The filter you always use, and not one on the shelf
It is Friday afternoon. A service on one of the most common cars in your area, and the oil filter for it is not on the shelf. There were three on Monday. The factor's last run has gone. Meanwhile, the shelf above holds six filters for a car you have not serviced in years.
Bulbs are the same. The one you need for the headlamp is missing, while two boxes of an obscure type sit at the back. Wiper blades are ordered in bulk because someone was offered a deal, and half the sizes never move.
Reordering by looking at the shelf
Shelf stock is usually managed by eye. Someone notices a gap and adds it to the next order, or the factor's rep suggests a stock list. Nobody links what is on the shelf to what the workshop fits, because your garage management system records the part on the invoice, not where it came from.
Parts taken from the shelf are also often not recorded against the job, so they are not reordered and sometimes not charged.
Factor reps are helpful, but their suggested stock lists are built from what sells across all their customers, not from the cars that come through your door. A garage near a retirement area sees different cars from one on a trading estate full of vans, and the shelf should reflect that.
What bad shelf stock costs
| Problem | Effect |
|---|---|
| Common items run out | Waiting for a factor run, or a technician drives out |
| Slow items sit for years | Money tied up in stock that never sells |
| Shelf items not recorded | Parts fitted but not charged or reordered |
| Deals bought in bulk | Sizes and types that do not match your customers' cars |
| Stock count never done | No idea what the shelf is worth |
There is also a small but real safety point for the working day. A technician who drives out to collect a filter is not on the ramp, and a car left half-serviced while they are gone is one more thing that can be forgotten or put back together in a hurry.
How we set stock levels from your jobs
- We read a period of invoices from your garage management system and list every filter, bulb, blade, plug and other shelf part fitted, by part number.
- For each, we work out how often it is used and how quickly your factors deliver, to suggest a minimum and a reorder quantity.
- Parts fitted from the shelf are picked on the job screen or scanned, which reduces stock and adds the part to the invoice at the same time.
- When an item falls below its minimum, it is added to a suggested order for your preferred factor, ready for someone to approve and send.
- Items that have not moved for a long period are listed so you can return them, use them up or stop reordering them.
- A quick periodic count on a phone keeps the figures honest.
We keep this deliberately simple. A garage shelf does not need warehouse software. It needs the common items there when they are needed.
Friday afternoon, with the filter on the shelf
The common filter has a minimum based on how often you fit it, so when it drops to that level, it is on the next suggested order. On Friday afternoon there are two on the shelf. The obscure filters are on the slow-moving list, and three are returned to the factor for credit.
Each shelf part fitted is picked on the job, so it is on the invoice and taken out of stock at the same time.
- Minimum levels based on your real usage
- Shelf parts recorded on jobs and invoices
- Suggested orders ready to approve
- Slow-moving stock listed for action
Is your shelf stock working against you?
- The common parts run out while odd ones gather dust.
- Shelf stock is reordered by eye.
- Parts taken from the shelf are not always charged.
- Nobody knows the value of the stock on the shelves.
- Factor deals have left you with sizes you never use.