Frequently Asked Questions

  1.      Is PartsEye^™ just another software program where once the sale is completed, I’m left on my own?

No! PartsEye is a web-based inventory planning service. Each dealer’s parts inventory is tracked on a daily basis, and a suggested stock order is provided to the dealer, on whatever schedule the dealer chooses. But unlike other providers, we have dedicated professional specialists, we call them PartsEye Planners, to watch over each dealership, reviewing each dealer’s stocking parameters and inventory data on a regular basis and are available to make planning changes whenever and however the dealer wants. Key performance indicators are also reviewed by the Planner and unusual factors are discussed with the dealer principal or dealership staff in a consultative manner. The job of our expert Planners is to work with the dealership’s management to help you obtain the optimal inventory balance for your dealer­ship and to make certain that you generate higher profits and optimize your return on investment.

2.      Why do I need PartsEye when my current dealership management system (DMS) already provides me with a parts module that includes inventory information and the ability to suggest stock orders?

PartsEye provides the flexibility missing in a DMS system by eliminating the complexity, the need for specialized training and the significant experience required to effectively manage a DMS. Specifically, the results obtained from a DMS rely heavily on the person who adjusts the parameters being knowledgeable concerning parts, as well as the actual parameters to adjust and their impact on stocking levels. However, the training necessary to become proficient in making those changes is very costly. That’s why, in the typical dealership, source controls (which are the settings used to adjust stock levels) have not been checked or adjusted for years. Also, the DMS’s suggested stock order usually is printed in hard copy, using lots of paper, and the parts manager then spends time, often measured in hours, reviewing and adjusting the suggested order. When additional information is desired concerning sales of a particular part over a period of time, your parts manager needs to run additional reports, spending even more of their available time. Additionally, a DMS requires parts to be placed in groups, which does not allow for individual adjustment. Although parts managers are allowed to set minimum and maximum quantities manually, these settings do not adjust with demand and often are overridden when the stock order is reviewed. In some dealerships, the DMS stock order function isn’t even used because “it never gives us the right parts” to order. Does your parts department use a legal pad to track the parts to order? If so, then your dealership isn’t using your DMS’s ordering process anyway.

3.      How does the PartsEye service improve upon the information provided by my dealer management system?

Your suggested stock order is available online, and extensive sales history for each suggested part is shown right on the stock order screen. An order can be reviewed, modified, and confirmed in only a few minutes, without the need to search for more details, using bulky paper printouts, or the need to reenter data into a finalized order. Training your staff to use PartsEye can be done online, simply takes a few minutes, and there is no additional cost for that training. Plus, PartsEye treats every part individually and our professional Planners are able to fine tune parameters at any level and at anytime to suit your dealer­ship’s individual needs. Our Planners concentrate on one job: making sure you have not only the right parts in stock, but also the right levels, too. PartsEye helps ensure that a quality, suggested stock order is always available on schedule without the need for laborious data collection and manual preparation. Buying excess inventory, even of fast movers, ties up your capital and costs you money. That’s why our clients include dealers that have used ADP, Reynolds & Reynolds, and other DMS systems to prepare stock orders, but now enjoy the ease and convenience of using PartsEye. Even parts managers who were skeptical at first now accept their dealership’s PartsEye suggested orders with almost no changes.

4.      How does PartsEye work?

We start with a unique, proprietary software solution, designed from the ground up by our experienced, profes­sional team, that analyzes your dealership’s individual sales history, lost sales, trends, seasonality, lead times and other factors to develop suggested stock orders tailored to your dealership’s needs, not the factory’s national averages. PartsEye quickly extracts your actual parts and accessories sales data from your existing DMS on a daily basis via the Internet, without human intervention in most cases. PartsEye utilizes this data and other market factors to forecast your dealership’s parts sales using our unique SmartCast^™ formula and calcu­lates the optimal stocking level for all parts forecasted to sell in your dealership. PartsEye prepares a sug­gested stock order and displays it on the PartsEye website on an easy to understand review page, without the need for bulky paper stock order printouts. However, unlike other providers, your dealership has total freedom and flexibility to easily modify any or all line items in the suggested order, with only a few keystrokes on the computer, before confirming your final order. All relevant details of the order are in one place; it’s easy to read, easy to modify, and easy to finalize. All that your staff needs to do is review and submit.

5.      It sounds like the heart of PartsEye is what you call SmartCast^™; what is that?

After extensive research and testing, we devised a unique forecasting methodology that is extremely responsive to sales spikes in low to medium volume demand parts. Our proprietary algorithm improves upon the best aspects of all other known forecasting models. The advantages of SmartCast^™ are: much quicker reaction to changes (both increases and decreases) in sales volume and sales spikes; ability to modify parameters for a group of parts by part type, such as maintenance parts or collision parts; ability to easily adjust the interval between reorder point and stock max to satisfy individual dealer economic ordering quantity (EOQ) needs; ability to better reflect order quantities per dealer performance; and superior precision in responding to seasonality. SmartCast^™ addresses the needs of our customers to see very quick adjustments in their suggested stock orders in response to unexpected and sometimes unnoticed sales spikes, but then readjust quickly when the spike ends.

