Mike's Inventory Management Blog

Lower revenues, fewer customers, more regulations and requirements - COVID is doing a number on many of our businesses but there is a silver lining…

If your business is slow and you are opting for reduced hours, now might be the time to get to some of those projects you don’t usually have time to do – reorganizing inventory, completing parts reconciliations or training staff on best practices. 

Warranty Reimbursement is a tedious task for any dealership, but we can help make it easier. At Pro Count West, we have the experience and expertise you need to stay in control of your automotive warranty reimbursements, and we are making this service even better by offering a 25% discount.

When you choose Pro Count West to assist with your Warranty Reimbursement needs, you will benefit from:

Missing parts - every service shop has experienced it and suffered the pain of not being able to find them. It’s not only your bottom line that it affects, it also wreaks havoc on your customer satisfaction.

During this time when many businesses are in temporary shut-down, it’s an opportune time to re-think processes and consider how to make improvements.

When choosing an accounting method for automotive inventory valuation, it is important to consider how each method will impact your goals, as well as what is practical for your business operations.

Inventory valuation and Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) are an important part of your financial statements, including your balance sheet, profit and loss and cash flow.

While there are many different valuation methods, the two most common inventory valuation methods are LIFO (Last In, First Out) and FIFO (First In, First Out).

The annual parts inventory count - there is no getting around it. It is a critical part of your company’s management process and helps ensure your records are accurate for the year-end and tax season.

There is, however, a lot that can go wrong - from disruptions in work and internal conflicts to the uncovering of mismanagement or even theft. This is why it is no surprise that for most teams, it is a dreaded time of year.

2020 has started, which means many businesses in the automotive space should have already completed their year-end physical inventory counts or soon will have.

If you are one of these businesses, you are already a step ahead when it comes to managing your parts inventory.

As the second largest investment in most automotive dealerships, it is imperative that your parts inventory dollars are accounted for. It will help you sharpen the oversight of your entire stock and help to expedite the disposal of obsolete inventory, resulting in a gain for your overall cash position.

Taking inventory of your automotive dealership is a job that is often viewed as being disruptive by your employees, not just those who have to do the physical parts counts, but also the teams that are affected while the inventory is in progress.

That is why the idea of doing inventory outside of your regular annual count for year-end can be daunting.

We all want to see the best in people, especially the people who work for us. Unfortunately, internal theft happens. When your business fails to properly monitor its inventory, your company is opened up to the risk of disgruntled employees taking advantage of your trusting nature, grabbing parts for themselves, friends or even for their side business.

The reality is, the cost of a stolen part isn’t just its value, it is the indirect costs associated with not being able to easily locate the parts – wasted time, poor customer service and frustrated employees.

To minimize the effect of internal fraud, consider the following tips from Pro Count West:

The success of your parts department is key to the effective operation of your automotive business as a whole.

If it is not properly maintained, you risk inventory errors and challenges that will have an adverse effect on your entire business - including service, administration, sales and much more.

To demonstrate the importance of a well-managed inventory system, here are five ways your dealership will benefit from a successful parts department.

It’s that time of year again – time to prepare for your annual physical inventory.

As the second largest investment in most automotive dealerships, it is imperative that your parts inventory dollars be accounted for. If you do not take this critical step in your inventory management, there is a risk that your ending inventory will be inaccurately stated.