Parts manager's checklist

THIS checklist from Karmak covers the various tasks a parts manager or inventory controller should routinely undertake in their business system to ensure maximum inventory control.

Things to do daily

1. Review open picking lists and held orders. Void invalid orders.
2. Review parts and labor that were deleted off repair orders the previous day.
3. Review average cost/replacement cost discrepancies. Parts that were involved at an invalid average cost should be credited, the average cost corrected, and re-invoiced.
4. Review parts that were sold at a special price. Unexplained price overrides should be addressed with the counter personnel or salesperson, or special pricing should be created for the customer.
5. Perform daily cycle counts, load the counts, and run the cycle count variance/update.

Things to do weekly

1. Review back orders. Delete invalid customer back orders.
2. Review purchase orders over X-number of months old. Delete invalid purchase orders.
3. Review inter-branch transfers. All inter-branch transfers must be processed to their completion. Clean up inter-branch transfers where no quantity was shipped or transfers that were processed incorrectly.
4. Schedule cycle counts for the coming week. This task can be performed daily or monthly.
5. Print a list of all parts with a quantity on hand of less than zero. Try to identify the cause of the problem (i.e. packing slip not posted, part should have been sold as outside purchase, incorrect shelf quantity, etc). Care should be taken in correcting these quantities since packing slips may not yet have been posted.

Things to do mid-month

1. Review and make changes to parts that need to be changed from stocking to non-stocking.
2. Review and make changes to parts that need to be changed from non-stocking to stocking.

Things to do the last day of the month

1. Print a list of all fast-moving parts in inventory where the out-of-stock days are greater than zero. This list represents fast-moving parts that you ran out of during the month. Adjust the purchasing parameters on these part numbers or vendors (suppliers), if applicable.

Things to do monthly

1. Reclassify your inventory to know the difference between your fast- and slow-moving parts.
2. Review lost sales report and add to parts usage history where the lost sales are valid.
3. Print a listing of parts in a numbered bin location. Assign these parts a bin location.
4. Review the invoice message. Change the invoice message monthly or as you implement features.
5. Run and review your turn and earn report. Your goal is to have inventory turns of five to six and a turn/earn ratio of 1.00 to 1.50.
6. Review your inventory classification report. This report shows inventory dollars and percentage of inventory value in each inventory class, and should also break down by stocking type.

Things to do when price files are received

1. Review your price file setup and multipliers.
2. Copy the manufacturer's return indicator or other coding from the price file into your inventory.
3. Review contract prices for the vendor.
4. Re-implement inventory price rounding, if applicable.

Things to do quarterly or semi-annually

1. Update velocity pricing code from inventory class.

Things to do yearly

1. Delete parts with no quantity on hand and usage history. Do this before performing physical inventory.
2. Review customer contract and special pricing. Verify the validity of the pricing.