(August 30, 2016) REACH Level One, Managing Mobile Employees, will be held in Oklahoma City on October 19 and 20. The Inventory and Logistics Course will be held in Oklahoma City on October 12 and 13. REACH Level One is specifically designed for those who manage service technicians in the field. This is not another endeavor in benchmarking, but instead a “How to Manage & Motivate” technicians to get results that ultimately will impact customer satisfaction and profits beginning with the principals of REACH. REACH is an acronym standing for Respect, Expectation, Accountability, Coaching and Humility. Topics included are reports and information necessary to properly assess a technician’s strengths and areas of opportunity and productivity, the coaching process, service territory optimization, and car stocks.
The true job of these individuals is to develop their teams of technicians using the skills that made them successful, not just shuffling calls and fixing the machines that no one else seems to be able to.
A recent case study of a dealership that implemented BEI’s Tech Assessment Program just prior to 2016 showed significant improvements when comparing Q1 2016 with Q2. First Call Effectiveness improved by 7 percent while callbacks were down by 5 percent and hold for parts down by 2 percent. More than 450 fewer serial numbers were serviced and parts cost of goods were down by over $100,000 for the second quarter. Possibly most noteworthy of all was the fact that in Q1 there were 30 technicians while in Q2 there were 26.
This program translates directly to increased profits and is part of the foundation for this course. BEI’s Inventory and Logistics course begins with the basics of inventory and purchasing – what are inventory turns, what should they be, how often should we restock and reorder from our vendors, how can we define accurate car stocks, prevention of obsolescence, how to reserve for it and even how to take a physical inventory. It includes things that should be monitored on a regular basis such as a comparison between parts purchased vs. parts cost of goods sold.
“While we never expect nor can we afford to have hold for parts percentages below our goal of 10 to 12 percent – as the percentages climb beyond those rates we are quite literally throwing labor at a parts problem. Consider the fact that the most expensive component in our service department is labor – can we afford NOT to solve this problem?” stated Jack Duncan, Director of REACH Leadership Development Academy. Recent studies have shown as many as two or more technicians in some dealerships whose time is fully consumed by installing parts that should have been in car stocks on the first visit.
The other side of this coin is inventory obsolescence. If we are not monitoring our usage trends and watching for parts with descending usage for example when a model gets older and begins to be replaced, we will have inventory that we have paid thousands of dollars for that now must be written off or sold at a loss.
BEI Services performed a study consisting of 209 dealerships. By analyzing the age of each dealers unused parts inventory, BEI uncovered that there is a true epidemic of aged and obsolete inventory in the dealer channel. To accomplish this study BEI segregated aged inventory into 3 categories. Inventory that had not had any usage at the dealership for 6 to 12 months was in the first, no usage in 12 to 18 months in the second and no usage over 18 months in the last. The final tally for all dealerships showed $32,900,664.19 in the last bucket – no usage in over 18 months. Averaged across all 209 dealerships, each would have $157,419.45 invested in obsolete inventory. Totals for the first two categories are equally as concerning.
In summary, inventory is a balancing act. If you don’t have the right inventory in the right place at the right time, you throw labor at a parts problem. If you have too much inventory, you risk obsolescence and throwing profits away needlessly.
Currently these courses are for BEI customers only, please contact us to confirm dates for non-BEI customers. Courses are offered with Special Pricing at $1,495 per attendee with a $100 discount for those registering prior to September 20.
If you have questions regarding this event, please email REACH@beiservices.com
About BEI Services:
BEI Services stands alone as the imaging industry’s trusted provider of equipment and service performance standards. BEI offers a complete array of performance analytics and software solutions designed enhance every aspect of a dealerships performance and profitability. Exclusive solutions including: Advanced Comparative Reporting, Technician Assessment, Territory Management & Automated Car Stock, Technician Incentive Program, Advanced Inventory Management (AIM) and the Overstock Parts Network (OPN) are utilized by the most respected and awarded dealers and manufactures in the industry today. A no cost service performance analysis is available. For more information, visit www.beiservices.com or call 307.587.8446.
