Spare parts storage in a repair shop: how to get organised and stop losing parts

Every repair shop has a drawer it is better not to ask about. It holds screens from who knows what, a board "from that Samsung", three identical connectors nobody remembers buying, and the part a customer has been waiting for all week — only nobody knows it is there. Parts do not get lost because of theft. They get lost because the shop has no rules about where things go and who takes what.

Below are practical rules that bring order within a week and keep it for years. None of them needs software: order on the shelf comes first, records second.

Where parts really get lost

• A part for a job sits with general stock. A screen ordered for a particular customer went into another repair because it was "the same one". The customer waits another week.
• Nobody knows what is already there. A part gets ordered, then an identical one turns up in a drawer. The money is tied up twice.
• Faulty parts are not returned. A part did not fit or turned out to be faulty, it was put aside "to send back", and the return window passed.
• Donor devices are stripped without a note. The camera was taken from a parts device, then a flex cable — and a month later nobody knows what is left in it.
• Anyone takes anything. A technician took a part "to try", it did not fit, and it is sitting on their bench. Nobody knows about it.

Rule one: parts for a job are kept apart from stock

This is the most important split in storage. Stock is parts you bought in advance, for any repair. A part for a job was ordered for a particular customer and belongs to their repair from the moment it arrives.

Keep parts for jobs separately, ideally in a box or bag marked with the job number. When a part arrives, it goes straight into a bag with the number and onto the "for jobs" shelf. They must not be used for other repairs, even if they are "the same". If you really have to — only with a note and a replacement ordered at once.

Rule two: every part has a place

Not "somewhere in the cupboard" but a specific shelf or compartment. A few simple ways to do it:

• Labelled boxes by type: "Samsung screens", "USB-C connectors", "laptop batteries". The label goes on the end of the box so it can be read without taking the box out.
• Small items in organisers with compartments: screws, flex cables, chips. Every compartment labelled.
• Anti-static bags for boards and chips, marked with what is inside and where it came from.
• One "returns" shelf for faulty parts and parts that did not fit.

It sounds trivial, but "it was around somewhere" costs the most: two identical parts bought twice, or a customer waiting for a part you already have.

Rule three: every part is recorded

A part comes in — a record: what, how many, at what price, from whom, when. A part goes out — a record: where, for which repair. Without the second record the first is of little use: you know what you bought, but not where it is.

For stock that is used little by little, recording what comes in and counting what is left once a month is enough. For expensive parts — screens, boards, batteries — record every one against a specific repair.

Ordering: one person, one list

When every technician orders parts on their own, on their phone, from memory, the same part arrives twice and the one you need never arrives at all. It is better when one person handles orders and the technicians just write down what is needed and for which repair.

• One list of requests for the whole shop: what, for which job, when it was ordered, whether it has arrived.
• Urgent and routine separately. A part for a repair a customer is waiting on is ordered at once. Restocking happens once a week, in one order: cheaper delivery and easier to negotiate on price.
• When a part arrives, mark it straight away on the request and call or email the customer. A part nobody knows has arrived is as useless as one that has not.

Once a week, go through the requests that have taken longer than usual. The supplier may have forgotten, the shipment may have gone astray — and it is better to find out yourself than from the customer.

Donor devices

Devices kept for parts are a separate category. They take up space, are hard to keep track of and quickly turn into a pile of junk. A few rules:

• every donor has a number and a tag: model, where it came from, when;
• whatever is taken from it is written on the tag or in the records: "camera — job 1245";
• every six months, a review: donors nothing has been taken from go for recycling or sale.

Faulty parts and returns

A part that did not fit or turned out to be faulty has a return window with the supplier, usually a few weeks. A part put aside "for later" almost always misses it. So:

• faulty parts go straight onto the "returns" shelf, with a note: which supplier, when it arrived, what is wrong with it;
• once a week, everything on that shelf goes back;
• a supplier whose parts are faulty more often than others’ is a reason to look for another one.

Who may take parts

In a small shop storage is open to everyone, and that is fine. Once there are more than two technicians, agree on a rule: you can take a part, but record straight away which repair it is for. "Taken to try" is a record too, and a part that did not fit goes back to its place the same day. Without that rule, stock spreads across the benches.

Expensive parts are better kept apart and handed out by one person. Not out of mistrust, but so there is always someone who knows where they are.

A stock count once a month

Once a month, count your stock and compare it with the records. For a small store that is an hour’s work. What to look for:

• parts that are on the shelf but not in the records — someone did not record a delivery;
• parts that are in the records but not on the shelf — someone did not record using them, or they are on somebody’s bench;
• parts that have not moved for six months — money lying idle. It may be worth selling or returning them.

After two or three months the discrepancies shrink noticeably: once everyone knows stock gets counted, records become more careful.

How much to keep in stock

Stock is for parts that are used often and take long to arrive: popular screens, connectors, batteries. A rule of thumb: as many as you use during the supplier’s delivery time, plus a little extra. If a part arrives in two days and you use one a week, two in stock is plenty. Anything used rarely is ordered as needed. "Just in case" stock for rare models is most often money you will not see again.

One more thing: use older parts first. Put the new batch at the back and the old one at the front. This matters most for batteries: they lose capacity on the shelf too, and a battery that sat for a year will come back under warranty a month later. Write the arrival date right on the box — then there is nothing to look up.

Records in the software

In ServiceCenterSoft the parts section records deliveries (when, what, how many, at what price and from where) and where each part went; every branch has its own stock. A parts request is linked to the job: you can see which repair it was ordered for, whether the email to the supplier went out and whether the part has arrived. More on the spare parts accounting page.

The software has no automatic stock balance, no booking of parts against a job and no barcodes: usage is recorded as text, and what is left is counted in a stock take — just as described above. For most shops that is enough, but the software will not replace a large parts store.

In short

• Parts for a job are kept apart from stock, in a bag with the job number.
• Every part has a specific place and a label.
• Deliveries and usage are recorded; expensive parts each against their own repair.
• Donors are numbered; faulty parts go back once a week.
• Took a part — recorded it; did not fit — back in its place the same day.
• Stock count once a month; anything that has not moved for six months — sell or return it.