Unorganized parts storage can drain dealers’ time and finances. Keller Marine & RV has developed an organizational system to help its dealers turn the dusty backroom into a profit center.
Keller Sales Coordinator Joe Ely said the Visual Parts System (VPS) is a “Dewey Decimal System” for parts management that will provide dealers the opportunity to make money on backroom parts. The best part for dealers, Ely said, is Keller will do most of the work.
The distributor will send representatives into a dealer’s backroom to organize parts using VPS. Keller requests that dealers set up a bare shelving system before organizers arrive. Ely said shelves should be approximately 10 inches tall to accommodate storage boxes Keller’s team will use to organize and separate parts.
“We are going to bring in the boxes,” Ely said. “We are going to bring in the labels. We are going to completely organize that backroom for you. When we leave there, after we have set it up for you for free, we know that we are going to be able to make money with you on those parts.”
Ely said the parts manager is the only employee who can find anything in the backroom at many dealerships. Parts sales and repair event cycle times (RECT) slow significantly in similar situations.
“Techs are always looking for parts,” Ely said. “They come up to you, and there is a conflict with the parts manager and the tech. The tech is like, ‘I need this part. Got to have this part. I don’t have this part.’ So, you order three of them. You sell him one; the other two are still sitting in the backroom. They just grow dust and end up going obsolete.”
Keller’s VPS organizes parts by manufacturer and manufacturer number. Ely said the manufacturer’s number is more important than a distributor’s number for finding parts. Other information will also appear on the box label, such as a color code, a UPC code and the Keller parts number.
“It is a turnkey system where anyone who is working that day can come in and find the part they need,” Ely said. “Nobody else is doing this. We will leave empty boxes for parts that we think you need, and we are going to ask you to fill that.”
Gina Starett of Mountaineer RV in West Virginia said the dealership has used Keller’s VPS at both its locations.
“We would 100% recommend it,” Starett said. “They have set us up in the last two months, and it has been amazing. It is a simple reorder system, and it is helping us get people right back out on the road.”
Ely said the system enables customization. Dealers can use it to organize OEM parts. Ely said the goal is to enable every dealership employee to access parts without delay.
He said, “We are going to come in and make money with you in the backroom.”
Keller plans to implement VPS with mobile RV technicians such as Dan Shenberger of Shenny’s Service Co.
Shenberger was on hand for the VPS educational session at last week’s Keller Marine & RV Accessory Show. He said he immediately expressed interest.
“I need to have a variety of parts in my trailer,” he said. “Keeping them organized is never easy.”
