How LKQ Europe accelerated its digital transformation strategy
LKQ Europe is the leading distributor of automotive aftermarket parts for cars, commercial vans and industrial vehicles in Europe. A subsidiary of LKQ Corporation, LKQ Europe is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland. LKQ Europe has a network of 900 branches and serves a broad mix of wholesale operations, which consist of aftermarket and recycled parts, self-service retail operations, and heavy truck operations.
But with rapid expansion through acquisitions came complexity. LKQ Europe was managing a patchwork of legacy systems, siloed brands, and region-specific operations. To scale efficiently and serve customers faster, LKQ Europe launched a sweeping digital transformation initiative—one that would unify its operations on a modern, agile foundation.
A bold vision for Direct-to-Consumer growth
Within LKQ Europe’s portfolio, the UK’s LKQ Euro Car Parts business emerged as a digital trailblazer. While LKQ focused primarily on B2B sales, its UK business aimed to become not only a B2B leader but also the D2C leader in car parts—delivering fast, predictable fulfillment for both workshop owners and car enthusiasts.
THE CHALLENGE:
Rigid fulfillment slowed growth
LKQ’s UK legacy fulfillment model routed every online order through a tiered distribution structure—from one National Distribution Centre to 13 Local Distribution Centres, and finally to more than 280 local branches/depots. Clear opportunities were identified in the areas of delivery, inventory and further customer satisfaction.
To achieve their D2C vision, LKQ UK needed intelligent, dynamic order orchestration— empowered to manage each order from the optimal location in real time based on proximity, availability, and speed.
Unifying global operations through composable architecture
Strategic challenges across the LKQ Europe network
LKQ’s broader transformation was hindered by:
Fragmented technology across 18 European countries and multiple brands
Sub-optimal custom development cycles
THE VISION:
Agility through composable commerce
LKQ Europe defined a clear transformation goal: Build a composable architecture that consolidates brands, streamlines operations, and empowers teams to innovate faster.
Within the transformation program, LKQ selected several tools to integrate the customer facing pan-European platform to deliver best in class digital experiences to the customers. Enter OneStock Distributed Order Management (DOM)—one of the enablers in LKQ’s digital ecosystem.
Why LKQ chose OneStock DOM
OneStock provided critical out-of-the-box and baseline functionality that reduced time-to-market and accelerated delivery of the B2C platorm.
Real-time transactional data to power smarter branch decisions
Multi-country, multi-brand orchestration from a single platform
Flexible APIs to integrate seamlessly across LKQ’s composable stack
Complete order histories and customer visibility at every touchpoint
Trailblazing a new technology path
Beyond technology, LKQ Europe’s Customer Application team modernized its operating model. The company moved from an engineering-led structure to product-led teams, empowering them to:
Move faster with autonomy
Prioritize high-impact features
Reduce time spent on commodity functionality
Supporting architecture included:
A robust data layer for centralized, clean, reusable data
A modular service layer with API-first, best-in-class components
A dynamic presentation layer enabling tailored user experiences
RESULTS:
Speed, scale, and seamless experiences
Improved operational efficiency
- Less custom coding
- Lowered technical debt across multiple components
- Freed teams to focus on customer experience innovation
Accelerated time to market
- Deployed major capabilities in 8–9 months—far faster than previous rollouts
- Increased agility to respond to market shifts
Enhanced customer experience
- Delivered real-time inventory visibility and accurate order tracking
- Enabled intuitive B2C journeys
Positioned for scalable growth
- Clear roadmap for future features, including Delivery Promise
- Scalable platform ready to support new acquisitions and new markets
- Enhanced marketing and sales agility through integrated systems
WHAT’S NEXT:
Continued innovation with trusted partners
LKQ Europe’s transformation is ongoing, powered by a network of forward-thinking partners including OneStock, Grid Dynamics, Algolia, and commercetools. Future initiatives include:
Expanding DOM capabilities
Launching advanced Delivery Promise features
Further develop the composable architecture in the platform and more extensively using SaaS
Transform like LKQ
LKQ Europe’s journey proves that even the most complex organizations can drive rapid, global transformation—when they embrace composability, empower teams, and prioritize the customer experience.