6.      Can PartsEye work with any DMS provider?

We can integrate with any inventory management system, some as certified partners and others based on integration processes designed by our IT Department. Our capabilities range from integrations for major DMS providers such as CDK, Reynolds and DealerTrack to smaller services such as QuickBooks and dealer-designed systems. We currently integrate with more than 4 dozen different services and the list grows constantly. In short, as long as parts inventory data is maintained electronically, we can integrate with the system.

7.      Does running PartsEye tie up my computer system?

No! The transactions between your DMS and our computers occur extremely quickly and take place behind the scenes, going virtually unnoticed by your personnel. All calculations and processing is per­formed on our computers, not yours, so there is no interruption to your standard operations or computer system.

8.      What results can a typical dealer expect to see from using PartsEye?

Most dealers have too much invested in their parts inventory, and that investment is in a deep stock of fast moving parts, while missing sales of slower movers. With PartsEye, you can confidently reduce the depth of your inventory, while increasing its breadth, and do so while also reducing your parts investment. Stated simply, most dealers can remove money sitting idly on their parts shelves and put it to better use. At the same time, they can realize higher repair order fill rates, increased satisfaction levels by having the right parts avail­able in stock, increased technicians’ productivity (which translates into increased labor sales), reduced obsolescence, and lowered return levels. In addition, since PartsEye reduces your staff’s time needed to prepare a stock order to only a few minutes, it frees your manager’s time so they can concen­trate on their primary job: selling parts. In short, with PartsEye you can receive better parts inventory performance, at your least possible investment, by having more part numbers available “in stock”. We’ve seen some dealers reduce their on-hand parts inventory dollars by as much as 50% and reduce their returns from stock orders to below 1%.

9.      What kind of training is necessary to use PartsEye?

PartsEye is so easy to use, training is practically intuitive and almost unnecessary as long as a user has basic familiarity with using a computer. There are no complex systems to learn. Nevertheless, training is offered online by remote meeting both at startup and on an appointment basis at any other time and takes only a matter of minutes to complete. Also, PartsEye’s professional Planners are always available by phone, email or via remote Internet connection for personal attention or assistance whenever needed.

10.  Can anyone in the dealership review the suggested PartsEye orders and submit them, or is access and use limited to only specific individuals?

Each dealer sets their own security requirements in terms of who has access to PartsEye’s secure system and who can approve orders. And your approved personnel can be at home or anywhere else in the world and still review and submit orders as long as they have internet access. Also, PartsEye is particularly useful in assuring a high level of performance, even when changes take place in the dealership like systems changes, personnel changes, interim vacations, or other personnel absences.

11.  Can PartsEye automatically submit my orders to the manufacturer or do I have to reenter all data after I have made changes or deletions?

After all adds, changes or deletions have been saved by the dealer, PartsEye transmits the dealer’s final stock order back to the dealer’s DMS. At that point, with only a few keystrokes, the dealer quickly, easily and accurately can submit the order directly to the manufacturer. In most cases, PartsEye can submit the ap­proved order directly to the manufacturer for you and then send you a confirmation.

12.  Can I restrict certain types of parts from being suggested for ordering through PartsEye?

Yes! Simply by clicking on an icon, PartsEye allows you, the dealer, to select which specific part numbers or group of parts to restrict, and you can reverse your decision at any time, just as easily.

13.  Can PartsEye plan my inventory based on an objective days supply or dollar value of inventory?

Yes! In addition to being a powerful inventory management system, PartsEye allows each dealer to provide special instructions to a PartsEye Planner to ensure the plans and objectives of each dealer are met. You tell us how you want to have your inventory handled, PartsEye will plan accord­ingly, and you can change or refine your decision at any time. If, for example, you want to maximize your parts coverage but not invest more than a specified dollar amount in your parts inventory, PartsEye will perform the required calculations and suggest those parts that maximize coverage within your investment limitations. That type of service is particularly helpful to a manufacturer when determining the composi­tion of an initial parts order for a new dealer appointment.

14.  Is it possible to have a variable schedule for stock order submission for different dealers (i.e., daily, weekly, biweekly)?

Yes! PartsEye accommodates whatever schedule a dealer is on.

15.  Can I include my bin location for parts on the orders submitted through PartsEye or retain a record of the names of customers where “special orders” have been included in the stock order?

Yes! PartsEye allows the dealer to record both a bin location and a reference number at the time of order submission. The reference number field may be used to record a dealer’s PO number or even a customer’s name. This information will be submitted as part of the dealer’s order, but the manufacturer’s packing list or invoice would need to be capable of including such information as well.

16.  Can I create kits in PartsEye that include individual part numbers for ordering?

Yes! Whether or not a dealership’s DMS has the ability to track parts kit components, your PartsEye Planner can make a dealer-specific kit build list that will spread the purchase history out to the individual components.

17.  Can PartsEye order in certain multiples based on the pieces required to perform a repair or based on OE Manufacturer packaging requirements?

Yes! PartsEye can suggest orders in multiples specified by the manufacturer or by dealer preference.

