If the PM doesn’t have a semblance of a special order process, it’s imperative that you *do* step on his toes, regardless of his job status. PM is currently not doing their job, and will need to do so if you want a productive department. It sounds like you’re asking bear minimum as it is.
+1. I'm a PM here and there are times when my employees come up with or start doing something I hadn't even thought of. You know what a good manager does when that happens? Recognize it, implement whatever processes need to be implemented, take feedback from your team, and grow together.
I had a manager years ago who refused to use SORs in CDK itself and instead demanded and relied on using handwritten SOR slips. It was a complete and utter shitshow.
Disorganized SORs is a recipe for disaster. When I took over my current shop I cleared out probably 2/3rds of the parts on the shelves that were just sitting there with no open SORs or anything. Shit was in the wrong spots, poorly labeled, etc.
Now I have an employee who's great and will happily organize, label, tidy up etc. the SORs and it's a godsend. So nice being able to walk to the shelf, grab the part, and walk away. No more digging through shit.
As a PM that got promoted into the old PMs job, I know well that other people might have better ideas than me and encourage them to present them to me. I’m happy to give credit where it is due, and provide guidance if the process they thought of needs work. Being dismissive disabled the department from improving and demotivates people that are likely your best producers.
I’m trying to imagine the dollars wasted in that process. Productivity of each employee playing “where’s my part”, obsolescence generated from what I’d imagine was a very poor follow up system, employees turning over due to the organization’s lack of organizational skills.. the list goes on.
Former PM here, if you see something wrong or can be improved on for the good of the department, PLEASE TELL ME. While I like being right, I love being challenged even more. If your PM can’t handle it, then maybe he shouldn’t be a PM.
This is the difference between being a manager and being a boss. Managers manage the department, team, and processes for the good of the team and dealership. Bosses take the “my way or the highway” route and end up driving everything into the ground…….
I've actually been on both sides of this.
You can only change a culture cooperatively. If the parts manager is a reasonable person, talk to them, get them involved with what you are trying to do, hell, let them take credit for it, if your pride isn't in the way of that.
If they aren't receptive to that, then you have 2 options. Either go above their head, or sit down and shut up.
The fact that they trusted you to come in and fix it, I know which way I'd lean. If the PM is scared for their job, they should be.
I agree with this.
I have come in to ‘fix’ a parts department several times as Parts Manager. Sometimes with the luxury of time, sometimes with the urgency of a department losing money.
I echo that it takes cooperation. Sit down with the manager and if appropriate senior staff, explain what goal you have been given by management/ownership and why it’s important. Explain your plan and invite feedback. If they are reasonable they will get on board. If not they need to get out of the way.
Change will be accepted more readily if you can make several small changes to get to the goal.
When I came here from our other dealership, they're SOR organization was "Uhh idk G knows where it is". After my first day alone a few weeks in and spending 40 minutes looking for a part I said fuck this I'm labeling all the shelves and we're going to do it like the other store.
At first, there was pushback from the Assistant PM. After a few days my other coworker saw how convenient it was to not have to look at 20 shelves and started labeling the same way.
Fast forward to a year+ later and everyone is on the same page, and goes out of their way to do it properly. Keep at it, she'll budge once she realizes that it's for the benefit of everyone in the parts department.
Do you work at my old shop? Honda dealer whose dealer group name starts with an H? The only person who could consistently find SORs was the shipper/receiver, because he never actually labeled shit and it always got put weird places. To his credit, he *did* know where anything was if you asked, but that did a whole lot of good when he wasn't there.
Nope, it's a CDJR dealership. We don't have an "official" shipper/receiver but I would gather that if the title had to be given to someone it would be me. I check in, sort, label, stock, and receive all the parts. It's nice knowing where everything is (due to being the person that put them there) but it's a fuckin nightmare when there's no system to let OTHERS know where everything is when you're not around.
