The Automotive Body Parts Association (ABPA), with its headquarters in Rhode Island, is an association of more than 160 members encompassing the manufacture, distribution, recycling and sales of independently produced aftermarket collision replacement parts.
Our membership is responsible for the distribution of more than 90 percent of independently produced aftermarket body parts sold to the collision repair industry.
ABPA members are committed to supporting the multifaceted collision repair industry by delivering quality products and streamlining the parts delivery system to repair facilities.
To that end, ABPA has instituted PARTSLINK, a universal parts numbering system for the identification of aftermarket collision replacement parts.
Currently PARTSLINK is utilized by the vast majority of distributors and, most importantly, insurance companies which specify PARTSLINK numbers to identify collision replacement parts to be used for repair. In addition, the manufacturers of the collision replacement parts require PARTSLINK so that their parts can be more readily identified as a replacement for a specific make, model and year of vehicle.
- Partslink DATA for April 2024 is now available.
Published 4/15/2024
In an effort to accommodate the ever growing number of applications for particular Partslink numbers, the format of some Partslink numbers will be changing.
To refresh everyone's memory, a Partslink number is comprised of a two character MFG code, then a four digit PTYPE and a 3 digit sequence number beginning with 100 and ending in 999.
For example, the PL# CH1000982 has a sequence number of 982.
Obviously, we are getting close to the maximum of 999 in the current sequence number schema for particular MFG & PTYPE combinations. Especially so for Chrysler and GM front and rear bumper covers.
The resolution has been on the table for some time now and it proposes to turn to an alphanumeric sequence after the last numeric sequence (999) is used up.
For Partslink number sequences after 999, we will introduce an alphabetic character (A-Z, letters I & O will be excluded due to their resemblance to the numbers 1 and 0) e.g. CH1000A00, CH1000A01, ..., CH1000A99, CH1000B00, and so on.
The newly formatted numbers have already begun appearing for certain manufacturer and part type combinations. Please be informed of this new development and how this may affect your sale/distribution operation.
Most importantly, inform your IT staff of this upcoming development as soon as possible so that they may begin to evaluate its possible technical ramifications.
