Most dealers don't need much convincing to stock the parts they sell every week. Filters, belts, service kits and other fast-moving items earn their place on the shelf because they're constantly being used.
But when it comes to parts that may only be needed a handful of times a year — a specialist sensor, control module, or less commonly replaced assembly — it’s a different story. They often cost more, sell less often, and can leave cash tied up on the shelf for much longer.
From the OEM's perspective, having that part available improves the chances of completing the repair first time and keeping the sale within the dealer network. For the dealer, it means committing precious cash to inventory they may not sell for months.
Retail Inventory Management (RIM) programs are designed to help OEMs close that gap by recommending a broader, more appropriate stocking range for each dealer.
But a RIM program can only be successful if dealers trust those recommendations enough to act on them.
This is where we often see the difference between a RIM program that gains dealer adoption and one that struggles.
If you're asking a dealer to stock something they wouldn't normally carry, the recommendation needs to stand up to scrutiny.
Many traditional approaches still rely on broad stocking rules. Keep two weeks of inventory for one category. Keep a month's worth for another. The problem is that parts in the same category rarely behave the same way.
One part might sell seven or eight units almost every week. Demand is predictable, so carrying large amounts of extra stock doesn't add much value.
Another part might sell seven units one week and 25 the next. The average demand may look similar, but the variability is completely different. That changes the amount of stock needed to maintain availability.
Treating both items the same inevitably creates problems. One ends up overstocked, the other understocked.
The strongest RIM programs don't plan at category level. They plan at item level, using the actual demand behavior of each part to determine the appropriate stocking position.
The calculations behind a RIM recommendation can be highly sophisticated. But for the dealer to act on those recommendations, the experience needs to be simple.
One of the quickest ways to lose engagement is to create more work. If dealers are reviewing hundreds of recommendations every week, or approving a constant stream of small replenishment orders, the system starts to feel like an administrative burden.
In practice, many of those decisions don't need human involvement at all.
If a dealer has already agreed that a part should be stocked at a minimum level of five, asking them to approve the same replenishment decision over and over again is not a good use of their time. Routine ordering should happen automatically, with dealer intervention reserved for situations where the recommendation itself changes.
We also see dealers working within constraints that many planning systems don't always account for. They may only be able to hold a certain number of batteries or tyres for safety or storage reasons, or be contractually obliged to keep a particular part available even if it sells very infrequently.
If those realities aren't reflected in the planning rules, dealers end up making the same corrections repeatedly. Eventually they stop trusting the recommendations.
Even when dealers agree with the recommendation, there's still a financial decision to make.
They are being asked to invest in inventory that may take time to sell.
That's why buyback programmes can be so effective. They reduce the perceived risk of carrying a broader range by giving dealers confidence that qualifying inventory can be returned if demand never materializes.
And when these programs are well managed, relatively little inventory actually comes back. Daimler Truck North America, for example, reduced return rates to 1.5% of order value while increasing service levels by 32% and reducing excess dealer inventory by 15%.
The important point is that dealers don't need certainty that every part will sell. They need confidence that they're not carrying all the risk themselves.
Ultimately, all of this comes back to what happens when a customer needs a part.
If the part is already available locally, the repair moves forward, the workshop gets the equipment back into service faster, and nobody pays for emergency freight.
If it isn't available, the pressure shifts immediately to finding the quickest alternative.
That might mean sourcing from the independent aftermarket. It might mean using a competing brand's part. In some cases, the customer simply goes elsewhere.
Once that happens, both the dealer and the OEM lose the sale.
Even the best RIM program won't eliminate every stockout, which is why dealer-to-dealer collaboration remains important. If another dealer in the network already has the part on the shelf, a transfer is often the fastest way to restore availability without creating additional inventory.
In RIM, leading a horse to water is the equivalent of putting a recommendation in front of a dealer.
Whether the horse drinks and that recommendation turns into an order depends on three things: does it make sense, does it create unnecessary work, and how much risk is the dealer being asked to take on?
When those pieces come together, dealer acceptance becomes much more than a programme metric. It changes what inventory is available across the network, increases parts availability, and helps keep both repairs and parts revenue within the authorised channel.
Syncron Dealer Parts Planning is designed to help OEMs put those principles into practice — improving the quality of stocking recommendations, reducing unnecessary dealer effort, and supporting the wider processes that make it easier for dealers to carry the range the network needs.
Talk to a Syncron expert about how Dealer Parts Planning could improve dealer acceptance, availability, and genuine parts sales across your network.