We’re excited to share our very first issue of the Trends + Treads, a comprehensive digital briefing of the tire industry at its current state. Which, as you can imagine, that’s pure value for the tire retailer, distributor and manufacturer.
Treads + Treads visualizes for you the exact information you want about the industry:
Tire sellout trends by tier
Breakdowns by category and region
Average price increases
Prior year price comparisons
And even better:
You get to see how the economy has impacted store visits and volume. That’s the ultimate benefit.
All the analysis you’ll see comes from the vital data we’ve collected. And here’s the best news of them all: this is just the first issue. There will be plenty more to come. So it’s time for you to check the trends and treads of the industry you love the most.
Always bigger the second time around, right? Our Reinvent the Wheel Hackathon 2.0 took that statement to a whole new level by converging some of the brightest data science minds from across the United States together in Huntersville, NC, to tackle an automotive aftermarket sustainability problem in only 24 hours. Energy drinks, coffee, and pure grind pushed these 100 data scientists, divided into 21 teams, to hack away at a scrap tire forecasting and tire recycling optimization challenge.
100 Participants Not Only Competed to Solve a Challenge, but to Have Fun!
And fun was had (can anyone say ‘tire bowling’ out in the parking lot?). The next generation of data science was indeed alive and well, reminded of the fact that we have an industry of the next data scientists to come up with the most creative ideas that will solve the most challenging of issues.
There were several winners, and to be fair – all participants won in this event, because it was all for the common goal: sustainability and togetherness!
Here Are the Results of Our Latest Reinvent the Wheel Hackathon
1st Place – Michelin, winning $3,000 (donating award to university teams) and a set of Continental tires
2nd Place – The Huskies from Northeastern University, winning $1,500 and a set of Hercules tires
3rd Place – The Database Avengers from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, winning $500 and a SnoPro certification from kipi.bi
4th Place – 808s and Snowflake, including team members from RedStone Credit Union, Bank of America, and UNCC (newly created due to Michelin donating their prize!)
Best Presentation – Green Dream, composed of literal strangers (!) from Worchester Polytechnic Institute, the University of Buffalo, Davidson College and 7-Eleven, winning Google Nest hubs sponsored by Google
So What Was the Winning Solution for the Auto Aftermarket?
Michelin utilized a dedicated machine learning model to forecast the scrap tires required, plus a “mixed integer” optimization algorithm often employed to solve large, complex problems, such as industrial symbiosis or large-scale process integration. More importantly, the solution sought to plot out the logistics of transporting tires from warehouse to recycler while minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.
But the best part of all that was the awards ceremony- a celebration of this solution for 200 attendees and problem solvers advocating for a greener and more sustainable future for our auto aftermarket.
What’s Next for the Industry?
Great things. Of course, thanks go to all sponsors for the event –
American Tire Distributors for the financial support and hosted facility
Continental for helping generate the challenge to make change
Google for donating some really awesome hubs
Snowflake for the sponsored SnoPro certification awards
And, of course, BCG, Miracle Software Systems, IPG, Kipi.bi, Hercules Tires, 3Ci, Optomi, Vaco, and Vesel for entertainment, catering, drinks and swag.
At the moment, we’re taking stock of the effort and collaboration along with brainstorming for the next Hackathon. A hackathon that may be bigger, better and even more competitive!
So, we’ll see when the next competition comes our way. Until then, let’s get to work so we can continue creating solutions for the auto aftermarket!
Despite labor shortages and employee turnover making headlines in this turbulent employment market, some businesses still seem to overcome all these challenges because they know what makes a business work: its people!
Every year, Charlotte Business Journal publishes a list of the Best Places to Work – companies that put its people first and are great examples of a positive company culture. We are proud to announce that this year, Torqata was included in that list!
On November 4th, some of our local team members were on hand at Topgolf to accept the plaque at the Best Places to Work awards event: Austin Sun, data engineering; Bret Leatherwood, product management; Melissa Duncan, business operations and HR; and Molly Stamey, customer success.
