We would like to give many thanks to our clients, teammates, vendors, family & friends. Your continued patronage and support is what makes each year a success. May you and your family find peace, happiness and appreciation for the many blessings in your life.

From all of us at Team DSI, have a safe and enjoyable Holiday Season!

Team DSI will be presenting again on September 15th at the Kuni headquarters for their Service Manager Conference. Thank you to the entire staff at the Kuni Automotive Group for your generous hospitality!

As a Parts Manager, ask yourself, if a new parts associate started in your parts department today, how long will it take for them to learn where everything goes?

A good bin numbering system has multiple benefits.  The main benefit is that it simplifies the ability for locating and pulling the parts.  When a parts department has no flow or rhythm, it makes a counter or stock person’s job more complicated.  In today’s market of reduced staff and multi-tasking associates, it’s more important than ever to maximize department efficiency.

While visiting parts departments across the country, one of the most overlooked organizational deficiencies is the bin location numbering system.  Some of the most popular reasons for this are: “that’s the way it was when I took over”, “that’s how I was taught” or “my old warehouse manager made it up”.  But the main reasons are organic growth and/or dealership/department location change.  In the case of organic growth, parts departments evolve over years and as this happens the manager and their staff install “add-on” locations.  This is when the original bin numbering system is established and not created with any growth in mind so the current manager is forced to create locations that have no flow or do not match the system in place.  Such an example would be when bin locations are running numerically then a location was created along a wall or end cap and locations such as “NWALL (North Wall)” or “AEND (End of A Row)”.   Another common example of this is when the department starts out with three-digit numeric system on the same floor and runs out of three-digit numbers and winds up with 100’s, 200’s, 300’s or more on the same level or floor.  In the case of parts department relocations, we see careful planning was not taken into account or there was an attempt to retain the “old” bin numbering system.   Whether you’re a Parts Manager who recently took over at a new store or you’re a Parts Manager who has been in the chair for many years, you should consider taking a hard look at your numbering system.

What may appear to be an insurmountable task is something that can be implemented within the same day in most parts departments. The right planning of this conversion will take more time and you will want “buy-in” from your staff. But the benefits will not only help your parts department, it will also make your associates feel empowered.  Almost all of the major DMS Systems have “Mass or Batch Change” functions that will allow you to make these changes with relative ease.  The key to implementing this new system is in the planning.  Here are a few suggestions for effective planning:

Step 1 – Create a planograph – An accurate layout of your parts department will not only give you a clear vision, but will also allow you to ensure you are maximizing space with the binning you currently have.  It also will give your General Manager or Dealer Principal confidence that you are attempting to maximize your current assets.

Step 2 – Get associate “buy-in” – Getting your employees involved with this new process will let them see you are trying to better the department and make their work life less stressful.  It will also make the implementation a much smoother one.  Most of the time, associates who feel they are not involved or feel they “know” the right way to do something will do everything in their power to let other associates know why it “won’t” work.

Step 3 – Think for the future – When laying out your new bin numbering system, you should always consider how your department could change in the future; things such as, “Will my business grow beyond my current storage capacity?”, “Will we be a wholesaling dealer?”, “Will we be adding a  new franchise?”  The main reason for asking yourself these questions when laying out your new system is because you want to take into account every end-cap, every wall space and EVERY current bin in your parts department.

If you feel your department is in need of this much needed enhancement, here are a few best practices:

• Consider using an all-numeric bin system – A numeric system allows for bin locations to easily be run in sequence when performing a perpetual or physical inventory. It also flows smoothly without confusing the DMS or associates with alpha character suffixes or prefixes.  We recommend using a digit system,  for example all first floor locations would be 1000, all second floor locations 2000 and any additional floors or remote areas 3000 etc. In most parts departments, this will give you an abundance of locations to work with ensuring you will not run out of locations.

• Ensure ALL bins are assigned a location even if they are not currently in use – Just because you aren’t using a bin right now doesn’t mean you might have a need to utilize it in the future. Failure to account for this causes inconsistency in your bin numbering system and this creates the “add-on” effect we see in most parts departments.

• Clearly mark and segregate all wall, floor and bulk locations – Effectively doing this will ensure parts      will have exact locations and there will be no “catch all” locations creating potential on-hand discrepancies.

• Create a conversion template – Have a schedule or spreadsheet that reflects what the current or old    bin is and what the new bin location will be. This will allow you to go back and test bins to make     sure       the conversion took effect.

• Create new bin location stickers/placards – After creating your new bin system it will be vital that ALL bins have a fairly large bin label (especially bulk locations).  It is important that they be centered within the bin so there is no question of bin location and the transition is simplified for all associates.

So, what’s the next step?  Execution! Many managers have created incredible plans, but only the best leaders implement them.