18.  Can PartsEye ensure that a certain value of purchases will be made based on specified periods of time (such as a quarterly purchase incentive program)?

PartsEye does not make purchase decisions; however, it is very flexible and can easily be adjusted to plan ahead for a longer days supply. That will allow for a properly planned “extra buy” so a dealer can meet a purchase objective by stocking up on the qualifying parts. Also, if there is a special program offered for purchasing a certain quantity of a part on short notice, dealership personnel can simply and easily increase PartsEye’s suggested quantity of that part on any order. The dealer must be aware, however, that pursuing such actions will compromise other objectives of PartsEye planning, such as the goal of reducing the dealer’s inventory to a proper, manageable level.

19.  Does PartsEye have the capability to suggest items that exhibit a seasonal pattern of sales?

Yes! PartsEye’s SmartCast^™ formula automatically accounts for seasonal ordering fluctuations. Additionally, special­ized purchases can be coordinated through your professional PartsEye Planner.

20.  Can PartsEye provide me with a list of items suggested for return or for scrap?

Yes! PartsEye’s parameters identify overstock or obsolete inventory within the guidelines of any manufacturer’s program. These parameters can easily be further customized and optimized by your PartsEye Planner, based on individual dealer preference, to create a list of excess inventory, as well as obsolete inventory.

21.  Can PartsEye show me a history of changes that my parts personnel have made in the past to suggested orders?

Yes! PartsEye archives all transactions for a reasonable period of time. Upon request, your PartsEye Planner can create customized reports on many action items including each time a part was suggested, what action was taken, or, over a period of time, which parts were rejected and/or purchased without suggestion by PartsEye.

22.  Without requesting a special report, can PartsEye provide me with a way to monitor how my dealership is performing, suggested orders versus actuals?

Yes! PartsEye has a standard array of easy to read management overview reports of your entire parts inventory (we call them SmartGauge^™ Reports) that are available on your dealership’s page on the PartsEye website at all times. These reports can be accessed with a simple click of the mouse. SmartGauge^™ reports display key metrics showing the current condition of your dealership’s inventory as well as performance over a period of time.

23.  Can PartsEye keep track of non OE items such as chemicals or items not offered by the OE manufacturer?

Yes! PartsEye can keep track of any item recorded by the dealership as part of its part number file, but only OE part numbers are included in PartsEye’s suggested orders.

24.  Can I use PartsEye’s services for franchises that do not have an OE manufacturer sponsored inventory management plan?

Yes! PartsEye is based primarily upon each dealer’s individual sales history and trends, so it is available for any franchise, whether or not an OE-sponsored inventory planning program exists, and can be used by dealers with a single point or many points.

25.  Can PartsEye identify other dealers who have a part in stock that may not be available through the OE Distribution Centers?

Yes! PartsEye can provide, at no additional charge, a stock locator system (we call it SmartFind^™) based on any manufacturer, as long as there are a sufficient number of dealers using PartsEye from the same manufacturer.

26.  Can I be assured that my confidential information will not be available to other dealers or third parties as a result of PartsEye accessing my data?

Yes! PartsEye provides a secure environment which safeguards all accumulated dealer data, so the various security needs of all dealers can be satisfied. In addition, each dealer has access only to its own information within PartsEye, unless they choose to share it with anyone else.

27.  Is there a one-time, hefty cost to use PartsEye, or do you charge high annual licensing fees?

PartsEye is a service, not a software provider, and all computing is performed on our computers, so there isn’t a one-time cost or licensing fee. Instead, after initial setup, there is only a very reasonable monthly service fee that also can be tailored to individual situations for multi-line or multi-point dealerships.

28.  As new features are added to PartsEye, will the pricing increase because of the new features?

No! PartsEye is fully functional now and as enhancements to the inventory management features of PartsEye are introduced, they will be incorporated at no additional charge to existing clients. Also, PartsEye is customized software that can be adjusted “on the fly,” so there is no need to wait for the next version to be introduced before enhancements are made available.

29.  Is there a list of references available from PartsEye for dealers who have been using the system?

Yes! We will gladly provide references upon request. We can even arrange an online demo of PartsEye so a dealer can see and experience all of its functions.

30.  How long does it normally take to get a new PartsEye subscriber up and running?

A single point dealer can be up and running in only a few days if the dealer’s personnel are responsive to our requests for information and for access to the DMS. Multiple points depend on the number of locations to be installed and can be scheduled based on dealer or manufacturer needs.

31.  How can I sign up?

You can call us at 877-880-0816, email us at info@partseye.com or write to us at 200 Myles Standish Blvd, Taunton, MA 02780. We’ll design a program that’s tailored to your needs, send you a copy of our standard dealership agreement, and handle the installation process.

32.  Can PartsEye provide consulting services to assist in running various dealership departments?

Yes! The PartsEye staff has extensive experience in both the retail and wholesale automotive industry. In addition to the assistance provided by PartsEye’s professional Planners who are always available without additional cost for day to day operations, the PartsEye staff also is available and can be hired for individual consulting engage­ments.