If you’re looking to grow someone on your team into a parts-selling role, look for the person who’s got street smarts, who comes to you with a solution to a problem before giving you the problem, and one who cares about people.
For internal parts for reconditioning, the parts role is for a parts pro. These individuals can bring a different mindset to sourcing parts from various resources to keep your cars moving through recon.
Wise parts sourcing considers all factors of speed to sale. Your parts pro knows how parts-sourcing decisions contribute to holding cost management, inventory turn, per-vehicle profitability and more cars sold sooner.
This individual should recognize this trick question: How much are you willing to pay for a cheaper part?
The Right Part
The cheapest part is not necessarily the least expensive. Also, consider the cost of the factory part on the shelf compared to:
- A lower-priced part available online
- The cost and time to ship that part
- Holding cost
Holding cost is described as a vehicle’s daily overhead cost accumulating from when the dealership writes a check for the car at auction, in trade, or as a private purchase until that vehicle is sold.
NCM20 states that the average non-Highline dealer spends $40 per day per car to hold the inventory. Because of that, I’ll say that “the cheapest part may not be the least-expensive option.”
If the vehicle is held up another day because you ordered the replacement part that is $28 cheaper than a part you have in stock (or can procure that same day), even with a 24-hour turn on your special-order part, your $28 “savings” just cost you $12.
Here’s the math:
Additional one-day holding cost: $40
Cheaper part “savings”: $28
Difference: $40- $28 = $12 (Apportioned second-day holding cost)
Buying an available (but a higher-priced) part or not wanting to pay shipping costs to get the part right away to “save money” can slow down recon. This delay costs the dealer hundreds of dollars in unnecessary holding costs and other lost time-to-line benefits — namely cars that take longer to get sale-ready and longer to sell.
I should be very clear that I’m not suggesting dealers strike aftermarket and recycled options from their reconditioning process. I’m suggesting that the counterperson have enough sense to determine which part is least expensive — or at least give all options based on parts price and availability.
The Right Person
Throwing the wrong counterperson — one without the ability to think through the repair — behind your rear counter simply because their labor is cheap can wind up being expensive.
I’ve heard people say, “This guy’s cheap,” to which I’d reply, “He’s not cheap. You might not pay him very much, but he costs you a ton.”
But your internal (or rear) counterperson should have an outside-the-box thinking style — the knack to solve a need with an alternative to what seems to be the apparent answer. For instance, a vehicle calls for a post-style batter, but it’s not in stock — but a dual-purpose post-and-stud-style is.
If the parts are back-ordered, has your parts person tried used parts or perhaps a larger component? For example, some headlights come either as an assembly or housing. If the housing part number is back-ordered, can we get an assembly now?
You can teach anybody to look up cataloged parts, but you can’t teach them to care. So be smart about this choice; the internal parts counter position is not a “one-size-fits-all” position.
The Right Training
The rear parts counter is a great place to start a counterperson, but it’s vital that you rely on other parts staff — and not your technicians — to train them. Pair trainees with a seasoned counterperson who can teach them how to interact with techs, handle their parts requisitions and check their work
I know that sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how often I walk into a store and see the techs training the counter people.
Anthony Greenhalgh is the director of sales and marketing operations for Rapid Recon. He spent 24 years at a multi-franchise metro dealer, responsible for internalizing all cosmetic reconditioning into its collision center. General Motors has recognized him as a “Top Performer” for his success in the automotive parts industry.
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