A dealership’s Parts Department is prone to 2 critical situations:
- Stock shortages. When the dealer cannot meet a request from a customer or the Service Department. This can result in lost sales and lost customers.
- Overstock. Purchasing excessive quantities of parts may avert stock shortages, but greatly increases the risk of creating obsolete inventory.
Both circumstances lead to lost opportunities, unsatisfied customers, and financial losses. A good dealer management system helps avoid these situations by encouraging the strategic management of a dealership’s parts inventory.
Hera are 4 tips to improve parts inventory management:
Record lost sales
Although it is vital to understand customer demand, very few dealerships record lost parts sales, mainly because it is cumbersome to do so. With Autologica DMS you can record lost sales with just one click.
Detect immobilized stock
It is essential that the dealership management system detects parts that have become, or are on their way to becoming, immobilized inventory. The Parts Manager will be able to diagnose and improve the purchasing process, and also take specific actions to get rid of these dead parts.
Efficient purchasing process
Dealer management system reports should enable the dealership to recognize which parts are most requested by customers and by the Service Department, so that management can make strategic decisions and smart purchases.
Pending parts
It may happen that a customer requests a part that is not in stock, so the dealership orders it. When the part arrives, if the customer is not notified in a timely fashion, that part may end up becoming dead inventory. Autologica DMS helps by:
- Tracking which customer ordered each part
- Generating a Pending Orders list, to know which part goes to which customer
- Printing labels to identify each part with each customer
A dealership that manages the Parts Department strategically will avoid unprofitable investments, promote a better administration of its inventory, and increase dealership profitability by acquiring only parts that are going to be sold.