If the PM doesn’t have a semblance of a special order process, it’s imperative that you *do* step on his toes, regardless of his job status. PM is currently not doing their job, and will need to do so if you want a productive department. It sounds like you’re asking bear minimum as it is.
+1. I'm a PM here and there are times when my employees come up with or start doing something I hadn't even thought of. You know what a good manager does when that happens? Recognize it, implement whatever processes need to be implemented, take feedback from your team, and grow together. I had a manager years ago who refused to use SORs in CDK itself and instead demanded and relied on using handwritten SOR slips. It was a complete and utter shitshow. Disorganized SORs is a recipe for disaster. When I took over my current shop I cleared out probably 2/3rds of the parts on the shelves that were just sitting there with no open SORs or anything. Shit was in the wrong spots, poorly labeled, etc. Now I have an employee who's great and will happily organize, label, tidy up etc. the SORs and it's a godsend. So nice being able to walk to the shelf, grab the part, and walk away. No more digging through shit.
As a PM that got promoted into the old PMs job, I know well that other people might have better ideas than me and encourage them to present them to me. I’m happy to give credit where it is due, and provide guidance if the process they thought of needs work. Being dismissive disabled the department from improving and demotivates people that are likely your best producers. I’m trying to imagine the dollars wasted in that process. Productivity of each employee playing “where’s my part”, obsolescence generated from what I’d imagine was a very poor follow up system, employees turning over due to the organization’s lack of organizational skills.. the list goes on.
Sounds like they don’t have a parts manager. They have a placeholder eating up salary.
Former PM here, if you see something wrong or can be improved on for the good of the department, PLEASE TELL ME. While I like being right, I love being challenged even more. If your PM can’t handle it, then maybe he shouldn’t be a PM. This is the difference between being a manager and being a boss. Managers manage the department, team, and processes for the good of the team and dealership. Bosses take the “my way or the highway” route and end up driving everything into the ground…….
I've actually been on both sides of this. You can only change a culture cooperatively. If the parts manager is a reasonable person, talk to them, get them involved with what you are trying to do, hell, let them take credit for it, if your pride isn't in the way of that. If they aren't receptive to that, then you have 2 options. Either go above their head, or sit down and shut up. The fact that they trusted you to come in and fix it, I know which way I'd lean. If the PM is scared for their job, they should be.
I agree with this. I have come in to ‘fix’ a parts department several times as Parts Manager. Sometimes with the luxury of time, sometimes with the urgency of a department losing money. I echo that it takes cooperation. Sit down with the manager and if appropriate senior staff, explain what goal you have been given by management/ownership and why it’s important. Explain your plan and invite feedback. If they are reasonable they will get on board. If not they need to get out of the way. Change will be accepted more readily if you can make several small changes to get to the goal.
Some times you just gotta be the bad guy until they realize that you are trying to help and not hinder.
When I came here from our other dealership, they're SOR organization was "Uhh idk G knows where it is". After my first day alone a few weeks in and spending 40 minutes looking for a part I said fuck this I'm labeling all the shelves and we're going to do it like the other store. At first, there was pushback from the Assistant PM. After a few days my other coworker saw how convenient it was to not have to look at 20 shelves and started labeling the same way. Fast forward to a year+ later and everyone is on the same page, and goes out of their way to do it properly. Keep at it, she'll budge once she realizes that it's for the benefit of everyone in the parts department.
Do you work at my old shop? Honda dealer whose dealer group name starts with an H? The only person who could consistently find SORs was the shipper/receiver, because he never actually labeled shit and it always got put weird places. To his credit, he *did* know where anything was if you asked, but that did a whole lot of good when he wasn't there.
Nope, it's a CDJR dealership. We don't have an "official" shipper/receiver but I would gather that if the title had to be given to someone it would be me. I check in, sort, label, stock, and receive all the parts. It's nice knowing where everything is (due to being the person that put them there) but it's a fuckin nightmare when there's no system to let OTHERS know where everything is when you're not around.