Bozeman Toyota Achieves the Perfect Balance
How Better Inventory Rules Helped Mitch Brady Reduce Obsolescence to 1% and Create the Perfect Inventory
INDUSTRY
Automotive Fixed Operations
CHALLENGE
Mitch wanted to build a broader, healthier inventory mix without significantly increasing his investment. By increasing the number of active part numbers he stocked, he expanded inventory breadth instead of tying up capital in excessive quantities of the same fast-moving parts.
RESULTS
Better visibility through strategic DMS setup gave him the confidence to increase the number of active part numbers he stocked, widening his inventory instead of stocking too deeply on the same fast-moving parts. He reduced obsolete inventory to an average of just 1% while increasing active inventory visibility and operational control.
KEY PRODUCT
PartsEdge
“PartsEdge helps us make better decisions.”
Mitch Brady
Parts Manager, Bozeman Toyota

About Mitch Brady
Mitch Brady, Parts Manager at Bozeman Toyota, already had strong inventory habits in place. What he needed was better visibility, clearer reporting, and inventory rules that made sense for different types of parts. By using PartsEdge, Mitch was able to improve inventory organization, reduce aging stock, and make faster decisions using better data.
The Challenge
Before implementing PartsEdge, Mitch was using the same phase-in and phase-out criteria across nearly every inventory category. The DMS lacked flexibility, causing fast-moving parts and slower-moving inventory to be managed the same way.
That approach created unnecessary complexity inside the department. Discontinued parts, special orders, and slow-moving inventory were harder to isolate, making shelf space and inventory decisions more difficult to manage efficiently.
The dealership also struggled with limited reporting visibility. Short reporting windows made it difficult to identify long-term trends before inventory problems developed.
The Solution
With PartsEdge, Mitch restructured inventory controls to better match actual part movement and demand.
The team implemented:
- tighter controls for slow-moving inventory
- flexible rules for fast-moving parts
- separate inventory groups for discontinued parts and special orders
- longer-term reporting visibility through 13-month reporting trends
- inventory alerts and operational flags to improve daily decision-making
Rather than replacing the existing DMS, PartsEdge helped optimize the processes already in place and made the data easier to understand and act on.
The Results
Obsolete inventory averaged just 1% while active inventory visibility improved.
The dealership gained:
- faster inventory decisions
- reduced confusion for the parts team
- cleaner inventory organization
- fewer delays caused by aging or misplaced inventory
- improved day-to-day operational efficiency
Most importantly, the inventory process became proactive instead of reactive. Small operational changes created measurable improvements without increasing costs or adding unnecessary complexity.

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