For car owners, choosing the right repair shop is like finding a good doctor. Customers want good service at an affordable price.
Martin Reihan Suryohusodo has been an automotive enthusiast since high school when he modified his 2010 Honda Jazz and almost turned it into another car. Through this passion he learned the importance of finding a good automotive technician.
“I visited many workshops for the improvements. But I hated going there, because I was in so much trouble,” he said. CASIA. He once paid IDR 1 million (US$71) for a car part, but at a different workshop he got the same part for half the price.
As Seryohusodo talked to fellow automotive enthusiasts, they realized they all had the same problem. He started thinking of creating an automobile aftermarket service platform to solve price transparency and other problems in the automotive aftermarket industry.
In the year In 2019, he discussed the idea with his friend Joseph Alexander Anatto; He worked as a manufacturing engineer in the US. Seryohusodo met Benny Sutejo, an industry veteran who has spent around 15 years handling parts distribution for Indonesian automotive companies. The trio decided to combine their various expertise to launch Autoclicks in August 2019.
The Jakarta-headquartered startup operates a platform that allows car owners to book repair and maintenance services at standard prices through recommended independent workshops. Otoklix also notifies users in real-time about the progress of their car’s repairs in the app, as well as guarantees all repairs.
The company operates a network of nearly 100 automobile repair shops in Jakarta and other satellite cities such as Tangerang, Bekasi, Bogor and Depok.
Alignment of data alignment
Suryohusodo narrows down the problems in aftermarket services to what he calls information asymmetry. “There’s no education to help customers understand what’s wrong with their car,” he explained. Car owners become targets of rogue repair shop workers who extort prices or demand unnecessary repairs, Seryohusodo added.
According to Suryohusodo, independent car repair shops make up 80% of Indonesia’s aftermarket, as they are often cheaper than authorized workshops. However, car owners should be careful not to go there because of the lack of transparency in pricing, something the company is trying to change by ensuring quality repair services at reasonable prices.
The Otoklix app displays a service charge before registration and users can pay within the app or on the spot.
Car repair Shops can access the Autoclicks suite of software for customer management and procurement solutions, Seryohusodo said. Benefit from cheaper shopping costs using the Otoklix app. “We want to make sure the car parts are authentic and of the highest quality, so we help workshops make parts at a fair price.”
Previously, the company offered a marketplace platform for this purpose, but since shop owners were not that familiar with the application, Suryohusodo decided to switch to messaging app WhatsApp to manage direct communications with partner shops.
Otoklix charges workshop owners an undisclosed commission for each repair and maintenance order, and also earns revenue through the automobile procurement service.
A large market with few competitors
Indonesia is home to more than 16 million cars, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). A Global Market Insights report predicts that the automotive aftermarket sector will reach $15 billion in value by 2025. Although there is a large market, Autoclicks does not have strong competitors in the field.
Gojek previously entered the market with on-demand car repair service GoAuto. However, the service has been shut down as Decacor streamlines its business verticals and closes offerings that are deemed “no longer viable.” Other automotive brands such as Toyota, Honda, and Suzuki offer specific applications for aftermarket services, but are linked to them. Authorized workshops.
Seryohusodo says his company “grew revenue 13 times and customer base 40 times between April and October 2020.” Otoklix was selected as a participant in Sequoia India’s Surge program and has raised $2 million in seed funding from the likes of GK-Plug, Play Indonesia, Kopi Kenangan’s Kenangan Investment Fund 1 and other angel investors.
Seryohusodo It said it aims to service more than 100,000 cars every month by December 2021, possibly after increasing the number of partner repair shops to 500 from the current 100 workshops.
“We started small with passenger cars, but we do not rule out the possibility of expanding into other adjacent sectors and such as heavy-duty or industrial vehicles in the near future,” said Suryohusodo.
This article is part of KrASIA’s “Startup Stories” series, where KrASIA writers talk to founders of tech companies in South and Southeast Asia.
