Dealerships across the industry are increasingly facing a common issue — the rising cost of parts means they must either raise prices significantly or see margins shrink. The impact to the bottom line is causing them to look for other areas to cut expenses, shining light on some areas that have previously been overlooked.
One of these commonly overlooked opportunities is improving productivity in the parts team. When successfully executed, this results in reduced overtime and the prospect of getting right-staffed by removing low-performing employees.
A dealership group KEA has a long-time working relationship with recently asked for assistance analyzing their lower performing locations. They contacted KEA to discuss parts performance benchmarks to assess productivity. Specifically, they wanted to measure performance of employees working the front and back counters, warehouse, and delivery drivers.
[RELATED: Three steps to right-size your parts inventory]
Unfortunately, differences in department volumes and role duties prevent a consistent standard across the board for these benchmarks.
However, no matter the size or setup of a shop, there are actions to help assess and improve productivity:
