Content:
John Orton’s keynote at PARTS FORUM 2025 offers a compelling case study in data-driven transformation: by leveraging MARKT-PILOT’s solutions, Okuma moved from labor-intensive manual pricing to systematic, profitable spare parts management.
Introduction: Digital Shifts in Aftermarket PartsIn a world where the competition is fierce, supply chain shocks frequent, and customer expectations ever-rising, spare parts businesses must evolve or risk falling behind. Okuma, a leading manufacturer of CNC machines, chose innovation, harnessing MARKT-PILOT’s market intelligence to redefine its pricing strategies and achieve substantial, measurable gains.
Founded in 1898, Okuma’s transformation from noodle machines to cutting-edge CNC systems is legendary. Okuma emphasizes its ‘customer for life’ philosophy, maintaining historic support for even its earliest machines. Their Charlotte office showcases all legacy machine control formats; from punched paper tape to floppy disks, illustrating a deep commitment to lifelong support and technological evolution.
Today, the company’s footprint spans North and South America and includes global sales above $600 million, aiming for growth of over 30% by 2030. Okuma America’s spare parts business alone manages $60 million in inventory, sustaining high fill rates (95%) and a product catalog stretching to nearly 3 million SKUs.
Traditional methods such as cost-plus pricing, gut instinct, Excel spreadsheets could not cope with dynamic pressures like tariffs, currency swings, and the proliferation of third-party resellers. “Prices in the marketplace are a black box,” John Orton, Manager Pricing Strategy & Analytics at Okuma, explains, “with real and ‘faux’ competitors (motion, eBay, Alibaba) muddying the waters and undercutting margins.”
Okuma part numbers are routinely used by third-party vendors to market spare parts, but what appears in the price list may often be used, open-box or not in stock at all.
The turning point came when Okuma signed MARKT-PILOT after meeting at industry trade shows and seeing the limits of DIY data aggregation. The original web-scraping tool was built using Alteryx, involving international collaboration with an engineer in the UK. While powerful for cleaning up data, its output still required significant manual review and interpretation, highlighting the need for automated intelligence.
MARKT-PILOT provided automated, real-time market data, competitive benchmarks, and AI-driven pricing recommendations integrated with Okuma’s workflows.
MARKT-PILOT enables Okuma to weight competitor sources, assigning higher influence on true market players and minimizing the impact of gray-market or out-of-stock listings like those on eBay.
Okuma’s sales channel is largely indirect, making visibility into lost orders difficult; the MARKT-PILOT system offers new transparency for analyzing price-driven customer migration and potential recapture.
“Sometimes it’s not in my heart to decrease pricing,” Orton admitted, “but it’s something that’s hard to do right.”
Yet real-world examples proved the value of market-based decisions:
These quick, targeted changes were possible only through the cadence and clarity that MARKT-PILOT offers.
But data alone cannot drive success. Okuma’s journey was about engaging distributors, aligning purchasing, and supporting continuous improvement. With challenges like legacy systems, the addition of change management to pricing transformation becomes critical; an insight echoed across all PARTS FORUM sessions.
Distributors actively validated price changes, guiding adjustments, and fostering trust.
Most price changes are updated directly in the dealer system, except for major SKU-wide adjustments. Broad announcements are issued only when tariffs or a large group of items are affected. Otherwise, distributors encounter new prices live in their day-to-day processes.
Okuma’s transformation is supported by broader market trends and third-party data:
Even when third-party batteries or O-rings look identical to Okuma originals, only the OEM-tested version reliably meets operational requirements such as chemical resistance or fire safety. This difference justifies cautious premium pricing and customer education.
Okuma’s journey is far from over. The expanded relationship with MARKT-PILOT underscores commitment to ongoing data-driven improvement and adaptation.
Key priorities ahead:
Okuma’s partnership with MARKT-PILOT has moved spare parts pricing from art to science; delivering not just profitability but sustainable competitive advantage. As market pressures mount, only data-driven, customer-centered strategies will unlock new value streams.
This transformation demonstrates how the right technology empowers manufacturers to shift from reactive to proactive spare parts strategies, unlocking significant untapped revenue potential. By embracing transparent, data-driven pricing, Okuma now sets a benchmark for customer value, operational efficiency, and sustainable growth within the machinery sector.
MARKT-PILOT’s platform not only simplifies complex processes but also ensures consistent and competitive pricing across an extensive portfolio. As digitalization intensifies, such partnerships are increasingly vital for OEMs striving to maintain an edge and foster loyalty in fast-changing markets. Okuma’s journey offers a blueprint for the industry, proving that measurable success is possible when innovation and insight drive every decision.