Automotive Parts Operations: a Study of Best Practices

The New York City Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the city’s chief financial agency, organized as part of the Mayor’s office. New York City operates the largest municipal fleet in the United States, including police cars, fire engines, sanitation waste units, forestry bucket trucks, street paving units, and other equipment. The City employs two management models to procure, deliver, and inventory automotive parts: the in-house parts operations model and the outsourced parts operations model provided by Genuine Parts Company (GPC). OMB engaged the Capstone team to review the city’s management of automotive parts, with the objective of achieving operational efficiencies to reduce the number of unused parts located at in-house facilities, improve parts delivery times, yield lower vehicle out-of-service rates, and save money. The Capstone team compared the internal management operations to the GPC-managed model, and produced a report containing best practices and recommended operations strategies and finance models.