How to properly handle your inventory

The purpose of inventory control is to understand exactly, the whereabouts of your inventory at any randomly selected instant; this is inclusive of what quantity of the inventory is available, the essence of this is to be able to create an effective management system for inventory and curb wastage or shortage.

Many auto shops apply different means of scanning merchandise, for example using barcode scanners in a bid to increase the level of precision and productivity of delivery or pick up, as the case may be.

An inventory management system, as opposed to an ERP system, is solely based upon a singular supply chain process. More often than not, they are comprised of the capacity to link with other software systems — point of sales systems, shipping, as well as channel management – allowing you to design a customized integration stack to cater to the requirements ofyour auto repair shop.

Any company that targets long term success, should constantly have it at the back of their minds that inventory management is such a key facet of development and goes a long way in ensuring a balance in the quantity of stock, provided it is well ordered. Absence of proper inventory management, as an integral part of shop management, has quite the ensemble of detriments to it, as you risk overstock, shortage of inventory, incorrect shipments and pick up as well.

On the one hand, erroneous pick-ups may be as a consequence of incorrect shelf labels, item lists, or on a more general scale, a disorganized warehouse. Conversely, errors in shipments may have come into existence due to a dearth in quality control guidelines, or poor decision making at the very root of the inventory management process.

Sort your inventory by priority

Analyzing your stock in a scale of the importance, and with auto shop management software like tekmetric can make you realize which things you need to purchase more of and more often, and which are crucial to your company but may be more expensive and move more slowly. Experts always recommend that you split your stock into some kind of A, B, and C groupings. Inventory items placed in the A category are higher-priced merchandise that you will, at any point in time, require less of. The B category is just in the middle, and explains other things that have median values attached to them and are conveyed around at much lesser speeds than C items, but faster than A items. Goods in the C category are low-cost items with a high turnover rate.

Keep track of all product details

For every singular item present in your inventory, you are mandated to keep a close watch, and monitor the details specific to each item. Suppliers data, country of origin, SKUs are some of the components that have to be monitored rather closely. In addition to this, it is required that you also take into account the pricing of every item in your inventory as time goes on, so you are not hit unexpectedly by variables such as seasonality or scarcity of products in the market.

Proper inventory auditing

For certain firms, a total count is conducted on an annual basis; for others, they take it upon themselves to do as scrupulously as a daily count of their most successful merchandise. While on the other hand, in the case of auto shop businesses, the owners rarely do such frequent amount of checking on their inventory, considering the nature of the business. But then, it has to be regular, to have certitude over what is presently available to you.

Look into the performance of the supplier

An untrustworthy supplier may wreak havoc on your inventories. If you have a supplier whooshes a constant habit of not being on time with deliveries or under-delivers on a consistent basis on orders, you should act accordingly. Discuss the concerns with your provider and determine the source of the problem. Make due preparations to change partners or keep on with unknown supply levels and the risk of running out of merchandise as a consequence.