Let's begin our September Issue of ACG "Smart Parts" by "painting a picture" of a typical day at the Parts Department Back Counter. Everyone starts showing up around 7:30 or so and the Back Parts Counter window is opened for yet another day.
Initial daily greetings start between Parts Counter Staff and Technicians, drinking our first cup of coffee, or perhaps a preferred energy drink to kick the day off. Conversations start with some talking about the game last night, or perhaps some techs looking for parts to get the day started.
The "Back Counter" is almost like the water cooler where people come to chat, have conversations in general and eventually get on with their work. I've often said some techs are like bananas as they come in a bunch.
When the Service Manager sees a stack up at the Parts Counter and wants to know what's going on, the answer is usually the same. That answer is "We are Waiting for Parts!" and now the blame gets shifted to the Parts Department.
This daily routine is not only typical, but also unavoidable as the relationship between Parts Counter Staff and Service Technicians is necessary. In most cases, vehicles cannot be repaired or maintained unless we have a part and a technician.
This interaction at the Parts Counter involves constant communication, understanding and an overall objective over and over throughout each day. In other words, everyone has to get along on both sides in order complete this repair process.
This one simple daily interaction between Parts Counter Staff and Technicians happens over and over each day. If the overall outcome of these countless interactions throughout the day are not positive, they could lead to what we all know as a wall between Parts & Service.
We all know from our side in the Parts Department what our role is supposed to be. We are supposed to provide what the technician needs in order to complete most of the repairs on the customers vehicle.
Sometimes though, if not most often, we look at it from our perspective and not theirs. In other words, we may think that we are in control because we have something they need as opposed to the other way around.
In my opinion, we all need to stop and think what the technician sees and not what we see. Can you imagine coming in each day, (if you are a flat rate technician) and not knowing how much you are going to make each day?
In the Parts Department, we pretty much know what we are going to make as most Counter Staff are paid either hourly, or perhaps a salary with incentives. Flat Rate Technicians on the other hand depend on us heavily in order to achieve their monetary goals.
In this issue of ACG "Smart Parts", we are going to break down this relationship and hopefully, we will see how much we actually depend on them. We will also see how valuable our technicians are to us.
Furthermore, we will actually see how certain techs can actually help us get better in having the right part at the right time and be more profitable. We will break down each Technician Skill Level and how they actually help us achieve our Parts Department Goals.
We all know that overall, we all need each other, but we will take it further and answer what I believe is the main question...
"How Can Our Technicians Help Us Get Better in the Parts Department?"
Here We Go!
In my opinion, the Parts & Service Relationship is one of the most important relationships that may be overlooked in many dealerships today.
We can tell though which dealers have a great relationship between these two departments as these are the dealers that have great "Service Absorption".
We often tend to look at the success of our Fixed Operations by individual departments and their role in the dealership. What we don't often look at is our Fixed Operations as one department.
Even though all of the Fixed Operations Departments factor into the "Service Absorption" Category, we may tend to look at them individually.
In my opinion though, we will never achieve "Bullet Proof" Status of 100% or more in Service Absorption unless they all work as one.
In this issue though, I want to address the issue of "dependency" as in who is more "dependent" on the other in Fixed Operations.
Even though we may all feel that we are all independent, I want to "flip the switch" and look at how we, in the Parts Department need or "depend" on our technicians.
Keep in mind that I'm not referring to the obvious where we need our technicians to install the parts that we sell. What I'm referring to is how they can help us sell more parts and most importantly, how we can have more of the right parts at the right time.
We will break down each Technician Skill Level starting at the lowest Skill Level, usually "D" Level Technicians, all the way to the top with our "A" Technicians. Believe it or not, we need each Skill Level, and each one can contribute and help us get better in the Parts Department.
Lastly, and before we get started, keep in mind that all technicians have eyes and see what we don't see in the Parts Department. That being said, I would like all "Smart Parts" Readers to perhaps try and see what they see and perhaps learn something from their perspective.
"D" Skill Level Technicians:
This Technician Skill Level is usually the "Entry Skill Level" where all technicians usually start their careers. Even though some of these "D" Techs have attended tech schools prior, they still have to come in at "D" Level and work their way up the ladder.
Most common Labor Operations they may perform include Minor Maintenance Operations like Oil Changes, Mount & Balance Tires, Tire Rotation, Air & Cabin Filter Replacement, Battery Replacement, etc.
One of the most important operations that the "D" Level Technician has to perform and, in my opinion, the most important is to perform a "Quality" Multi-Point Inspection.
Even though they may not be qualified to perform some of the repairs found on this inspection, they can surely identify what's needed if trained properly.
Now, think about how this can help and impact Parts Sales and how many of these inspections these "D" Technicians perform each day. The most common Service Operation is a Lube, Oil & Filter Service and how many do they perform each day?
