How to Spot Inventory Issues at Your Auto Dealership
Looking for ways to avoid inventory discrepancies at your worked Auto Dealership? Here’s how:
Maintaining inventory for automotive parts may seem like a simple job, but those who have worked behind a parts desk know it can be quite the challenge. To effectively manage inventory, you need the right strategies and skills; otherwise, things could quickly spiral out of control.
- Anyone involved in your parts inventory should be able to comprehend this fact. Otherwise, errors can be much more easily made.
- Today we will explore ways of reducing inventory discrepancies. Let’s begin by taking a closer look at common errors.
What are the most frequent causes of inventory discrepancies in auto dealerships?
To guarantee accurate inventory, it is essential to reduce the likelihood of discrepancies. To do this, you need to understand why these errors are occurring and take steps to rectify them.
These could be the causes of frequent discrepancies within your inventory records:
- Human error – This includes miscounts and calculations made by staff members or coworkers as well as data entry errors made by them.
- Unit measurement error – Such as incorrectly weighing parts or using the wrong unit when selling or taking inventory.
- Missing Parts – These mistakes may occur due to mislabeled or mistakenly substituting parts for similar ones.
- Theft is a real possibility and affects everyone, not just external thieves. Companies that fail to keep track of their inventory put themselves at greater risk for internal theft than those that do.
- Receiving Errors – These occur when inventory receivers fail to verify the quantity and quality of parts received.
These are only some of the causes of discrepancies. Fortunately, there are easy solutions to avoid them.
How can you prevent inventory discrepancies at your auto dealership?
Your staff should receive proper training.
Make sure everyone who handles your inventory is familiar with the correct procedures and practices.
Make sure your staff adheres to the training they received.
Even after spending hours training staff members, some may opt to stray from the process. They might think it’s simpler to do things another way or simply stop because it becomes redundant.
Monitoring your staff and ensuring they follow training and processes is essential. If they don’t know how to do something, remind them and explain why. If there are steps which could be improved upon, be willing to alter procedures accordingly.
Maintain Accurate Records
Make the most of your inventory system by including accurate location information.
Organise Your Parts
Be sure to organize your parts by keeping each SKU in its own bin. To reduce the chance of parts getting put back in the wrong spot, have bins, parts and locations clearly marked with labels. Establish clear boundaries where parts start and stop by using separate bins for separate items, separators between similar-sized bins within each one, or taped lines on shelves for easy retrieval.
Restriction of Access
When possible, limit the number of individuals allowed to retrieve and return parts. Doing this can reduce the likelihood of lost items.
Receive products promptly and accurately
Be certain your team accurately counts and reconciles quantities when receiving products. Doing this will enable you to stay organized, enabling any mistakes to be rectified promptly.
Additional Resource:
https://www.oreillyauto.com/
https://www.denso.com/global/en/business/products-and-services/mobility/parts-accessories/
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PCU44134413