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What does a parts manager do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read

A parts manager is responsible for monitoring the inventory and stock supplies, ensuring the adequacy of materials for the smooth flow of operations. Parts managers negotiate with suppliers and third-party vendors for high-quality materials required to complete an industry's production process, such as automobile or construction businesses. They should have excellent communication and marketing skills to sell products to existing and potential customers, bringing revenues to the company to achieve its profitability goals. A parts manager also creates regular expense reports and determines the products' compatibility with customer specifications.

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Parts manager responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real parts manager resumes:

  • Manage Daihatsu and Hyundai parts line.
  • Assist the parts manager managing the Mazda portion of the parts department
  • Manage four car lines Toyota, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW.
  • Manage Nissan parts department with focus on wholesale growth and reduction of departmental overhead costs.
  • Lead the implementation of service development process improvement programs for retaining, regaining and improving CSI.
  • Manage and maintain inventory of stock parts to ensure the timely delivery of RV's to customers.
  • Used AS400 scanner gun for parts to be inventory.
  • Coordinate store set-up by integrating POS materials, merchandising and plan-o-grams.
  • Organize and control the process of ordering and inventory of Toyota parts.
  • Used ADP parts management and inventory-control software, including all price updates, and direct order entry system.
  • Learned all Microsoft programs for paperwork that need to be done, as well as ADP, Reynolds and Reynolds.
  • Handle opening and closing of store, ensure sales are up to par, schedule payroll hours and handle overall operations.
  • Verify payroll and inventory daily.
  • Leverage limited budget resources for incentives to energize retail dealership personnel for stronger engagement in promotional activities.
  • Address and collaborate with all dealership department managers to improve accessory sales strategies, penetration, and profitability.

Parts manager skills and personality traits

We calculated that 20% of Parts Managers are proficient in Customer Service, Parts Inventory, and Dealership. They’re also known for soft skills such as Management skills, Problem-solving skills, and Time-management skills.

We break down the percentage of Parts Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Customer Service, 20%

    Reduced costs and operating expenses strategically to maintain department profitability throughout the economic recession without sacrificing customer service level.

  • Parts Inventory, 12%

    Eliminated annual right offs due to inaccuracies by establishing and maintaining procedures to effectively control parts inventory.

  • Dealership, 12%

    Communicate effectively with all dealership personnel including Sales and Service Managers, Technicians, Sales Consultants and wholesale and retail customers.

  • Inventory Control, 7%

    Worked closely with distributors to insure best pricing available Purchasing, inventory control Merchandising, setting store Assist customers & service department

  • Purchase Orders, 5%

    Established proper inventory levels for 3 stores while implementing a purchase order system using business operating system.

  • Parts Sales, 4%

    Manage aftermarket parts operation maximizing return on investment driving parts sales and effective inventory and expense control.

"customer service," "parts inventory," and "dealership" are among the most common skills that parts managers use at work. You can find even more parts manager responsibilities below, including:

Problem-solving skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling parts manager duties is problem-solving skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "top executives need to identify and resolve issues within an organization." According to a parts manager resume, here's how parts managers can utilize problem-solving skills in their job responsibilities: "maintained inventory for parts/service dept's., special orders,sales, customer relations and problem resolution. "

Time-management skills. This is an important skill for parts managers to perform their duties. For an example of how parts manager responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "top executives do many tasks concurrently to ensure that their work gets done and that the organization meets its goals." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a parts manager: "collaborate with dealerships and vendors for estimated time of arrival; coordinate with body shop personnel to ensure on time repairs. ".

Communication skills. A big part of what parts managers do relies on "communication skills." You can see how essential it is to parts manager responsibilities because "top executives must be able to convey information clearly and persuasively." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical parts manager tasks: "used my communication skills to talk to clients and body shop personnel. "

Leadership skills. A commonly-found skill in parts manager job descriptions, "leadership skills" is essential to what parts managers do. Parts manager responsibilities rely on this skill because "top executives must be able to shape and direct an organization by coordinating policies, people, and resources." You can also see how parts manager duties rely on leadership skills in this resume example: "experienced in problem solving, leadership, communications, sales training, and customer relations. "

Most common parts manager skills

The three companies that hire the most parts managers are:

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Compare different parts managers

Parts manager vs. Assistant manager/manager training

An assistant manager/manager of training performs various support tasks to assist with maintaining smooth workflow operations, learning management skills along the way. They participate in setting goals and guidelines, establishing timelines and budgets, liaising with internal and external parties, delegating responsibilities among staff, and monitoring the daily operations, solving issues and concerns should there be any. They also perform clerical tasks such as organizing files, preparing and processing documents, handling calls and correspondence, and running errands as needed.

