Auto Parts Inventory - March 12, 2024
So, you’re the new Parts Manager, Parts & Service Director, General Manager or Controller at an automotive dealership - congratulations on the new position!
To ensure that your new role as a Manager starts off right and that you have a clear picture of your department’s assets and issues, it is critical that you take an inventory of auto parts stock as early in your tenure as possible. Doing so will provide three key benefits.
If inventories were being done in-house, you want to make sure they were being done properly. Reconciling your inventory at the offset will help identify problem areas for you to address as possible projects or new initiatives.
You may discover there is a need for more training or a change in standard operating procedures. Maybe there is higher than average obsolescence or perhaps there are repeated discrepancies with special ordered parts.
Conducting a physical inventory will create a benchmark so that you can effectively measure the results of your efforts against the initial situation, helping you to quantify accomplishments to upper management.
As part of a management team, there is nothing worse than doing your first scheduled inventory, only to discover auto parts missing, and being unable to determine whether it happened during your time as a manager, or prior to when you started.
Conducting a physical inventory count as soon as you arrive at your new dealership will ensure that any discrepancies, which existed prior to your being hired, have been appropriately detached from your management reputation.
Maintaining an accurate auto parts inventory is key to your success as a new manager and is normally included in key performance indicators (KPIs) when you are being reviewed by your superiors. That’s why, as a new manager, you want to be sure your inventory records are reconciled and up-to-date from the moment you start.
If you would like assistance inventorying your new automotive parts department, contact us today!
