With over 30 years of experience in the automotive parts industry, Mike Kraft is a seasoned Parts Manager at Suburban Chevrolet in Minneapolis. He recounts his journey from manual parts management to overseeing a thriving department that boasts over 100 employees and more than $90 million in annual sales.

In today’s episode, Mike shares the evolution of his dealership’s parts operations, how technology has transformed his daily workflow, and the pivotal role PartsEdge plays as an “assistant manager” in the background.

Together, they dig into lessons from decades in the business, the impact of automation and expert support, and creative strategies for managing a fast-growing parts department.

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This show is powered by PartsEdge: Your go-to solution for transforming dealership parts inventory into a powerhouse of profitability. Our strategies are proven to amp up parts sales by a whopping 20%, all while cutting down on idle inventory. If you're looking to optimize your parts management, visit 🔗 www.partsedge.com

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Takeaways

1. Automate to elevate.

2. Delegate for accuracy and peace of mind.

3. Continuous improvement and collaboration is a must.

   
   

Chapters

00:00 – Mike Kraft’s backstory and evolution as a parts manager

01:05 – How PartsEdge automates daily reporting and “takes the work out of the work”

03:02 – The push to adopt PartsEdge and handling dealership growth

04:34 – Real-world impact of automation and PartsEdge support during CDK outages

06:39 – The value of delegating routine tasks for accuracy and peace of mind

08:25 – Customizing inventory sources for creative strategies

09:40 – Reflecting on the comfort blanket of having PartsEdge in the background

12:11 – Integrating with RIM and the challenges of system alignment

15:00 – Opportunities for further automation and partnership innovation

17:05 – Mike’s advice and humorous metaphor for ongoing process improvement (“bald tires”)

Kaylee Felio

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gotopartsgirl

Website: https://www.partsedge.com