Buy Auto Parts revs up reverse logistics operations

The challenge

Buy Auto Parts is one of the US's leading e-commerce and wholesale auto parts companies and needed its warehouse to keep up with customers' ever-increasing delivery demands, such as next-day shipping. With aggressive offers such as free shipping on orders of more than $99 and matching competitor prices, the auto parts supplier and distributor had little room for error.

The solution

Buy Auto Parts invested in SnapFulfil's cloud-based warehouse management system (WMS) to optimize inventory, space and resources within its fulfillment center. Although it considered other vendors, it chose SnapFulfil, in part, because of its cost-effective monthly pricing structure.

Unlike traditional retailers, Buy Auto Parts has an unusual peak season: the summer. Because most people wait as long as possible to replace car parts such as air conditioning, summer months are anything but a vacation for the company.

Because Buy Auto Parts carries bulkier inventory such as radiators, air conditioning compressors and wheel hub assemblies, it doesn't store large amounts of stock for certain parts. And when the same item is housed in different areas of the warehouse, the WMS picks from the lowest inventory level to the highest, so managers can better monitor inventory levels.

The benefits

Buy Auto Parts has seen significant results since adopting SnapFulfil's best-of-breed cloud WMS. In fact, efficiency-driving picks per hour have increased more than 50 percent since implementation. Additionally, the WMS allows Buy Auto Parts to prioritize orders, such as next-day air, international or urgent orders, allowing the company to better organize its packers and shippers, and fulfill critical orders quicker.

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