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A simple way to control your warranty parts

As I visit dealerships it is all too common that,when I ask to see the defective warranty parts, what I find is a real eye sore creating unnecessary clutter as well as consuming valuable space within the dealership. It is not uncommon to find parts that are a year or more old.
Warranty parts handling seems simple from the outside looking in. Take the defective part, attach the appropriate identification, hold until the required OEM request to return or view has expired, and then destroy and dispose.
It just seems that all of a sudden one day you look up and they are taking over a considerable portion of the dealership. Not only do they begin to take up valuable space they also are an eyesore at best.
Here is the simplest and most effective method I have found for controlling the warranty parts sprawl and still comply with the OEM’s requirements.
Get four large storage bins, each bin must be large enough to hold at least a one month supply of warranty parts. Label each bin 1 to 4.
On the first of the month, begin putting all warranty parts from that month into Bin 1. Beginning the first of the next month, start putting all warranty parts into Bin 2 and so forth.
At the beginning of the fifth month you can dispose of all the parts in Bin 1 because they have now been held the required amount of time and you can reuse that bin.
I like to store warranty parts in the warehouse, in an area accessable by forklift and use bins that are stackable and made to be handled by a forklift. This keeps things orderly, controlled and efficient. If there is a request to see a part, it is now a fairly simple task to find the defective date and locate the bin containing parts from that date period.
If you use bins made to be handled by forklift, it is now a simple one person job to move those items to the dumpster and dispose.
Now take out your end of month housekeeping list. (if you don’t have one now is a good time to start one) and add a line that says “Rotate warranty parts holding bins.”

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