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3 Techniques to Optimize Your Inventory Management Program

The interior of a car

Inventory management is put in place to ensure you have the right number of products at the right time. When managed efficiently, this will decrease obsolescence, maximize sales, improve customer satisfaction, and free up capital.

However, as is the case with everything in life, perfection is a moving target and your inventory management process must be examined on an ongoing basis to ensure your business continues to succeed. 

When analyzing your inventory management, Pro Count West has listed three tips that ensure your inventory is up-to-date and running effectively.

1. Track your Stock - Always

When running an automotive parts department, it is important to keep track of your inventory levels on an ongoing basis, so that you always know what is happening with your inventory. Inventory management software is the most effective way to do this.

It will not only provide you with a better idea of how well you are managing your inventory - through effective reporting and analysis – it will also save your team time and money to increase productivity and available capital.

2. Review Your Inventory

While inventory management software can be incredibly useful on a day-to-day basis providing you with an overall picture of your inventory position, it is important to review its accuracy. Annual year-end physical inventory counts are a great place to start, but increasing the frequency, conducting cycle counts throughout the year, monthly reconciliations, as well as spot-checking problematic parts that often have overages and shortages come year-end, can improve the accuracy of your inventory and help you identify areas of concern.

3. Identify Low Turning Stock

With the speed at which we innovate new and more efficient vehicles and engines, obsolescence is an ongoing issue in the automotive industry. To optimize your inventory, it is important to identify low-turning stock (i.e. stock that hasn’t sold in the last 6-12 months).

Once you have pinpointed parts with high inventory turns, you want to determine why they aren’t selling - are they seasonal, discontinued, obsolete?

You will also want to consider unloading these parts using alternative methods, to help you retain the maximum amount of value possible. You may want to consider a promotion to offload the parts quicker, or even whether there is another shop who uses these parts regularly and would be willing to buy them from you.

At Pro Count West, our team has the experience and knowledge to help you optimize your inventory. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.

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