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How to Conduct a Successful Partial Parts Inventory Count

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When someone says physical inventory count the first thing most parts department employees and managers think of is your year-end count, also referred to as a full count - when everything seems to get put on hold for the tediousness of ensuring your actual inventory matches the books.

But this isn’t the only time you should be conducting an inventory count of your automotive parts.

Parts that get misplaced, stolen, or aren’t billed often result in substantial adjustments come year end, resulting in a need for more frequent counts. However, recounting all of your inventory for a few bad eggs just doesn’t seem worth the time and effort.

Luckily, this isn’t the solution.

Partial counts are a great way to ensure problem parts are properly inventoried on a regular basis without disrupting the business. It also gives you an opportunity to isolate the cause of your inventory troubles and ensure your year-end full count goes more smoothly.

The problem is, where do you begin.

1 - Identify

Before you do anything, you need to determine which parts require a partial count. Use your inventory management system, past adjustments and your experience in your department to determine which parts most often give you trouble. Which ones have the greatest variances come year end, are most often misplaced or regularly require write offs? These are the parts you will want to start with.

2 - Schedule

Now it is time to schedule your counts. There is no need to do them all at once. Space them out and give yourself a chance to plan and prepare and remember to choose slower days and times so that they are easy to fit into the schedule without disrupting your day-to-day tasks.

3 - Prepare

The day before the count, or even on the day of, prepare the inventory you are counting. Make note of all the places those parts are stored, tidy up the areas you will be working in, update labels that are missing or difficult to read and tag the parts so that others know to either not use them or make a note of any parts taken for jobs. You will also want to make sure you have all of the equipment you need, whether it is printing off parts lists or gathering your scanners.

4 - Count

Now it’s time to start counting. Head to the storage areas where the parts are located and start counting. Be sure to read labels carefully to ensure you are recording the quantity correctly and that you are associating it with the correct part.

5 - Review

Once the inventory is counted, it is time to compare the actual inventory to your records. If there are any discrepancies, start by double checking your count and determining whether there is stock located elsewhere on the site.

You will also want to check with current work orders to see if a part is in use but not yet removed from the system or if a part was sold while you were counting. If it is a high value part and it cannot be located, check with the parts and service staff to find out if they remember when the part went or whose job it was used for. If you have parts that cross reference, see whether the differences balance – perhaps your GM part was accidentally entered using the ACDelco part number or vice versa.

This is also a good time to identify any areas of weakness and possible steps that could be taken to better manage these parts. Perhaps it is an organizational issue or maybe it is frequently left out of your work orders. Whatever the cause, taking the time to determine it will help you put processes in place to minimize losses and improve profitability.

6 - Adjust

Once you have finalized your count, make the necessary adjustments in your system to ensure that your records are accurate, helping you to better serve your customers and manage your inventory.

For more information on partial counts or to have our team of automotive inventory management professionals conduct a count and help implement processes to minimize discrepancies, contact us today.

Guide to Optimizing Inventory MGMT

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