In this article, learn about:
- Why Genuine Parts Company is separating its automotive and industrial businesses, and what it does not change
- The four operational threads that run through both sides of the category
- What changed at MSC Industrial Supply Co. after more than 3,000 suppliers moved to one data standard
- Where to go next in The Supply Chain Source for a closer look at any single thread
The industrial and automotive supply chain often looks like two businesses run by one team. A bearing sold to a maintenance buyer and a brake rotor sold through an auto parts chain reach different buyers. The corporate world is starting to treat them as separate too.
When it comes to operations, however, the same coordinator builds both shipments, the same catalog holds both part numbers, and the same customer requirements govern both invoices. This article maps what the two sides share and points to the deeper pieces on each thread.
Why Is Genuine Parts Company Splitting Automotive and Industrial?
On Feb. 17, 2026, Genuine Parts Company announced a plan to separate into two independent public companies. The automotive side, which includes NAPA Auto Parts, becomes Global Automotive. The industrial side becomes Global Industrial. The company said the split gives each business more focus and more control over how it spends capital.
The deal is structured to be tax free, and it does not need a shareholder vote. Completion is targeted for the first quarter of 2027. In a July 24, 2026 update, the company said the split is still on track, with standalone audits done and investor days set for December.
One company with real scale on each side decided that two companies run better separately, though it may mean that suppliers now have to deal separately with each company.
Does a Corporate Split Change How Suppliers Operate?
A corporate separation changes reporting lines, capital, and board structure. It does not change what a buyer asks a supplier to send, or how the supplier sends it. Ownership structure and operating structure are different things.
Most suppliers in this category run both product lines through one set of systems and one group of people. Order intake and the item catalog are shared. The warehouse that picks a hydraulic fitting on Tuesday picks a wheel hub on Wednesday, with the same labels and the same carrier appointments. If a customer splits in two, the number of relationships to manage can double, which raises the value of a shared operational core.
What Threads Connect Industrial and Automotive Supply Chain Management?
Four operational threads run through both sides of this category. Each is a common source of chargebacks and late orders.
OEM Versus Aftermarket Status
Original equipment and aftermarket sales come with different terms. Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) programs bring qualification steps, documented process controls, and tight delivery windows. Aftermarket programs weigh catalog breadth, fitment accuracy, and stock levels more heavily. Many suppliers serve both, so one team works from two rulebooks.
Parts Identification and Fitment Data
Automotive suppliers work with two standards from the Auto Care Association. ACES, the Aftermarket Catalog Exchange Standard, holds fitment data, the record of which vehicles a part fits. PIES, the Product Information Exchange Standard, holds product details such as descriptions, attributes, packaging, and images. Shared databases sit behind both, and the current releases are ACES 5.0 and PIES 8.0.
Industrial suppliers rarely use ACES and PIES, but they hit the same wall from another direction. Manufacturer, customer, and distributor part numbers all describe one item, and they rarely agree. When those records drift apart, orders go against the wrong number and returns arrive without a match.
Long-Tail Inventory and Industrial Distribution Trends
Both sides carry deep catalogs, and a large share of stock-keeping units (SKUs) sell in single digits per year. A discontinued vehicle still needs parts, and a 20-year-old machine still needs a seal kit. That long tail creates a familiar set of problems:
- Forecasting on very thin sales history
- Choosing what to stock in a distribution center (DC) and what to dropship
- Explaining fill-rate misses on items nobody expected to move
Industrial distribution trends can show which parts of the tail are growing. They do not make a slow-moving SKU easier to forecast.
Related Reading: What Is SKU Rationalization?
Oversized, Hazmat, and Warranty Compliance
Industrial and automotive goods carry more paperwork than most consumer categories:
- Freight class and handling rules apply to heavy and oversized items
- Lubricants, batteries, aerosols, and adhesives fall under hazardous materials rules, each with its own labeling
- Core returns and warranty programs add records that tie back to the original sale
Each program leaves a document trail, and a gap in that trail becomes a deduction.
Related Reading: Understanding Retailer Deductions, Chargebacks, and Fines
What Happens When 3,000 Suppliers Share One Data Standard?
MSC Industrial Supply Co. has sold metalworking and maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) products for more than 75 years. It buys from more than 3,000 suppliers, from large manufacturers down to family-run shops.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, MSC held safety stock it no longer needed, and that inventory tied up cash. It had adopted electronic data interchange (EDI) years earlier, but adoption was uneven, and the data was inconsistent enough that people stopped relying on it. Teams built manual workarounds instead, which made the data worse.
Standardizing how data moved, paired with vendor scorecards, turned that around. MSC cut overstocked inventory without missing customer demand, and its teams started to trust the numbers.
“Our internal teams now have a lot more trust in the EDI system and the data that they get from it. They can then use that data to be more efficient in their day-to-day.”
Daniella Debitetto, product manager at MSC
Error rates respond to the same fix. When SPS Commerce took over EDI operations for Osborn, error rates fell from 30% to under 10% and chargebacks stopped, with no added staff.
Do EDI and Compliance Requirements Echo Across Every Thread?
Connectivity sits underneath all four of the operational threads mentioned earlier, though not evenly. A purchase order (PO), an advance ship notice (ASN), and an invoice form the backbone of any of these programs. What changes is which fields matter:
A hazmat shipment needs classification and handling data on the shipping documents.
A warranty return needs a reference to the original order.
An aftermarket catalog needs fitment records a buyer’s system can read without cleanup.
Fitment data problems and hazmat paperwork problems can both result in a chargeback. They start in different places, and different teams fix them.
Where Should You Start in This Category?
This article is the entry point to a longer arc. Practitioners new to these accounts usually start with the vocabulary, then move to the qualification question. Those two steps shape how to read later requirements.
The rest of the category goes deeper on each thread. A glossary covers the terms that show up on scorecards and routing guides. Other pieces take on OEM and aftermarket status, the parts data standards, long-tail inventory, and the compliance programs with the heaviest paperwork.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are industrial and automotive really one category?
They are two markets with one operational core. The customers, buying cycles, and catalogs differ. The systems, paperwork, and data problems overlap heavily, which is why suppliers usually staff and run them together.
Does the Genuine Parts Company split affect suppliers directly?
Not in daily operations, at least for now. The separation is targeted for the first quarter of 2027. Suppliers on both sides may end up managing two customer relationships where they had one, with separate contacts and possibly separate requirements.
What are ACES and PIES?
They are the two automotive aftermarket data standards from the Auto Care Association. ACES describes which vehicles a part fits. PIES describes the product itself, including attributes, packaging, and images.
Why do long-tail SKUs cause so much trouble?
Forecasts depend on sales history, and slow-moving items have very little. Stocking decisions get harder, and fill-rate performance is less predictable.
Want To Go Deeper on Any of These Threads?
The Supply Chain Source is where supply chain and retail professionals dig into these questions, with articles, e-books, and answers from other practitioners on every thread in this piece.
This article is general information, not legal or regulatory advice. Rules for hazardous materials, product paperwork, and warranty programs vary by material, transport mode, and location. Check your obligations with qualified counsel or the agency that applies.