How Better Inventory Rules Helped Mitch Brady Reduce Obsolete Stock

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

Within the first two months, obsolete inventory dropped by 3–4% 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.