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"Excel is convenient but no longer up to date for strategic pricing." Megan Reynolds from the agricultural machine manufacturer Vermeer summed up what was the common thread running through the PARTS FORUM 2025 in Chicago: Machine Manufacturing is at a turning point. If you want to remain successful in the service and spare parts business, you must digitize your pricing and other processes, ensure data quality, and adapt to increasingly dynamic competition. This was the tenor at the most important aftermarket event in North America. Almost 100 service managers and pricing managers met in „Windy City" on Lake Michigan to discuss these opportunities and challenges with each other.
Whether toolmaking, energy tech, wood and plastics processing or packaging: the range of machine manufacturers represented at the PARTS FORUM was wide. The focus was on the personal exchange of experiences. Many participants emphasized how valuable it is to meet their colleagues from other companies on site. Despite all the differences in products and markets, it quickly became clear that the challenges in the service and parts business are similar. Topics such as digitalization, pricing strategies, and change management are relevant to the entire industry. The PARTS FORUM has once again proven to be an important place for community building and the development of sustainable networks.
The event started with a survey among the participants, which provided a topic for discussion. The question posed to the audience was: How many competitors are currently selling spare parts online? Most respondents estimated that between 11 and 50 alternative providers are active online in their market segment. Quite a few respondents even assumed that there are more than 50. Only a small proportion of the participants saw fewer than ten competitors in online sales. The results illustrate how strong the competitive pressure in the digital parts business already is and that machine manufacturers (OEMs) are more than ever under pressure to adapt their pricing and service to the new market conditions.
One topic that was discussed repeatedly in lectures and discussions was the importance of data quality. Clean, consistent and complete master data was highlighted as a basic requirement for data-driven, automated and AI-supported service processes – not only in the parts business, but for all digital initiatives in aftermarket. One visitor aptly put it: "Without valid, consistent data, no precise market analysis is possible." The discussions made it clear that machine manufacturing companies can successfully implement digital (AI-supported) technologies and realize transformative competitive advantages through an optimized database. Together with MARKT-PILOT, the host of the PARTS FORUM, a data infrastructure is being created that not only enables intelligent pricing models but also leverages far-reaching potential for the parts business and other areas of the company.
The focus was on data quality throughout the forum. Many participants understood it not only as a technical topic, but above all as a strategic one; a key to effectively implementing digitalization, AI and market-based pricing in the first place.
Wade Holeman from MARKT-PILOT also took up the topic in his keynote speech. Right at the beginning of his presentation, he emphasized: "Transparency and price intelligence are the basis for sustainable success in the aftermarket." Those who do not act now will be overwhelmed by market dynamics, according to the Vice President Sales & Head of North America. He made it clear that data-based decisions and flexible pricing models are decisive for success today: "The time of gut feeling and static price lists is over, we need real-time transparency and the ability to react immediately to market changes." He emphasized that companies not only protect their margins through the intelligent use of data and AI but also secure the trust of their customers in the long term.
Holeman also presented key results from the current "Global Parts & Service Report 2025" and called for active use of the opportunities offered by digitalization: "Those who position themselves as pioneers now will secure the market shares of the future." The report, published by MARKT-PILOT and presented to the public for the first time at PARTS FORUM, is based on a comprehensive industry survey and the evaluation of hundreds of thousands of market data points. The aim of the report is to provide machine manufacturers and suppliers with an up-to-date overview of price levels, margin developments, and competitive dynamics. The "Global Parts & Service Report 2025" provides benchmarks for pricing, analyzes industry trends and identifies success factors for profitability and growth. "This provides companies with a valuable tool to further develop their strategies in a targeted manner," it was said at the presentation. An important core message of the report: Price transparency and customer orientation are the decisive success factors for the coming years in the service business of machine manufacturing.
In the further course of the event, Mathew Cropper informed about innovations and further developments of the MARKT-PILOT platform. According to Cropper, the focus in the future will be on the automation of market price analyses, AI-supported price recommendations and improved ERP interfaces. The Director Product emphasized: "Our roadmap is developed in dialogue with machine manufacturers from all sub-industries. This is the only way we can continuously adapt the platform to practical requirements."
The presentation by Phil Evans, Director of Aftermarket Pricing at Hussmann, offered a special insight into practice. He presented the realignment of the pricing of his company, which is one of the leading providers of cooling technology for the food retail sector. Evans described how Hussmann took the challenges of a changing market – such as increased customer expectations, increasing transparency through online offers and a growing number of digital competitors – as an opportunity to fundamentally rethink its own pricing strategy.
The focus was on the development of a dynamic, data-based pricing model that considers both the complexity of the product portfolio and the different customer segments. "We had to learn that traditional pricing methods are no longer enough to be successful in today's market environment," says Evans. The introduction of modern pricing tools and close cooperation with sales and services have made it possible to react more quickly to market changes and to secure margins in the long term. Evans also emphasized the importance of change management and internal communication: "A new pricing strategy can only develop to its full potential if all departments pull together."
Practice proves him right: Thanks to the new transparency, Okuma was able to adjust prices in a targeted manner, identify over- and underpriced parts and thus significantly increase profitability. He particularly emphasized the importance of flexibility and the willingness to question and change established processes. Okuma's experience reflects a broad industry trend: digitalization and data-based decisions are becoming the key success factors in the parts business.
Market-based pricing, high data quality and consistent change-management: Repeatedly, these topics emerged as central challenges for the machine manufacturing industry at the PARTS FORUM. This was also the case in the panel discussion moderated by MARKT-PILOT. Representatives from Vermeer, Douglas Machine, and AMS Bakery Systems discussed these points from different angles. The panelists agreed that many companies are still at the beginning of this journey. Sean Bower (AMS Bakery Systems) drew attention to another aspect in this context: "It's not just about technology, but above all about trust – internally and externally. Fair prices strengthen customer loyalty."
In this context, the introduction of specialized pricing software such as MARKT-PILOT is seen as the key to taking regional differences into account and enabling global rollouts. "Flexibility and speed will determine success in the service business in the future," Bower continues. The panelists reported on pilot projects, iterative rollouts and the need to communicate pricing decisions transparently. Storytelling and cost-benefit analyses could help to secure internal buy-in, according to an important finding from the panel discussion.
Of course, the possibilities of artificial intelligence (AI) in the service and parts business were also discussed. AI is seen as a decisive lever for the automation and optimization of pricing processes – both in the analysis of market prices and in the derivation and implementation of price recommendations. The panelists agreed that only companies that have their data quality under control can benefit from the potential of AI. No other topic was addressed as frequently and insistently as the quality of master data – not only as a necessary basis, but also as a success criterion that can be actively shaped in the entire after-sales process – from pricing to artificial intelligence to customer loyalty.
So, what remains of the PARTS FORUM 2025? It became clear how data-driven pricing, digitalization, AI and change management are shaping the service business of machine manufacturing. The practical examples presented, the intensive exchange and the "Global Parts & Service Report 2025" provided the participants with numerous impulses to position themselves for the future. To stay successful in the aftermarket business, you need to invest in data quality, technology, and empowering your teams – and embrace change as an opportunity.
Watch the highlight video of the PARTS FORUM 2025 here!
PARTS FORUM will return to Chicago in 2026. The exact date and the agenda will be published soon under www.parts-forum.com