Body Shop Inventory Management: Clips, Fasteners and Paint and Materials

摘要

I had a recent discussion with some knowledgeable folks about how managing the collision shop's clip and fastener inventories has led to an industry-wide interest in some type of computer system to count and replenish the shop's entire paint and material [P&M] inventory. I learned a lot - some good, some disappointing, but not very surprising. "I hate clips and fasteners" is a commonly heard cry from body shops across the country. Those pesky fasteners are typically less than 1% of the total RO dollars but are absolutely an essential part of a correct and timely repair. Known as automotive body hardware, the many possible configurations, shapes, materials and even colors add up to more than 25,000 possible fasteners used in collision repair. The average PBE jobber has around 5,000 SKUs (stock-keeping units) in their entire inventory (paint, sandpaper, adhesives, spray guns, booth filters, etc.) Adding just 25% of the possible body bolts, push pin rivets, Christmas trees and molding clips would double that number. Among those thousands of choices, of course, some are in much more popular use; and a typical jobber assortment of the fastest movers is about 2,000 numbers. Note that the corner auto parts stores blister-package several different clips together, and the only way to get the speed nut you need is to buy the pack with other stuff you don't. It keeps their SKUs down, and their typical retail buyer still got the emblems back on the car.