SPARE PARTS SUPPLIERS

In the part one internal factors section, I mentioned how to order parts. In this part I will explain how workshops deal with parts suppliers.

The parts supplier has two sets of pricing:

• Retail price: To those people buy parts without account
• Trade price: To those people buy parts with account

How to set-up an account

The parts supplier welcomes most businesses to sign up for the trade scheme, but the work shop is required to apply and sign an application form.

 

What is the meant by a reference?

In the application form, a prerequisite is that you provide reference suppliers that can vouch for your good trade history. These are usually previous suppliers which you have had and dealt with on a regular basis. 

The new parts supplier will check your record with your reference suppliers, and if your record and credit is good and clear, your application will be accepted.

Work order numbers

An order number is the key identification code for a job and is usually the registration or plate number of a vehicle. For instance, if a vehicle being worked on requires a reverse light, we would order from the parts supplier and the order number used to identify this particular job would be the registration (i.e AKQ403).

In this way, the workshop and part supplier can communicate by referring to the registration number as the work order number, which means that the supplier does not need the year, model, engine number, or chassis number as this can be found out on a database site such as “Carjam”, just by entering a vehicles registration.

How the company settles the account bill?

If the workshop has an account, on November you need pay the October bill, the part supplier will send you an invoice statement which has a list of all the ordered parts for the month. The invoices are normally arranged from the months beginning purchases to the months end. The account is usually paid for in full on the first week of every month.

How the crediting system works?

When you order parts from the parts supplier, the supplier sometimes confuses the order and so they allow return options for these cases. In one instance, you might receive more than one of the same products in which case you may choose to keep one and then return the rest. Another case might be that you order a part and found that the part is incorrect, and so you may return it, and reorder the correct part.

Whatever the scenario, if you order parts and they are placed on the company’s account, the account will be charged out irrespectively. But once the part has been returned, the supplier will then credit the account. In order to receive a credit, you need to present the invoice to the supplier, as the invoice contains the invoice number, the workshop name, and order number.

 

Other organizations that also contribute to a successful workshop are parts suppliers and specialist workshops. Not all workshops can afford high quality or original parts that require time to acquire either from an overseas source or from a dealer. Spare parts suppliers help contribute to workshops wellbeing by providing the necessary parts at special prices pre-set for trade customers. 

In this way, business relations are encouraged so that workshops are being supplied products that they need at competitive price and the supplier is making money by selling more goods. 

   

Specialized organisations such as panel beaters, tyre specialists, and also transmission specialists can help by providing the necessary skill and work that the workshops might not be fully equipped for. 

Specialised workshops are important and necessary as general workshops are mostly only able to provide services to small problems that are common. 

The more difficult problems require very skilled labourers who have a advanced knowledge in that field which most normal workshops do not have. General workshops can get help from the nearby specialist workshops for a small fee. This way the general workshops can keep a good rapport with customers instead of sending them away to other workshops. 

There are three main categories of suppliers. These are:

• Wholesale Parts Suppliers
• Second Hand Parts Suppliers
• Specialized Services