When’s the last time you ran a physical with an outside company on your parts inventory? For many dealers, running one yearly is doing well. While yearly physicals are a great start, bi-yearly is even better for valuable insights into your inventory. It’s understandable that some dealers have become jaded against them: many companies run physicals that aren’t even accurate and, even if it is, Parts Managers often don’t have the tools to put a good physical to practice anyway. The good news is not all physical inventory services are created equally, and with the right tools, a comprehensive physical can give you the information you need to make lasting improvements in your inventory health.
What’s a ‘good’ physical?
We chatted with our friend Steve Schussler, a Physical Inventory Consultant and expert who helps dealerships every day with detailed, thorough, and application-focused physicals to find out what makes a good physical, well, good. While some companies only work within the parts department, Steve communicates with EVERYONE in the picture including office managers, controllers, and payable managers. He evaluates all parts of the inventory and team interactions to find underlying issues impacting the bottom line. For example, at one dealership Steve discovered customers were being referred to Home Depot for parts because the customer service rep didn’t have the ability to see the information they needed in their system. Talk about a missed opportunity! Steve also delivers a truly comprehensive report that tells you exactly what you have side by side with what your system says you do and gives you insights into other parts of the department that may be impacting your bottom line. For Steve and other’s offering quality physicals, the outside unbiased perspective is invaluable for your understanding of how your department is running. At one dealership that was running their inventory internally, Steve found out of $170,000 in inventory, $78,000 was obsolete. Another thought they had $200,000 into their inventory but actually had $245,000 and $45,000 of that was obsolete. As we can see, not running a regular physical may be costing you thousands. Interested in learning more about Steve’s services or ordering a physical? Contact him at:
Email: steve.schussler@yahoo.com
Telephone: 816-591-2363
We also work with and highly recommend Pro Count West for physical inventories and other inventory services.
You got the physical, what’s next?
Now that you’ve gotten your comprehensive physical, it’s important to make adjustments to maintain a healthy inventory and management system. We often find that dealers know what they need to do, they just don’t have the time, tools, or support to do it. That’s where PartsEdge comes in. PartsEdge was created by a DMS specialist and a Parts Manager who realized there simply isn’t enough support for dealers and their teams to create a data-informed, profitable inventory. We provide custom reports that make inventory decisions easy and the ongoing support to guide you through changes in your dealership. Our service helps you take your inventory from the reactive to proactive.
To learn more about how PartsEdge can help your Parts Department maintain a thriving inventory, send us a message! For more parts inventory education and industry updates, check out our blog.