Inventory Management for Motorcycle Suppliers
A reliable motorcycle supplier uses high-quality tools and equipment for every step of the manufacturing process. This ensures that the motorbike is durable and safe to drive for its users.
Several of Janus’s core components are produced in-house or by a handful of Amish suppliers operating within five miles of the Goshen headquarters. These suppliers work out of barns and other farm buildings.
Parts and accessories
Bike parts and accessories are essential to keeping your ride running smoothly. They also allow you to customize your motorcycle’s look and feel. From handlebars to brake levers, there are endless possibilities. You can also add performance upgrades that increase power.
Many bike owners prefer to purchase OEM parts because they believe it maintains the value of their bikes and is safe to use. These original parts are tested by the manufacturer and offer a warranty.
However, some aftermarket parts are fakes and motorcycle supplier don’t fit properly. To identify counterfeit parts, compare their weights to authentic pieces and inspect them for sloppy workmanship. Also, consider whether a supplier has climate-controlled warehouses and a good return policy.
Inventory management
Whether your bike business sells aftermarket motorcycle parts, repairs bikes, or assembles kits for customers, you need an inventory management solution that increases warehouse efficiency and grows with your business. Acctivate delivers powerful bike parts inventory management features, including barcoding, omni-channel ordering, landed cost, service management and more.
VMI involves close collaboration and communication between the supplier and customer. It requires a defined relationship, agreed-upon replenishment levels and frequency, and clear data exchange methods such as electronic data interchange (EDI), radiofrequency identification, or barcode scanning.
Cycle counts and spot checks are also helpful tools for finding and remedying small inventory inaccuracies. This reduces inventory costs and helps improve cash flow.
Inventory on-hand
Inventory on-hand is a numeric value of the stock in your warehouse. This includes finished goods and raw materials that go into a product, such as work-in-progress or WIPs. It can also include the total amount of inventory reserved across Acctivate for various open transactions, such as sales orders or assembly orders.
The On-hand list page is assembled from a detailed on-hand inventory table that includes all available dimensions. However, the filters that you define in the Filters pane apply to this source table and might cause it to aggregate different values into the list that appears on this page.
Forecasted inventory is a future stock availability estimate based on current demand and historical performance. It is important to record accurate forecasted inventory levels in order to avoid reordering or delivering products that are not currently available.
Inventory control
Whether you sell motorcycle parts, build bikes or provide service, you need to manage your inventory accurately. If you do not, you will run out of stock and lose sales. To prevent this, you must use the right tools for inventory management.
Acctivate simplifies motorcycle warehouse management with a powerful barcoding system, omni-channel order management, manufacturing, landed cost, tracking and service management. Its bi-directional synchronization with QuickBooks boosts warehouse operations by eliminating manual entry and providing accurate data across all channels.
Track bike fabrication from the molding to the paint job with Commander. It also supports reconditioning and will mark up a bike as sold or trade in for you automatically.
Inventory optimization
Keeping your inventory in balance with demand can help you reduce costs, improve customer satisfaction, and deliver more accurate forecasting. However, achieving this goal requires effective inventory control techniques and strategies.
Using a warehouse management system with reorder points, cycle counts, multiple product IDs, and bi-directional integration to QuickBooks will help boost inventory management operations. This software makes it easier to keep track of inventory and reduce errors, such as stocking, ordering, storage, or theft losses.
Fixed stock is the stock that you can’t tinker with, and strategic stock is what you can control. Safety stock and batch size are the two categories that you can fine-tune to optimize your inventory.
Fitment filters
Air filters are a crucial part of a motorcycle’s performance and should be replaced regularly. They act as a gateway between the fresh oxygen your engine needs to burn fuel and the dirty air it breathes, which could damage the bike’s internals.
Most smaller motorcycles use pod type filters that can be easily removed and replaced. Larger bikes house their filters in a sealed air box under the fuel tank or somewhere around the frame.
K&N and BMC are two well-known brands that offer high-quality filters designed to improve a motorcycle’s performance. Some of these filters are pre-oiled, which helps to ensure they are ready to use right out of the box.
Counterfeit parts
Whether you’re shopping online or at your local dealer, counterfeit parts are becoming more and more common. They can be nearly indistinguishable from genuine products and can pass initial quality checks, but motorcycle supplier they’re not designed for real-world use and will eventually wear out or fail.
Fortunately, there are ways to avoid them. First, look for franchised distributors that receive products directly from the manufacturer and can offer guarantees against counterfeit parts.
You should also check the packaging for holograms and digital fingerprints. In addition, if a part seems suspicious, assess it under an optical microscope for sanding marks or altered features that are giveaways of counterfeit parts. DENSO’s Counterfeit Parts Prevention Policy includes detailed instructions on the identification of counterfeit parts.
Competition
The Motorcycle industry produces a wide range of two-wheeled rides. These vehicles are primarily used for recreation and exercise, making them discretionary purchases for most consumers. Revenues in the industry have recovered after dropping during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the industry remains highly competitive.
Customers choose their favorite dealer for parts and service based on price, quality, and convenience. For example, they may prefer a dealer that provides free delivery or offers a discount on certain products.
The motorcycle business faces significant competition from local and international competitors. This forces the company to innovate its product offerings and create unique selling propositions. In addition, the company must consider the competition’s bargaining power and switching costs.