How many? How much? What part number? Cost of Goods sold? We are trying to run a business. Running business = counting every old, working, part, and parted bike part and all the new ones too. What do we have? What do we owe the IRS for the things we bought and sold this year? We are gonna find out… with this quick little massive everything in the shop from the tiny bolts, to the derailleur pieces and on to the variety of cranks, bushings, brakes, pads, wheels, tires, tubes, handlebars, grips, shifters, fixed gear cogs, lights, blinkers, and colorful cables.
A November day is calm and leafy day to count everything. In this business, as in many businesses, margins are slim.
Idea: Time taken to identify, and catalog thousands of bike parts on site results in an ability to sell more product and reduces the Time to Return Bike.
The number 300 has been determined to be the Quantity of Items to Have Always in Stock. I guessed at the number. For peak efficiency of a small bike repair shop, the number may be 348. But that is what I am going to find out: What 300 Items are Expected to Always Be in Stock?
If 300 proves to have additional High Request Items, we can easily include them. I doubt it would be less than 300. There are lots of types of bikes out there.
If you are wondering why the non-random number 300 is the number of hopeful destiny, then I must truthfully or jokingly answer: Because of the movie. And that would lead to the next question: Why 42 Point Tune-up? Because of the book.
I am shooting for 300, but as I tally, I can see the number being able to increase to 500. If so, then there are investigations to be sleuthed.
Tangent: In the Google doc that I am using to build the Inventory List, I am having trouble printing the grid. If you know how to make the columns, rows, categories and tallies easier to read, please contact me with advice and your free t-shirt.
Problem: Quick Turn-Around is essential to engage the Efficiency Chain of the Bike Repair Business. The number one Job Stopper is: We Don’t Have that Part in Stock.
Step 1 to the Solution: In the Process of taking inventory, I am attempting to find 300 items to best be served keeping in the bike shop always.
As time turns, the selection has been better with a more experienced ad-hoc, quizzical, thinking, guessing, gambling, presupposing, anticipating game. By December 31st, 2012/January 1st, 2013, I intend to have every item categorized in the shop. I hope to pinpoint 300 to Always Have in Stock and an additional 200 covered by Recycled Parts.
More blogs to come on time and resources: Theories of Small Business Bike Repair. Next one: Theories of Bicycle Tires.