The Three Top Benefits That Keep Top Talent Engaged at Torqata
Perks, practices and policies: people get fired up over that. They invest in, fall in love with, and remain loyal to that – benefits like an all-remote environment, company values and culture centered around family, togetherness and camaraderie. More importantly, our growing contribution to the auto aftermarket industry says it all – we believe in what we do, and no doubt – so do our people who love us the most!
As our own Melissa Duncan said: “Accepting the award was an acknowledgment of each and every piece – sometimes small! – that goes into the culture here at TQA.”
Knowing what Torqata offers is so simple that it can be explained in the premier Vision Video of less than three minutes! The benefit Torqata offers to manufacturers, distributors and retailers is clear. It addresses the rocky road of inventory, pricing and profit needs of this industry with the power of data analysis.
Additionally, the thought leaders of the automotive aftermarket also face everything from customer demand, supply chain disruption, mixed market signals and so much more. There’s just not enough time to be a true data analyst! Enter: Torqata.
See the video and learn more about what we're doing for the industry right now.
Whether you’re a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer of tires and auto aftermarket products, you play an important role in keeping people – and whole economies – moving forward. But how can you best proceed when it’s hard to see the road ahead?
As a retailer or dealer, you might be determining market demand in your area, stocking levels, which brands to carry, and whether your pricing is optimal. With the right data analysis, you can answer these questions. But you’re too busy taking care of customers to become an analytics expert.
And if you’re a distributor or wholesaler, customer demand is then difficult to predict with so many SKUs to carry.Having the right products available is a challenge, especially with global supply chain disruptions and a changing Car Parc.You’re either carrying too much unsold inventory or not enough of the most in-demand products to satisfy customer needs.
And as a manufacturer, it’s hard to plan production and marketing efforts when you’re faced with multiple, mixed market signals – and a lack of timely data to affect decisions and outcomes. You need sell-out, pricing, and inventory intelligence. Why? To forecast more accurately. Plan production cycles better. Measure marketing effectiveness. And you need it all in real-time.
As tire and auto aftermarket industry data gets richer and more complex, navigating it gets harder. Decisions made without timely and accurate data to back them up cost the industry BILLIONS annually in waste and inefficiency.
More importantly, those bad decisions cost YOU, too. In precious time, lost opportunities, inefficiencies, and peace of mind. Butthat was then. Now there’s Torqata.
Torqata is the essential connector for the tire and auto aftermarket. The only data source and analytics engine of its kind. It puts the power of data directly into the hands of retailers. Distributors and manufacturers, too. Torqata aggregates inventory, pricing and historical sales data from across the supply chain to:
Provide actionable market and demand insights that empower retailers with the tools they need to set seasonal product screens, automate inventory & ordering, price intelligently, and win against the competition…
Help distributors to efficiently balance demand with supply, and
Enable manufacturers to more accurately forecast demand, run effective marketing campaigns and achieve high fill rates.
We’re a team of automotive experts and technologists who are united by the vision to drive better decisions across the industry. The wheels of innovation are spinning…
Leverage the power of your data and build a competitive edge with Torqata. To learn more, click below to contact us and request a demo.
Sometimes a certain level of competition will shake up an automotive aftermarket industry enough to change it for the better. That’s what the Reinvent the Wheel Hackathon 2.0 on November 11, 2022 aims to do, shake it up at ATD’s headquarters in Huntersville, NC!
Envision a 24-hour battle of the brains, inviting college students and data scientists of varying experience to come up with the most groundbreaking sustainable solutions for the industry.
Now…. Picture an industry having a positive environmental impact on our world! Looks great, doesn’t it?
Visit the Reinvent the Wheel 2.0 Hackathon website at www.reinvent-the-wheel.com to learn more about the event and apply to participate. Deadline is October 1st!
