‘Moto-Profil, as well as the entire automotive aftermarket industry, is in good condition, but we have to go beyond the common patterns,’ says Michał Tochowicz when summarising 2022 in Moto-Profil and the ProfiAuto network. The representatives of one of the largest distributors of automotive parts in Poland, which is just entering the third decade of its business activities, also reported their forecasts for the next 12 months.
In the last four quarters, Moto-Profil once again recorded an increase in revenue compared to the previous year. The company is also thriving in the European arena, constantly expanding the network of business contacts. The Moto-Profil’s ProfiAuto network already brings together more than 240 shops and wholesalers as well as more than 2150 car services in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Thus, it remains the largest entity of this type on the market of parts distributors and garages on the domestic market.
‘We are pleased that we can count another year as successful both from the commercial perspective and in terms of the development of modern technologies for the industry. Nevertheless, it was not easy because of the war in Ukraine, inflation and high energy prices, among other factors. Therefore, together with our partners, we create advanced tools that will not only help to mitigate the effects of the current economic situation, but even increase our profits. A new parts catalogue and an extension of the commercial offer will give our European customers even more opportunities for business growth. And this is what it is all about – to move forward and choose prospective solutions, ready to be implemented both today and in the future,’ says Michał Tochowicz, President of Moto-Profil.
A new vision of the company for the years 2030+
In 2022, the Management Board of Moto-Profil presented a new vision of the company: “We provide mobility – today and tomorrow”, which means focusing not only on the current activities, but also on the changes to be faced by the aftermarket industry in the years to come.
‘The development of electromobility, changing trends in car use and new legal regulations make us think about the aftermarket prospectively, and at the same time realise that we are not just distributors of parts, but entities that really provide mobility to millions of drivers in Europe. Hence the new vision of Moto-Profil: “We provide mobility – today and tomorrow.” We are well aware that we have to work on the development of tools that use modern technologies combining IT, virtual reality and business intelligence, so that our local and global business partners will also remain a step ahead of the competition in a few years. Just as the best companies in the world do and how we have been operating for years in our flagship project – ProfiAuto. At the same time, not forgetting that business is happening here and now,’ adds Michał Tochowicz.
Support for customers – wider commercial offer and new catalogue
As the representatives of Moto-Profil emphasise, the previous four quarters were marked by the development of the commercial offer. The company has started direct cooperation with Castrol – one of the most famous players in the aftermarket. It has also introduced the range of KYB (Kayaba) products to its catalogue and expanded the portfolio of its own brands: ProfiPower, Oyodo and JPN. In total, there are over 11 million references including brands from all over the world in the Moto-Profil catalogue.
In 2022, Moto-Profil worked on a new version of its parts catalogue, which will be implemented in close cooperation with the business partners in the first quarter of this year. It will be a state-of-the-art tool responding to the needs of the digital generation of automotive service employees, shops and wholesalers. The key advantages of the new version of the catalogue will be the maximum intuitiveness and the speed of selecting parts by the user. In addition to the catalogue, in recent months, Moto-Profil has also been developing software for automotive shops and wholesalers in Poland – ProfiBiznes thanks to which the sales service, warehouse management, ordering and reporting will become much easier. Moreover, with the ProfiBI tool (based on Business Intelligence technology) added to the software, the owner can track the business dynamics, manage the work of sales people and gain an easy tool to analyse the company at any time, including via a smartphone.
Towards the future – ProfiAuto Wirtualny Warsztat and application
In response to the increasingly noticeable lack of specialists in garages and the requirements of the young generation of mechanics, Moto-Profil implemented the ProfiAuto Wirtualny Warsztat (Virtual Garage) software in selected mechanical schools in Poland and the Czech Republic in 2022. Thanks to this, for the first time, almost 400 students could study their profession using Virtual Reality.
Bearing in mind the changing profile of the garage customer, Moto-Profil also developed the ProfiAuto application on the domestic Polish market in the last year, which allows, among others functions, to make an appointment with a garage via a smartphone or to track fuel expenditure. As noted by the company representatives, carsharing or the fact that the “Z” generation is likely to increasingly use the car “as a service” instead of owning it, the model of thinking about servicing vehicles must change. The response is the ProfiAuto application, which is offered, for the time being, only in Poland.
The future of the industry is the flexibility today and the innovation in future
The representatives of Moto-Profil point out that the automotive revolution connected with, but not limited to, electrification and the current economic situation in Europe and in the world require decisive action from parts distributors.
‘Due to inflation, high energy prices and a lack of employees on the market, a demanding time has arisen for all entrepreneurs. That is why we strive to support our partners “here and now” as much as possible, in particular in terms of increasing business efficiency. This is ensured by commercial support programmes or extensive marketing activities,’ says Michał Tochowicz. ‘From a global perspective and from the perspective of changes in the automotive world, which we have not witnessed since its creation, we also focus on the future. This includes electrification, new models of car use and the “Fit for 55” directives, i.e. the planned ban on the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines in Europe from 2035. Hence, among other things, our presence in the TEMOT International organisation where we jointly defend the right to choose how and where someone wants to service their car. Just in terms of the future in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, we also offer training courses for mechanics and catalogue products related to servicing modern hybrid or electric cars. We must constantly think about the future to properly respond to the revolution in the automotive industry and ensure the functioning of this sector. 30 years of Moto-Profil’s presence on the market provides a solid foundation for this,’ sums up Michał Tochowicz.
