Custom exploded view and parts ordering software
Appfront builds software that lets dealers, mechanics and customers order parts by clicking on an exploded-view drawing. From the manufacturer's drawing to the correct article number, stock and price, and from there to an order in your own system. No searching through a PDF, no retyping of position numbers.
What is exploded-view parts ordering software?
Exploded-view parts ordering software does one thing very precisely: it knows, for each drawing, which position corresponds to which article. The mechanic looks up the machine by serial number, opens the drawing of the module that has failed, clicks on position fourteen and sees the article number, description, price and stock. One more click and the part is in the basket, and the order lands in your ERP with the machine's serial number attached.
Without such a system, the mechanic searches a manufacturer's PDF, reads off a position number, looks it up in a list and phones or emails the order through. A misread position means the wrong part, a return and a machine that stays out of action a week longer. And the knowledge of which drawing belongs to which build year sits in the head of one employee who has been doing it for twenty years.
We build custom software because the value lies in the integration. The diagrams come from the manufacturer in whatever format they use, the item numbers sit in your ERP, and pricing varies by customer group. Knowing which machine has which diagrams, and from which serial number a position has changed, is your expertise. The software should store and surface that knowledge, not replace it.
Clickable drawings
The manufacturer's exploded-view drawing with a clickable area for each position that leads to the correct article, even when the drawing exists only as an image.
From serial number to drawing
Look up the machine by serial number and immediately see the drawings that belong to that build year and configuration.
Order in your ERP
Basket, price per customer group, stock and lead time, and the order passed on to your own system with the serial number attached.
How we build your exploded-view parts ordering software
We start with the diagrams and the items as they exist today, because the integration between them is the real work. After that, we build the portal around it.
Which manufacturers, which formats, how many diagrams, and how the position numbers are currently linked to items. We also look at the exceptions: replacement parts, kits, and positions that differ by serial number.
Make the positions on each diagram clickable and link them to item numbers in your ERP, including the replacement chain. Where the manufacturer supplies structured data, we import it; where only an image exists, we build the link with an editor.
Search by serial number, model or article, open the drawing, click, order. With price and stock per customer group, and the order placed in your ERP.
An editor for your own team to add new diagrams and links without a developer. After that, we take over the software's maintenance.
What spare parts ordering software via exploded-view drawings actually does
The components below appear in almost every spare parts portal. Which ones you need depends on how many manufacturers and customer groups you serve.
Search by serial number
Enter a serial number, model or year of manufacture and see the drawings that belong to that version, with the changes per serial number range.
Clickable exploded-view drawing
Each position is a clickable area, with article number, description, quantity per machine and the replacement if the article has been discontinued.
Price and stock per customer group
Dealers, mechanics and end customers each see their own price, with stock and lead time from your ERP.
Basket and order
Order with the machine's serial number attached, so the order can later be traced back to each machine.
Replacement chain
A discontinued article refers to its replacement, and the replacement refers to the drawings it appears on.
Drawing editor
Upload new diagrams, click positions and link them, without a developer.
Who we build spare parts ordering software via exploded-view drawings for
The software is intended for businesses where spare parts sales are a revenue stream of their own and where searching currently creates too many phone calls and returns.
Importers and manufacturers
You supply parts to a dealer network and want dealers to order directly from the drawing, rather than through your internal sales team.
Dealers with their own workshop
Your mechanics order every day and a wrong part costs a day. The drawing on the tablet in the workshop prevents that.
Machine builders
You supply your own machines and want customers to order parts from the drawing of their machine, with their serial number as the entry point.
Parts wholesalers
Multiple brands, multiple drawing formats, and customers who search differently per brand. The software brings that together in a single portal.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Technology and integrations
This page is about the diagram as the entry point for an order. If you're concerned with managing the parts themselves, from stock to lead times, see our page on spare parts software. For a portal where dealers also find orders, warranties and documentation, there is the dealer portal, and you can read how we work on developing software.
Why Appfront for your spare parts ordering software via exploded-view drawings?
A parts portal is only as good as the link between position and item. That's where our work lies, not in the shopping basket.
The integration is the product
Position to article, per serial number range, with the replacement included. We build the editor with which your staff record that knowledge, so it does not stay in one person's head.
Every format from the manufacturer
Structured data where it exists, clickable areas on an image where it does not. You do not have to wait until every manufacturer delivers clean data.
Your ERP remains the source of truth
Price, stock and orders come from and go to your own system. The portal is a window, not a second administration.
Security and privacy in spare parts ordering software via exploded-view drawings
Prices per customer group are commercially sensitive: an end customer should not see the dealer price. Access is controlled per customer group and per account, and the price is determined per request on the server, not in the browser. Every order is logged with account, serial number and timestamp.
Manufacturers' drawings often fall under a licence that determines who may view them. The software tracks which customer groups have access to each manufacturer's drawings and logs each view, so that if the manufacturer asks, you can show who viewed what.
Frequently asked questions about exploded-view parts ordering software
Questions that importers and dealers ask before getting started.
It links every position on an exploded diagram to an item number, lets the user look up the machine by serial number, open the diagram and click a position, and passes the order through to your ERP with pricing and stock per customer group. Searching through PDFs and typing out position numbers by hand becomes a thing of the past.
Yes. Where the manufacturer supplies structured data, we import it. Where only an image or PDF exists, you use the editor to create a clickable area for each position and link the item. It's work, but it's work you currently repeat with every order.
Through serial number ranges: from a given serial number, a position may refer to a different part. The user enters the serial number and sees the correct drawing and the correct part. That knowledge is often held by just one person today; the software captures it.
Yes, with their own prices and their own permissions. A dealer sees their purchase price and stock, an end customer sees the selling price and a lead time. You determine which drawings a group may view, per manufacturer and per group.
Yes, and that is the starting point. Parts, prices and stock come from the ERP, and orders flow back into it together with the machine's serial number. We connect to the package you use.
It then refers to its replacement, and the replacement refers to the drawings it appears on. The user clicks the old position and receives the part you now supply, with a notice that it is a replacement.
Yes, with the editor: upload a diagram, click positions, link items, and specify the serial number range. No developer is needed for that, and that's deliberate: a portal you can't maintain yourself goes out of date within a year.
Order your parts directly from the drawing?
Tell us which manufacturers you represent and how the drawings currently reach you. We will look at a few drawings and show you what a portal concretely delivers in your situation.