Finding a part Step 3: Update your inventory

The third and final step involved regularly updating you parts stock in comparison to your demand.

Make sure you note any non-stocked parts you acquire in your inventory system. When a single request becomes a trend, Ed Neeley, president at Truck Supply Company of South Carolina, says it’s time to update your inventory.

“If a parts request comes up twice for us, after the second time it will be on the shelf,” he says, noting that Truck Supply Company’s inventory software is designed to register and update the minimum stock order for a component after that second request.

Dave Lippoway, regional manager at Fort Garry Industries, says Fort Garry does the same thing, and works hard to constantly update and evolve inventory to cater to its market and customer base.

“Inventory is constantly being tweaked,” he says. “Things change. Our No. 1 item from 10 years ago is not the No. 1 item today, but we still need to stock it.”

He adds that Ft. Garry encourages its salesmen to ask customers about new components they are using so the company has them stocked before they are required. That said, he admits no distributor can ever have everything.

“Just when you think you’ve ordered everything, tomorrow’s another day,” he says. “There’s always going to be something. You’re never going to have it all.”

See Step 1: Acquire information

See Step 2: Determine a contact order

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