The annual salary of assistant manager/managers training is $25,024 lower than the average salary of parts managers.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between parts managers and assistant manager/managers training are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like customer service, inventory control, and customer satisfaction.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a parts manager are more likely to require skills like "parts inventory," "dealership," "purchase orders," and "parts sales." On the other hand, a job as an assistant manager/manager training requires skills like "food preparation," "basic math," "math," and "store sales." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Assistant manager/managers training tend to reach similar levels of education than parts managers. In fact, assistant manager/managers training are 2.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Parts manager vs. Assistant manager/merchandise

Assistant managers for merchandise are employees who oversee the supplies in the company's stores. They are usually employed in companies that run retail stores. Assistant managers for merchandise are responsible for their stores' supplies, stocks, and inventory. They ensure that their inventories are well-stocked. They are also responsible for approving purchase requisitions to ensure that the store never runs out of supplies. They plan for the daily needs of the store. They also prepare for high volume or peak days and anticipate the needs of the store. As such, they order enough supplies to cover for such days. They also manage store employees and ensure that they are properly trained.

Assistant manager/merchandise positions earn lower pay than parts manager roles. They earn a $2,858 lower salary than parts managers per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Parts managers and assistant managers/merchandise both require similar skills like "customer service," "inventory control," and "inventory management" to carry out their responsibilities.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that parts manager responsibilities requires skills like "parts inventory," "dealership," "purchase orders," and "parts sales." But an assistant manager/merchandise might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "sales floor," "store associates," "store sales," and "store operations."

In general, assistant managers/merchandise achieve similar levels of education than parts managers. They're 2.1% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Parts manager vs. Cosmetic counter manager

A cosmetic counter manager is responsible for overseeing a cosmetic counter's daily operations, ensuring optimal service, and ensuring client satisfaction. They set priorities and objectives, recruit and train staff, develop strategies to improve productivity, monitor operations, and maintain a high level of productivity and service. They may also participate in greeting customers and assisting them as needed. A cosmetic counter manager empowers staff to reach the daily sales targets.

On average, cosmetic counter managers earn lower salaries than parts managers, with a $20,929 difference per year.By looking over several parts managers and cosmetic counter managers resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "customer service," "inventory control," and "customer satisfaction." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from parts manager resumes include skills like "parts inventory," "dealership," "purchase orders," and "parts sales," whereas a cosmetic counter manager is more likely to list skills in "product knowledge," "basic math," "make-up," and "customer relationships. "

Most cosmetic counter managers achieve a similar degree level compared to parts managers. For example, they're 1.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Parts manager vs. Assistant manager retail

An assistant retail manager is responsible for monitoring daily store operations, managing and delegating staff's tasks, and ensuring the cleanliness and orderliness of the store's facilities. Assistant retail managers supervise the adequacy of the store's inventory, create purchase requests, and inspect store displays. They also assist customers with their inquiries and concerns, resolve complaints, and process item replacements and refunds as needed. An assistant retail manager must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in maintaining the overall store performance to reach sales goals and objectives.

Assistant managers retail average a lower salary than the annual salary of parts managers. The difference is about $27,275 per year.According to resumes from parts managers and assistant managers retail, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "customer service," "inventory control," and "customer satisfaction. "Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A parts manager uses "parts inventory," "dealership," "purchase orders," and "parts sales." Assistant managers retail are more likely to have duties that require skills in "retail management," "retail store," "grass," and "pos. "assistant managers retail enjoy the best pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $32,998. For comparison, parts managers earn the highest salary in the automotive industry.assistant managers retail reach similar levels of education compared to parts managers, in general. The difference is that they're 1.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of parts manager

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.