Choosing Between Two Jobbers on Price and Fill Rate
You are setting up a new brake and chassis line. Jobber A quotes 8% lower cost on pads and rotors but has averaged 82% fill rate on your last 30 orders and ships from two states away. Jobber B is 8% higher but fills 96% and delivers twice daily. Your shop does about 40 brake jobs a month and cannot afford comebacks from mismatched or delayed parts. You have limited shelf space and want to keep inventory lean. The owner wants the lowest cost.
1. How do you make the case to the owner using the numbers?
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Translate fill rate into downtime. At 82% fill on 30 orders, roughly 5 orders per month arrive incomplete; at 96%, roughly 1. Each incomplete order can stall a bay or force a second sourcing call. An 8% cost saving on pads and rotors is small against the labor and goodwill cost of a delayed or wrong part. Frame it as total cost of ownership, not unit price, and propose B for high-turn brake items while keeping A for low-risk, low-turn chassis pieces where a delay is tolerable.
2. How would you split the business to satisfy both cost and service goals?
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Put fast-moving, comeback-sensitive brake pads and rotors with Jobber B for fill rate and twice-daily delivery, keeping inventory lean because replenishment is fast. Use Jobber A for slower chassis items where the 8% saving is meaningful and a longer lead time does not stall a bay. Set a fill-rate threshold and review monthly; if A's fill rate stays below target, shift more volume to B.
3. What metrics would you track to prove the decision was right?
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Track fill rate per jobber, backorders, days to receive, brake-job comebacks, and bay downtime attributable to parts. Compare gross margin dollars, not just percentage, over 60-90 days. If B's higher cost is offset by fewer delays and comebacks, the split is justified; if not, revisit.