Repair Shop Supplier Tracking

Shop Supplier Tracking

In the repair shop channel, supplier relationships determine who gets the first call and who gets the second. IMR’s Shop Supplier Tracking Study is a monthly study that measures exactly where those relationships stand, how they’re shifting, and what’s driving shop loyalty and defection across the supplier landscape.

For manufacturers and distributors trying to understand their position in the channel, this is the ground-level view that shipment data can’t give you.

What it measures

The study tracks shop supplier relationships across every major supplier type WDs, retailers, OE dealers, and others in the following areas:

Supplier awareness (aided and unaided) · Supplier usage and consideration · First, second, and third call supplier designation · Share of parts purchases from primary supplier · Primary supplier satisfaction · Key supplier attribute importance and satisfaction ratings · Likelihood to recommend and future purchase intentions

The first/second/third call structure is particularly valuable, telling you not just who shops are buying from, but where you rank in the pecking order and how much runway exists to move up or down.

Shop demographics

Because the study runs monthly, it also provides a current, continuous read on shop activity across the country such as average number of technicians and bays, vehicles serviced per month, and average repair order value. This operational context matters when you’re interpreting supplier preference data, because shop size and volume directly influence how and where parts are purchased.

Why monthly tracking matters

Supplier relationships in the repair shop channel don’t shift overnight, but they do shift. A monthly cadence lets you see momentum, which suppliers are gaining consideration, where satisfaction is eroding, and whether your channel investments are moving the needle before a full year passes.