This post is a guest blog by PartsTech. A reliable and efficient parts ordering process is essential to maximizing your shop’s revenue and customer satisfaction. We asked the experts at PartsTech to share their best practices for making parts ordering easy.

Sourcing parts accurately and efficiently is crucial for any auto repair shop, but many face challenges that disrupt workflow and impact profitability. Let’s explore common issues in parts sourcing and how your shop can overcome them to keep your business running smoothly and quickly get customers back on the road.

Challenge: Lengthy parts procurement processes inhibit healthy time management 

Many auto shops order parts over the phone — a long-standing method that leans on established relationships with trusted suppliers. While familiar, this approach often involves multiple or lengthy calls, hold times, back-and-forth communication, and potential miscommunication. Each phone order requires time to discuss pricing, check availability, or clarify part numbers, which can add up and negatively affect your shop’s efficiency.

Solution: View all of your suppliers’ availability and pricing in one place

If you’ve used sites like Amazon or Expedia, you already know the convenience of searching once and seeing all your options in one place. An online parts aggregator brings this same experience to auto shops. These platforms consolidate parts from all your suppliers into a single lookup, allowing you to compare parts and pricing, check availability, and place orders instantly across multiple suppliers with just one click. This saves valuable time and reduces the risk of errors and miscommunication that can occur with phone orders. Plus, it allows you to maintain your existing relationships with trusted suppliers.

Challenge: Facing repair delays due to parts availability 

Relying exclusively on 1-2 local suppliers can cause repair delays if the needed parts are out of stock. This lack of flexibility can lead to extended repair times and hold up a bay in your shop. It can also lead to dissatisfied customers when they learn their vehicle repair is delayed.

Solution: Diversify your supplier strategy to include a larger set of suppliers

When it comes to an effective supplier strategy, less is not more. In addition to your primary suppliers, establish relationships with several backup suppliers. Reducing dependency on 1-2 suppliers ensures you always have alternative options, allowing you to serve your customers swiftly. An online parts ordering platform consolidating all your suppliers' inventories enables you to quickly find alternative suppliers with the parts you need when your preferred suppliers are out of stock. With a tool like PartsTech, you can instantly compare prices and check availability across all your connected suppliers. If your go-to supplier is out of stock, you're just a click away from finding an alternative — no need for multiple phone calls or logging into various websites. This can save valuable time off your parts sourcing process and significantly reduce repair delays.

Challenge: Navigating the learning curve with new staff 

With the technician shortage and overall issues with shops feeling understaffed, the industry has to bring in and mentor new talent. While many who have been in the industry for a long time have part names and numbers memorized like the back of their hand, those new to the industry inevitably won’t. While they learn and grow, there is a higher chance of them mistakenly ordering the wrong part. Ordering the wrong part means repair delays and the need to be vigilant in returning the part so your shop doesn’t lose cash. 

Solution: Empower staff with visual aid solutions

Equip your team with parts ordering tools that include visual aids to boost confidence and accuracy. Certain platforms offer interactive diagrams by vehicle make and model, helping new staff accurately identify and select the right parts. These visual tools simplify the learning process, reduce errors, and enable employees to make quick, accurate decisions. 

Some shops hesitate to adopt new digital tools due to concerns about complexity, training time, or disrupting established processes, but these tools are game-changers. By integrating digital tools like a parts ordering solution, your shop can improve efficiency, shorten repair times, and maintain a competitive edge — all while minimizing disruptions and enhancing team confidence.

Challenge: Managing inventory inefficiencies that impact cash flow 

Poor inventory management can lead to overstocking, which ties up valuable capital in unused parts. To avoid running out, shops often over-order parts, leaving them on shelves for months and locking up money that could be better invested elsewhere.

Solution: Implement a just-in-time inventory strategy

A "just-in-time" inventory strategy reduces overstocking by focusing on ordering parts only when needed. Parts aggregators play a crucial role in making this strategy work effectively. By connecting to all your suppliers through a parts aggregator, you can look across multiple sources to find the best option for getting the part you need when you need it.

If you are limited to a single supplier or even just two, you may find yourself forced into a stocking strategy to mitigate the risk of supply shortages. However, using a parts aggregator offers more sourcing options, reducing the need to overstock and freeing up valuable capital.

Switching to a just-in-time inventory strategy reduces overhead costs, frees up cash flow, and minimizes parts storage expenses — all while keeping your operations running smoothly and cost-effectively.

Conclusion

By addressing these common challenges, your shop can streamline parts sourcing, improve productivity, and enhance customer satisfaction. Moving away from traditional phone orders and adopting efficient parts ordering tools can save your shop time, reduce costs, and provide a better experience for our staff and customers.

If you want to simplify parts sourcing while maintaining strong supplier relationships, consider a tool like PartsTech. With more than 30,000 supplier locations, PartsTech is a free solution that allows you to access all your suppliers with one easy lookup.