It’s not news that the coronavirus pandemic affected the automotive industry, causing car dealers to struggle to keep a full inventory of new cars on the lot. This shortage of new cars drove up the price of used cars and motivated more consumers to choose a used car over new when purchasing a vehicle. This may seem like a boon for auto repair shops that make revenue on repairing used vehicles, but the opposite is true. Now, auto body shops are feeling the supply shortage pinch as well, as aftermarket industries bend under parts and labor shortages.
The ongoing supply chain issues have contributed to a less-than-desirable domino effect. Consumers purchased used cars or are holding on to their current vehicle since fewer new models are available. That, in turn, caused a rise in demand for maintenance and repair services. This sudden influx of customers, while a good thing on the surface, has caused many auto repair shops to struggle to acquire the right parts and provide customers with the kind of fast, reliable service they demand.
Get Control of Your Auto Repair Business with Smart Inventory Management Tools
Part of the problem faced by auto repair businesses is the lack of visibility into their automotive parts inventories. Inventory is more than just what exists in your supply room, it also includes tracking those parts from the manufacturing floor into your shop. Statistics show that up to 43% of U.S. small businesses are tracking their inventory using a manual system — or not tracking it at all. What is even worse is that the inventory accuracy of the average retail operation is a dismal 63% — barely a passing grade. Other issues stemming from poor inventory tracking include telling customers a part is in stock only to find out that it is no longer available or will not be available for many weeks.
Smart inventory management tools such as document management solutions (DMS) or enterprise content management (ECM) strategies can bring visibility to your supply situation, assisting your business in providing faster, more competent customer services. Benefits of using such a system include:
Planning for Demand
Poor demand planning can leave you with excess — or not enough — inventory that results in frustrated customers and even lost business. Excess inventory will need to be stored or you will have to move it quickly using discounts, both of which can reduce your profits.
Demand planning through increased inventory visibility ensures that you have the right parts in your store at the time they are needed. Automatically tracking the movement of parts and keeping records of high-demand times can help you plan more accurately for future demand.
Managing Suppliers
Using multiple suppliers is a smart way to minimize the risks of supply dearth. If one supplier cannot fill and order, your business can pivot and order from another to maximize availability. A management system that keeps track of which suppliers offer which parts, and even which vendors are slow to ship or have shipped faulty parts, can help improve supplier quality and lead to more reliable timetables.
Warehouse Management
Whether you have an onsite warehouse or several locations, you need visibility to see supply levels across all potential storage areas. This allows you to pull stock from one location to serve demand in another to optimize customer service and increase labor efficiency.
Blue Technologies Has the Technology to Keep Your Inventory on Target
Keeping track of supplies, orders, and even customer behavior is an essential part of a smart business strategy if you own or operate an auto body or auto repair business. Doing so allows you to conserve valuable real estate by minimizing the number of stored parts, provides options for vendor selection when targeted parts are in short supply, and enables workflows that can assist you in providing outstanding customer service. That customer service through fast, friendly repair and maintenance services is what will set your business ahead of the competition.
At Blue Technologies, we offer a wide range of leading-edge inventory management tools, from document management to enterprise content management.
Get control of your parts inventory today for greater revenue tomorrow. Contact a Blue Technologies consultant and learn how our inventory management tools can help.