With the majority of vehicles that come in each day to have a Lube, Oil & Filter Service with well over 60,000 miles. That being said, it's pretty obvious that the Multi-Point Inspection, (MPI) is probably the most important operation that "D" Level Technicians perform.
Just think about the opportunities out there that they see for the Parts Department to increase Parts Sales & Gross Profits. Of course, we need the Service Advisors to have proper Presentation Skills and a High Closing Ratio with our Customers to realize these opportunities.
"C" Skill Level Technicians:
As the technician works up the ladder from "D" Skill Level into the "C" Skill Level, they also graduate up into more capable Labor Operations. Labor Operations like Front End Alignments, Minor Brake Repairs, Fluid Exchanges, Minor Diagnosis, etc. are now added in this Skil Level.
Once again, first and foremost, performing a quality MPI is the most important Service Operation. Next, and when we think about Wheel Alignments, Suspension & Brake Components are now in play as Upsell Opportunities increase.
Not only that, the Technician "Efficiency" also becomes more important as Service "Cycle Time" helps sell more parts more often. As the "C" Technician moves up the ladder in Skill Level, having the right part becomes even more crucial.
Also, at this stage with the "C" Level Technician, they now become a "resource" for Parts Lost Sales Reporting. Even though all Technicians Skill Levels are a resource for Lost Sales Reporting, "C" Level Technicians are becoming more productive and see more vehicles than "A" and "B" Technicians.
"B" Skill Level Technicians:
Moving up to the "B" Level Technician, this is where we see these techs are now moving up to more Diagnostics & Repairs. Powertrain & Driveline Repairs, Minor & Major Brake Repairs, Suspension Repairs and Heating & AC Repairs.
All of these repairs tend to include what I call the "Meaty Parts" that allow us to utilize the Parts Matrix to increase Parts Retain Gross Profit Percentages. Captive Parts are usually our biggest opportunity to utilize the Parts Matrix to increase gross percentages.
They also see more and replace more of the same parts over and over again. They will tend to see trends of what parts were available and which parts were not on "first visit" to the Parts Department.
At this point and at this Skill Level, we tend to see these techs turning more hours with the Parts Department being a big player in what they earn from Billed Hours.
At this Skill Level and as a "Smart Parts" Manager, we need to be more aware of how they can help us grow in the Parts Department.
This is also where we should be more reliant and depend on them for information that can lead to more Parts Sales, Higher Gross Profits, (Matrix Parts) and Higher First Time Fill Rates as well as Higher Gross & True Turns.
In my opinion, I want these techs to turn more hours by having more of what they need at the right time. It's also at this point that we see these "B" Techs, (and "A" Techs for that matter) saying that we should stock this part or that part.
This is a "crossover" point for Parts as we all know that many techs think we should stock everything not realizing the ramifications of obsolescence, overstocking and space issues on our end.
This is also where we need to start thinking about meeting somewhere in the middle of what these techs can offer us. We can listen while still being cautious of the above ramifications as well.
Lastly, the "B" Skilled Technician, (as well as the "A" Skilled Technicians) can provide us more Lost Sales Opportunities.
"A" Skill Level Technicians:
Now we are coming to the "cream of the crop" as the "A" Skill Level Technician is probably our biggest asset and partner in having the right part at the right time. They can also provide a wealth of information that we don't see on paper.
Going back to my early years as a Parts Manager, I always relied on my Master "A" Techs or Shop Foreman for this information that I don't see. Not only for having the right part, but also those "relative" parts that we will need to complete major repairs.
After all, what's the point of having a turbo in stock if we are not going to have the hoses, gaskets, nuts and bolts to complete the repair. One of the most common Parts Manager mistakes nowadays is not having those "one time use" parts in stock.
The "A" Skill Level Tech, or Shop Foreman should also be invited into what we call our "Stock Order Meetings" at least a couple times a week. As Parts Managers, we tend to look at the Stock Order much differently than they would.
We tend to look at history, how much the part costs, will we be stuck with the part and adding to obsolescence, model year usage or availability, etc. They simply look at what the part is and what parts tend to tie up lifts.
This coalition between the Parts Manager and the "A" Skilled Technician, Shop Foreman or Service Manager in these "Stock Order Meetings" is essential.
If we choose to "go it alone" as Parts Managers, we may have a "clean inventory", but we may also have a low "First Time Fill Rate".
We can have Higher First Time Fill Rate, Controlled Obsolescence, Higher Sales & Gross, Higher Gross & True Turns and Higher Service Absorption. There should never be a wall between Parts & Service, only a door that that opens both ways.
Achieving a High Service Absorption Rate only comes from the Fixed Operations working as one and utilizing all of our Fixed Operations Employees and Assets. Our Service Technicians should be our first "go to" for information as we need them as much as they need us.
If you want to learn more about ACG Smart Parts "Eight Habits of Highly Successful Parts Managers", visit our website @ www.smartpartstraining.com, or...just pick up the phone and call me at :
(786) 521 - 1720...After all, not knowing is not worth not "fixing" it...
