I had a new parts manager with not a great deal of experience and we also had recently changed DMS systems. I wanted to get a head start on the learning curve and felt that with a new manager and a new system I needed assistance if I wanted great results quickly.
The biggest impact is that we have been able to decrease our inventory value year over year and with that, our obsolescence has gone away. Over a 12 month period, we’re at less than $1,000 obsolescence.
I’m the Fixed Ops Director for 5 dealerships so I talk to all of our Parts Managers and General Managers about PartsEdge. The benefit of the service, to me, is that it's a turn key system. You have constant support with true experts that manage the stock orders, returns, and inventory. PartsEdge really bridges the gap between Parts Managers and the DMS.
The stock orders. I started out in this business as a Parts Manager and I (and all my colleagues) would process a stock order based on our feelings about what needed to be ordered. The PartsEdge service takes all the emotion out of it. The facts are the facts and the numbers are the numbers, we either stock the part or we don’t, we order order this quantity or we don’t. The system does that for us. It takes all the guesswork out.
Honestly there is nothing. I’ve worked in this business for over 30 years and I have never met a person like Chuck Hartle before. His knowledge is over the top. Anytime I’m in a 20 group or Fixed Op setting I put his name out there. This might sound crazy, but I have managed a store with no Parts Manager for over 5 years. That’s because of what PartsEdge does for us.
Absolutely. Any time I have the opportunity to praise PartsEdge, I do. When you compare the cost of saved obsolescence to the cost of PartsEdge, it’s a no brainer.