Nationwide Coverage

Auto Parts Inventory

4 Disadvantages of Doing Your Automotive Physical Inventory Internally

Vehicle interior

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.

To make the most of your parts inventory, you need to ensure your records are accurate and well maintained. Outsourcing this task to an independent third party expert is often the best solution to meet this objective. Here are four reasons how Pro Count West can help:

1 - Disruptions

One of the biggest disadvantages of completing your parts inventory internally is that it disrupts your team. Not only does it take key parts personnel away from their regular duties, it can also disrupt the flow and productivity of your service department, not to mention the time it can take away from your parts and accounting departments while they work together to sort out discrepancies.

Solution: When you outsource your parts inventory to our team of automotive specialist, you ensure your team is able to focus on what’s important to your business - customers and jobs. This helps you maintain productivity and efficiencies. Depending on your needs, an independent inventory management company can complete your parts inventory before, during, or after business hours, fitting your schedule and minimizing interruptions.

2 - Errors

Let’s be honest, completing a physical inventory count is not the most exciting of jobs and even the most well-meaning individuals can let their boredom or dislike of the task impact their ability to do it right. Not to mention there are several opportunities for human error, such as mislabeled or organized parts, incorrect unit measure, improper cutoffs, forgetting about prepaid or billed parts and many more. As a result, there are many chances for things to go wrong.

Solution: Pro Count West specializes in managing and counting inventory, which means we come equipped with the tools and knowledge needed to complete the most accurate inventory possible. Since inventory is our business, we take pride in providing accurate inventory counts that give you a bigger picture - allowing your business to make the best decisions possible.

3 - Transparency

While companies don’t like to accuse their team of mismanaging parts or stealing inventory, these can be real issues. As is the case with most employees, yours may not be willing to bring these to your attention, which means they could go unnoticed for long periods of time - costing your business a significant amount of money.

Solution: Third-party providers aren’t looking to cause trouble, but they will create more transparency when it comes to accurately managing your parts department and identifying possible vulnerabilities. Remember, when selecting a provider, it is important to choose one that will work positively with your team and create an open environment.

4 - They can better identify inefficiencies and solutions

When you hired your parts team, you would have selected the best person available for the job - the one with the most knowledge and experience. From our experience, these employees are often very knowledgeable but often their experience is limited to one or two different positions. Only in a few cases do they have the same level of expertise as someone who focuses solely on automotive inventory management.

Solution: Automotive inventory management should be your provider’s speciality, which means they have experience with dealerships all over the United States. They have seen what works and they have seen what doesn’t. As a result, they will have the necessary skills to identify and resolve areas of inefficiency specific to your dealership all while helping to improve your bottom line.

At Pro Count West we offer inventory management services to help your parts department improve accuracy and efficiencies. Our team of experienced inventory specialists have years of experience in the automotive industry. For more information on how we can help you, contact us today!

Get Started

pcw-ebook-1

Related Blog Posts

Auto Parts Inventory Management: Preventing Inventory Discrepancies
Auto Parts Inventory - March 12, 2024

Auto Parts Inventory Management: Preventing Inventory Discrepancies

Mike Bachara President Pro Count West
6 Best Practices for Reducing Surplus Parts Inventory in Your Dealership
Auto Parts Inventory - February 8, 2024

6 Best Practices for Reducing Surplus Parts Inventory in Your Dealership

Mike Bachara President Pro Count West
New Year, New Inventory Strategies: Auto Parts Management in 2024
Auto Parts Inventory - December 19, 2023

New Year, New Inventory Strategies: Auto Parts Management in 2024

Mike Bachara President Pro Count West