Your average auto bodyshop goes through a lot of parts – that’s a given! They typically utilise a range of suppliers to secure the best price and turnaround across different components, vehicle manufacturers, and parts channels.

But for many bodyshops, this process can be fairly disjointed; they’re often required to order directly from different suppliers, via different systems and contact routes, or even over the phone.

While this practice works for many, it can make it challenging to compare costs and turnaround at-a-glance, and track & amend orders without going back to the main supplier directly.

This can quickly lead to intensive repair admin, difficulty reporting key business metrics, and time lost to switching between multiple platforms and procurement channels, or managing returns ad hoc . Critically, this challenge will only become more prominent as your business grows, and your parts turnover increases.

However – this doesn’t have to be the case. By centralising your bodyshop’s parts procurement process, you can establish a simple, consistent way to order and track parts in one place – reducing admin, improving insight, and helping you find the right supplier every time.

Here we discuss the benefits of a centralised parts procurement process, and how Onyx can help you to achieve this without investing in a dedicated ordering system…

What are the benefits of centralising parts procurement?

Centralising parts purchasing in your bodyshop can help you to maximise efficiency, reduce routine admin, and gain more insight into the performance of your key suppliers. Here are some of the key benefits of implementing a more centralised parts ordering process:

#1 – Find, compare, purchase, track, and receipt parts in one place

A truly centralised process means you’ll only have to go to one place to get the parts you need, and track and amend orders, while enabling you to compare costs and turnaround between suppliers at-a-glance.

This makes the whole parts purchasing process more straightforward, and easier for your team to manage – eliminating the need for them to switch between multiple platforms, or contact suppliers directly ad hoc.

#2 – Give your parts team more time to focus on efficiency

Unifying your parts process with a centralised solution will help to reduce administrative workload for your parts team, giving them more time to focus on finding the best parts, at the best price, and ensuring swift turnaround.

This could equate to hours of time saved per day for some teams – minimising time-consuming administrative processes like calling/emailing suppliers, switching between systems, amending orders manually, or processing returns ad-hoc.

#3 – More data to inform your parts purchasing strategy

With a centralised parts management solution, your bodyshop will gain a wealth of data to inform and enhance its purchasing strategy – thanks to all orders and performance metrics being stored in one place.

This makes it easy to identify trends in supplier performance, parts availability, and costs – and highlight areas for improvement, or indeed greater utilisation.

#4 – Reduce parts spend with at-a-glance supplier comparison

This not only makes parts ordering easier for your team, but also enhances your ability to compare costs and turnaround, and identify potential delays or shortages ahead of time.

Do I need a parts procurement system?

Centralising parts ordering in your bodyshop doesn’t necessarily mean you have to invest in a dedicated procurement system. By choosing the right Bodyshop Management System, you can ensure parts orders are integrated directly into your business-wide platform – giving you one port of call, and one version of the truth for your procurement needs.

Onyx BMS is a next-generation, end-to-end Bodyshop Management System, built by repairers, for repairers. The fully-integrated parts ordering system sits within the BMS, allowing you to compare, order, track, and receipt parts directly from the bodyshop system! Here’s how it works…

Introducing…

BMS-Integrated Parts Procurement System, by Onyx

With Onyx, there’s no need for a dedicated Parts Procurement System. All the tools you need to compare, order, and track parts from a range of suppliers are embedded directly in the BMS – facilitating truly centralised parts management:

Direct integration with parts suppliers

With its flexible API library, Onyx integrates effortlessly with your parts suppliers’ systems, allowing you to order, track, and procure parts directly within the BMS.

It also comes pre-set with a range of industry-leading suppliers of OE, aftermarket, and green parts – allowing you to broaden your search for the best option, every time.

Our development team can integrate with any suppliers or systems you already use for parts ordering, reducing cross-platform administrative tasks, and ensuring a seamless transition from your existing procurement process.

Compare, order, track, and receipt parts from the BMS

Easily view all parts required for each job assigned to your business, and place orders with a range of industry-leading suppliers directly within the BMS.

Onyx provides automatic updates on stock levels, discount opportunities, and back-order statuses, enabling you to select the best supplier for every job using real-time data.

After ordering, you can modify, monitor, and receipt orders directly from the dashboard, adding them to your inventory immediately.

Simplified multi-site parts inventory management

Explore and manage your parts inventory across any and all locations you operate, directly through the centralised BMS dashboard.

Any unused parts can be incorporated into your internal stock and earmarked for future use on compatible vehicles, reducing wastage, cutting costs, and maximising efficiency.

View parts available across all your sites and locations, and incorporate them into the procurement process to reduce duplication, and harness your internal resource more effectively.

Start Centralising Parts Procurement…

Book a Free Onyx BMS Demo!

Looking for a more streamlined, centralised way to manage your repair process from start to finish?

Introducing Onyx BMS, the next-generation Bodyshop Management System, built by repairers for repairers – to optimise performance, efficiency, and profitability across your entire business…

Onyx lets you handle everything from job booking to invoicing, including assessments, repair orders, task tracking, parts procurement, and courtesy car management – all within a single, integrated platform.

It’s fully web-based and accessible across all devices, ensuring hassle-free implementation and ease of access for your entire team.

Track productivity, monitor business performance, and dive into detailed repair metrics with customisable reports, while enhancing communication through the built-in instant messenger.

With Onyx it’s never been easier to promote maximum efficiency, and complete visibility across your repair operations – while keeping everyone in your team in the loop.

Discover a quicker, smarter bodyshop management process; enhance efficiency, insight, and profitability for your business: