Parts inventory

[omrkr]

So I am need of some assistance for organizing my parts. I do a fairly large amount of small engine repair as a sideline business. I have parts accounts with some distributors and lately I have bought a large amount of inventory from dealers that were quitting the business.

I now have parts that are far from organized. Currently I have them in parts boxes according to manufacturer and actual part. I.e. Briggs and Stratton carburetors all in their own part box.

With these latest additions I feel it would be too many parts per small box. It just doesn’t look or seem right. I worked at a Snapper dealership growing up and we made wooden “cubbyhole” shelves. They were numbered 00 through 99, the parts were stocked according to the last two digits of the part number. For example 691035 would go into box 35.

I am considering this but, it locks me into looking the part number up every time. Sometimes with some parts like gaskets different ones may work for multiple applications. I do know that a lot of these parts I may never use but I bought them very reasonable.

I am open to suggestions and would love to see different options. I would show you all my current set up but it needs a total overhaul now.

 

[ken w.]

I've worked in parts most of my life. At the part store and distribution center we used cardboard bins with dividers made by Standard Ignition. They came 25 to a bundle. They work really well for small parts like you have. I also work on small engine and have quite an inventory and still have parts scatted around. I also have ignition cabinets from repair shops that I use for parts too.

 

[rharman]

I managed a parts department for a couple of very large HD dealers for a number of years. Easy in that case.

In your case, you need to consider that a B&S carb #123456 may fit many machines. I'd consider organizing by part manufacturer and then part #. Hopefully, there's a good cross reference to help you find the right (standard) part if it's not manufacturer specific.

That 2-digit bin thing just sounds like a friggin' mess.

 

[matt_i]

Just an idea can you buy some "shelves" or whatever was being used to store the parts, as well as the actual parts?

In general I've seen shelves, drawers, cabinets and cubbies, with bins thrown into any of the above.

I think part of it depends on whether you will have a computerized inventory or its all mental notes. I'm not talking about a software any more exotic than Excel, it has a search engine feature that's a tiny bit clunky but works reasonably well.

If you built that you can isolate by manufacturer (OEM maybe), by functional area (carbs, coils, gaskets), or a rigid alphanumerical part number ordering. I don't like the last one very much because then you sometimes have to jump all over to find "similar parts".

I find that old drafting/drawing storage cabinets are perfect for gaskets. Flat and relatively light weight.

Good luck in this, its a tough one but the more time you spend perfecting it, the better it will work for you in the end.

 

[NUTTSGT]

You have to find a system that works right for you.

I'd want shelves and bins, sort by manufacturer, then part type and then by part number, much like Matt mentioned. However, you need to leave room and make it expandable for future growth.

Picking up something like this might work for you.

https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=933&acctid=485

 

[Rickster]

What about having a shelf & box unit for each of the larger manf, then a catch-all shelf/box rack for the rest.

 

[omrkr]

Thanks for the replies, I ordered some more of the small cardboard boxes to split these parts up. I think for now I am going to add on to my shelves that I have already. I made an Excel spreadsheet so I can keep some kind of inventory on what I have in stock. Hopefully it will come together, definitely a low budget operation haha.

 

[Falcon67]

Shelving and these bin boxes as needed

https://www.uline.com/BL_302/White-Corrugated-Bins

Tape the front with masking tape, write part number on front, shelve in number order or break out by mfg by part number. Peal off tape or tape over "label" to re-use. Used these for years in a large parts department for a multi-million $ mfg plant.

 

[Charlie51]

You can organize by engine buildup components and related parts. For example, a box for carburetors and associated parts, one for cylinder heads, one for springs, valves and keepers, one for pistons, piston pins and rings, another for connecting rods, another for magneto parts, and so forth. It would be similar to the airline's ATA system of organization.

 

[omrkr]

So I have everything sorted now exactly like you were saying, by the type of part. Plus I split them all by brand . Wow there was way more in these boxes than I thought. I guess that is a good thing. Thanks for the input!!!