The Company

CarParts.com is an auto parts e-commerce company with more than 2,000 employees, turning over $700 million a year. Their motto is 'Right part, right time, right place' and although they have been serving customers steadily for more than 25 years, they have ambitions to become a $1bn company by 2024 – and they’re well on track to achieve it.  

But, in order to meet their ambitious targets, they needed software that makes life easier, more accurate and effective for their employees. In the case of rebate management this meant they needed to be compliant, manage extremely complex rebates, and reconcile, and track rebates with ease. They needed a solution that would provide out-of-the-box functionality and allow them to customize the product to meet their specific needs. So they turned to Enable.

The Challenge

Manual Spreadsheets

Jerome Dziechiasz, Senior Category Manager of Merchandising Operations at CarParts, has been a part of the company since 2020, overseeing vendor brand rebates. He points out that, historically, deals and rebates were managed using a basic Excel spreadsheet, a practice not uncommon in the automotive sector.

Dziechiasz elaborates, saying, "Even major retailers continue to rely on Excel spreadsheets, which is quite surprising." However, it appears that the industry is showing a growing interest in adopting new tools. He adds, "When I engage with industry professionals and mention that I work at CarParts and we use Enable, their curiosity is piqued. They genuinely want to learn more about it."

Supporting Complex Rebates

CarParts has vendors with extremely complex rebate details. For example, he says that with one vendor, “we earn a 5% on pads, 3% on discs and rotors and then we have another percent on the calipers and hydraulics”. Adding further complexity, agreements can change in the middle of the year. Being able to track the earnings effectively has been a significant challenge for them. Being compliant from an agreement standpoint has been even more so.  

Dziechiasz says, “Before moving to Enable, it was almost nearly impossible to be able to track and reconcile those types of rebates. Having rebate management software and building it custom-tailored for our needs has really helped the business a lot.”

A Rapidly Growing Automotive Company

CarParts wanted to go beyond simply tracking rebates. They needed a solution that would support their expansion plans. Dziechiasz says, “As we grow into a billion dollar company and increase our brands and vendors, we needed a rebate management system that can handle the hundreds of complex deals and accurately track the earned rebates and Excel just was no longer cutting it.” That’s why they brought in Enable.

The Software

Going Beyond a Cookie-cutter Approach

Dziechiasz explains that CarParts.com needed a rebate tracking system that they could build from the ground up and customize to fit their needs. Dziechiasz says, "The rebate management system has been exceptional. It has consistently and precisely tracked all of our rebates, and we couldn't be more satisfied. It's not a cookie cutter option like some of the other alternatives available. Enable was the perfect match for CarParts."

It’s All About the Enable Team

Enable didn’t just kick off the software implementation project and abandon CarParts, they were with them every step of their rebate management journey. Dziechiasz says, "In terms of our collaboration with Enable and our team's experience, it has been excellent. We have a highly effective working relationship. Daniel, Caden, and Ben have proven to be exceptional partners, and we successfully implemented everything in just six months, from conceptualizing how to tailor it to our specific requirements to effectively managing and tracking rebates. Their expertise and patience have been remarkable. They brought forth numerous innovative ideas and provided invaluable assistance throughout the process."

Accurate Vendor Information

Dziechiasz shares, "As soon as we had Enable implemented and operational, we experienced immediate advantages. Now, I can simply click into the system, generate an earnings report, and showcase, 'Here are the details for all 150 vendors we work with. We have precise rebate information, signed contracts, and a clear record of their obligations to us.' Prior to Enable, we lacked such comprehensive and accurate insights. In fact, we've now even identified an additional $200,000 in rebate earnings."

Knowing Exactly What They’ve Earned, To the Penny

One year into their Enable journey Dziechiasz explains how different life is for them. “Before Enable, we weren't accurately tracking the rebates, so a lot of guess work was involved. Now, we know exactly what we've earned to the penny. The true value lies in having signed agreements and being fully compliant from a vendor perspective, allowing us to track rebates with complete accuracy."

What’s Next for CarParts?

Jerome is really excited about Enable’s forecasting ability. “To show year over year, each brand, each vendor, where they're tracking will be great. I really like the idea of knowing if it's a tiered deal and when we're close to hitting that next tier.”

The way he explains it, “We'll get an alert like, ‘Hey, you need to purchase a little bit more to be able to hit this next tier.’ I think the forecasting and the alerts are amazing. Those are things that we didn't realize Enable’s software did initially so that was a big surprise.”

And that’s why, at Enable, we keep evolving and progressing our product, adding value to our customers’ lives and making sure they can track, measure, report on and reward rebate activity because, at the end of the day, rebates work when manufacturers and distributors don’t just optimize deals, they build partnerships.

Before Enable, we weren't accurately tracking the rebates, so a lot of guess work was involved. Now, we know exactly what we've earned to the penny.