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Tienda de Cardan was founded with the goal of serving end consumers, operating under a direct-to-customer model. This strategy was essential in strengthening the name of a family business with over forty years of experience in the automotive industry.
Damian Demb, the company’s General Manager, explains that the decision to expand into digital platforms came after a market analysis. Observing rising online demand, they decided to put plans into action. Damian highlights that partnering with Alephee was essential to begin selling on Mercado Libre.
Alephee: Connecting the Automotive World to E-commerce
Alephee is a platform entirely focused on digitally connecting brands, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and service providers. It is the only fully end-to-end integrated solution that supports the digital evolution of automotive companies across their entire online operation.
“Alephee was conceived as a bridge between the traditional auto parts industry and e-commerce. The need for accurate and organized cataloging was crucial to ensure our products were properly represented and accessible online,” says Damian Demb.
Alephee: A Pillar of Our Growth
Alephee has become a robust and efficient platform, critical to our success in e-commerce. It has shown a remarkable ability to adapt to market demands and the specific needs of our business. One standout feature is the ability to manage multiple listings for a single SKU—something unavailable on other platforms at the time of launch. Only Alephee provided such a complete solution.
Moreover, full integration with the dropshipping model was a major advancement, allowing us to manage operations more efficiently. The detailed reports and analytics tools offered by Alephee have been essential in making data-driven decisions and refining our sales strategy.
Overcoming Challenges and Adapting to Change
One of Tienda de Cardan’s biggest challenges has been the frequent updates and changing requirements of Mercado Libre. These changes are necessary to comply with new regulations and optimize platform presence. Alephee’s flexibility allowed us to adapt efficiently and keep our listings compliant.
“Alephee has been a key partner in such a volatile environment. It has played an essential role in digitalizing our operations and adapting to the changes we've experienced in Latin America,” says Demb.
Price management has been one of the toughest challenges, especially due to the large volume of SKUs and hidden costs associated with Mercado Libre. Still, Alephee has been a crucial ally in maintaining our competitiveness, providing tools to manage pricing and marketplace integration effectively.
Dropshipping Implementation and Product Expansion
One of Alephee’s key innovations was enabling dropshipping—a model that initially posed some challenges. Dropshipping allows companies to sell products without keeping physical inventory, which is ideal for managing a wide range of SKUs.
Although initial integration was complex and required adjustments, we overcame those hurdles, and today dropshipping is a core part of our business strategy.
Our goal now is to continue expanding our distributor network and diversifying our product offering. This will help us better meet market demands and gain more control over sales and logistics—two areas where Mercado Libre presents specific challenges.
Market Expansion and New Features
Looking ahead, the company plans to continue operating on both Mercado Libre and its own e-commerce platform. We are currently planning to expand to other Latin American countries, such as Chile and Mexico, by 2025. This expansion will require new adaptations and continuous optimization of our logistics and commercial strategies.
Damian believes Alephee will continue to be a key partner in this expansion. Its ability to manage multiple SKUs and marketplaces simultaneously is invaluable in such a competitive sector. Advanced features like kit creation and dropshipping integration will remain crucial to our growth strategy.
Improvements and Future Integrations
Despite all the benefits gained with Alephee, there’s always room for improvement. Support and adaptability across different business scales are essential for our ongoing development.
Additionally, improving integration with owned e-commerce platforms—which so far has focused mainly on marketplaces—is a priority. We want Alephee to keep evolving to meet the needs of the entire digital commerce ecosystem.
Price management and communication with Mercado Libre could also benefit from enhancements. The ability to adjust prices and update information quickly is vital to stay competitive.
Damian Demb emphasizes that the collaboration with Alephee was essential in the company’s digital transition. Alephee streamlined operations and has been a strategic partner in Tienda de Cardan’s online growth and success. “Without Alephee, our ability to grow and adapt to new market demands would not have been possible.”
