SEM and additional digital marketing activities to drive traffic to dealership sites.
Does Dealership SEM assist with directing a customer to the dealership’s site from the national site based on their zip code?
No. Dealership SEM is associated with promoting customers directly to the dealership’s site. The national site will work to funnel customers to the closest dealerships based on customer IP location and the item they are shopping for.
If I decide to vary my SEM spend monthly, does the Dealer package also adjust accordingly?
Each package offers different services delivered by SimplePart. Minimum SEM spends are recommended for each package. SEM spends can be increased on any package at any time based on the desire to achieve certain objectives, but this is separate from the Package decision. For example, if a dealer signed up for the Base+ Package and decided to increase SEM spend for the month, they would remain on the Base+ Package.
Besides the setup fees, what are the SEM/SEO differences between the packages?
Base Package – No marketing. All traffic is received via marketing on the Tier 1 site which is supported by the TPAO Program.
Base+ Package – Dealer can reach customers within a 50-75-mile radius, depending on population density.
Advanced Package – Dealer can reach customers within 3-4 surrounding states, depending on population density.
Pro Package – Dealer can target customers throughout the U.S., i.e. marketing will have a national reach.
Miscellaneous
When the PDC begins direct ship, how will returns, damage control, etc. be handled?
PDC direct ship is Phase 2 of the program. Requirements are being finalized and more information will be available in 2018.
Will the Installation Option be available?
Giving the customers the option to have their product installed is still under development. Further details will be released at a later date. Target launch: CY 2019.
When and how will the Wholesale module be introduced into the eCommerce program?
TMNA needs to study how to integrate with the existing Wholesale programs. We will solicit dealerships feedback prior to finalizing the strategy.
How will the program work with multi-brand dealerships?
This program utilizes the Toyota EPC and is only applicable to the Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands.
