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i'm curious as to what other parts managers are doing when a mechanic comes to the counter asking for a part which is not allocated to a specific line on the ro.
For example say the customer comes in for a simple L.O.F. and then requests wiper blades. .... what do you do when the LOF is menu priced? and its the only line item on the repair order .

I have been consulting here in Canada for several years and was surprised that no one knew of a viable answer.... when i shared my insights with them and gave a working method that pleased both service and parts, well, it was the first time any one had heard of this. I've completed 40 dealerships to date and have yet to hear of a more viable method....

let me know how you folks handle this .... and then I will post this little tid bit of knowledge.

This is my first time on this message board and i would like to thank the authors for their insight and provision.

[This message has been edited by johnny o (edited 08-17-2000).]

Okay Ill bite
I charge out the wiper blades on the same
line as the LOF and let the service writer
make a new job then switch the blades to the
correct job.( in this instance)
If there are multipule parts to charge out
on multipule jobs then the tech dosent get
the parts until all jobs have been added.
( Ive just opened pandoras box)

It always comes down to the service advisor reviewing his repair order before presenting to the cashier and customer. Our parts department will bill out parts as long as they have a ADP Parts request. Having to book alot of the RO's I wish our parts department would be better about getting parts on the correct line but most happy just to have them bill out. We are a big volumn dealership so it gets a little wild sometimes.. In your example I would (ADP ERO) simple add a second labor line Zero Sale and move the parts to that line.. We use this method all the time. This is used alot with Warranty repair lines when we have parts that the tech's story doesn't justify we book the line correclty then add a CP labor line for the parts only.. The Advisor fixes the problem during his review or the Customer points it out at the Cashiers window.

At present we are using the same process as cwalden. A draw back to this is that if a part is priced at menu on an RO when the writer changes the line the price then defaults back to list price. A considerable amount of gross can be lost due to the writer not having the line open. The only way to correct this is to get to the writers prior to billing the part. Easier said than done.

Jack

thanks for the comments guys ....

chris .... want a 98 % or better accuracy on correct parts to line .... do what we did; get the mechanics involved. Both managers in service and parts simply request a meeting and together explain the importance of the mechanics input ...ie: " please advise parts which line you wish this item billed on a) b) c) or 1) 2) 3) " explain that it helps everyone and that they are the key . Hay, in my travels i have s&p managers tell me of only a little resistance at first but, now its second nature for the mechanics to do this. Its important that people realize what a difference it makes for the service adviser and the customer, and chris usually when a person knows they are helpful the process continues with a pat on the back. :> ps it also speeds up the parts billing process so the mechanics get their parts quicker (a win / win scenario)


cwalden / chris c

in regards to my first request i would ask you to find out what the cost is per minute to run 1) the parts department and then 2) the service department.Then do a test on how long your current process takes 1, 2, 3, minutes ? and be honest.... a quick estimate at $1.00 usa dollars per minute or higher/per person involved in the process. Do some math to estimate how many times a day this same process happens and per week, per year.
This will give you some idea how much its costing you to send that mechanic back to the service adviser --- while the parts counter person waits with the part --- and the mechanic waits for the advisor and the cost of interrupting the advisor... once you have this type of data you will see how much this is eating up your profitability by reducing efficency. check this out and I'll show you how to cut through this expense with an "IT's JUST TOO SIMPLE AN IDEA " :> and trust me, i,ve heard that many times ...
hang in there and i will spill the beans just wish to see a few more comments

hope this is of help
johnny o


[This message has been edited by johnny o (edited 08-15-2000).]

[This message has been edited by johnny o (edited 08-16-2000).]

[This message has been edited by johnny o (edited 08-16-2000).]

Johnny O
I would estimate the time in getting the
service writer to add the additional jobs
is about the same as the time the service
writer spends at the parts counter asking
what kind of part this is when you add it
to the repair order. In other words if your
service writer is on the ball then this
wont happen very often. We are a small
organization,2 service writers 1 of which
is the service manager and 2 parts people
1 of which ( me ) is the parts manager,so
we work well together. This situation dosent
happen alot but it dose happen.

profit starts by plugging the small holes (often overlooked) in the department. It was not a huge hole that sank the Titanic rather a tear and some small holes that sunk her. Dont worry about being a smaller dealer cwalden ... a lot of guys on the Titanic would have paid you millions to be on a small life boat ... its more important to be a going concern no matter your size.
just a thought

well since the masses have not inundated this topic with suggestions I'll mention what I reccommend and have found successful at our dealership (and many others).

EVERY SINGLE WORKORDER CREATED AND HANDED TO THE MECHANIC HAS AN EXTRA LINE ADDED TO THE R.O. This is an active line that allows the parts staff to add any part that is not covered by the initial repair order.

the final line on our workorders reads ...


"THANKYOU FOR YOUR BUSINESS "


This then appears as a courtesy to the customer... however is actually a real in house tool for both parts and service. For parts we can instantly add the part ... the mechanic is free to go ... and later when the mechanic hands the ro in for processing, the service advisor always knows that any part under "THANK YOU FOR YOUR BUSINESS" always requires a new line to be created ... they also know that no parts are never / ever left under that line. The first week we tried this I was told by service that it was just a pain ... however after the second week the advisor(s) told me it actually saves them time and is no bother. In order to make this work even better the service guys now set up "CSI" as a short form to activate the line.

The extra benifit we recieve was that the customers like the comment... often when new lines are added (and the work order is closed) the "THANK YOU FOR YOUR BUSINESS" line is in the middle of the r.o., but thats ok since we also consider the customer central to our business. :>

hope this is of value ... let me know if you try this AND what happens. Ideas, even good ones often just stay ideas ... it's people who make it happen.

johnny o

Jonny O - ADP-ERO is a paperless system fromt he tech standpoint.. They order parts by computer in there stalls. When ordering parts they input the line the parts are needed on.. I would say the correct line is input 98% of the time. The problem comes when the tech has gotten with the advisor already but the advisor doesn't get the line added.. Specially priced LOF/TUNE etc.. Even Warranty lines.. What's a tech to do.. Ours are very used to our not finding the time to get these lines added. They order the parts. At no time do we waist the techs productivity.. The tech orders parts he gets them as long as there is an open RO and he as requested.. Parts department only needs the Request off the printer to act.. The waisted time and Dollars is on the service drive. Unless you have a management team that keeps the advisors focused on the basics then they will slack. Paper work, Customer follow up. When one corner is cut it generally takes twice as much time to correct it.. This is the case at our dealership..

CHRIS :

a couple of decades ago we where promised a true paperless world, I think youll agree with me we are still waiting. ADP is a great system, but again I say, people make things either succesful or not (not systems). Sometimes in the real world we need to be creative to allow our systems and personnel to mesh smoothly....The idea presented was a recommendation only , and a tool for some; it does not mean that it is for every one. What works for one does not work for all. Depends on your priorities and situation and / or if a problem exists at all.

sharing and comparing notes; well .... thats what this forum is all about.

thanks for your thoughts

johnny o

[This message has been edited by johnny o (edited 08-17-2000).]

TECH & WRITER ARE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THESE ADDED LINES! YES! NO!