Bin Inventory

A simple, no-drama guide to getting parts organized, counted, and findable.

If you’re a new powersports shop owner, parts inventory can feel like chaos disguised as cardboard boxes. One minute you’re ordering oil filters and spark plugs, the next you’re drowning in backorders, returns, “where did that go?” moments, and surprise shrinkage.

Bin inventory is how you take control. It’s not fancy. It’s just a practical system that answers three questions at all times:

What do I have?
Where is it?
How many are there?

Once you can answer those quickly, your shop gets faster, cleaner, and more profitable—and you’ll notice a lot of your daily headaches start disappearing.

What “bin inventory” means

Bin inventory is a method where every part in your shop has:

a defined storage location (a bin/shelf/drawer)
a label for that location (a bin code)
a record that links the part to that location and quantity

Instead of “somewhere in the back,” you have:
Aisle A → Shelf 2 → Bin 4 (A-02-04)

That location becomes your single source of truth. And once you’ve got a single source of truth, it becomes a lot easier to trust what your shop is telling you—whether that’s a notebook, a spreadsheet, or a full inventory system.

Why bin inventory matters in a powersports shop

Powersports parts are uniquely annoying (in a lovable way):

tons of small, easy-to-lose items (jets, clips, o-rings, fasteners)
frequent special orders
seasonal demand spikes (spring prep, off-road season, winterization)
parts that look similar but are not interchangeable

Bin inventory pays off because it reduces:

1) Lost time

Techs and counter staff waste hours per week hunting parts. Multiply that by payroll and it becomes obvious why “organized parts” isn’t just a cleanliness goal—it’s a profitability thing.

2) Double-ordering

If you can’t trust your on-hand counts, you’ll reorder “just in case.” That ties up cash that could’ve gone to tools, marketing, payroll, or just keeping the stress level down.

3) Dead stock

A good bin system makes it obvious what isn’t moving, so you can discount it, bundle it, or return it sooner.

4) Missed sales

If you can confirm you have it right now, you close more tickets at the counter and over the phone. Consistent counts also make reordering less “guessy,” which matters a lot once volume picks up.

The core components of a bin system

You only need four things to start.

1) Locations (bins)

Bins can be:

plastic totes
drawers
shelf sections
wall racks
small parts cabinets
pegboard zones (less ideal, but workable)

The rule: If it can hold a part, it can be a bin—if it can be labeled.

2) Bin labels (location codes)

Use a simple format you can scale:

[Area]-[Shelf]-[Bin]
Examples:

A-01-03 (Aisle A, Shelf 1, Bin 3)
OIL-02 (Oil wall, bin 2)
HELM-01-05 (Helmets area, shelf 1, bin 5)

Keep it consistent and boring. Boring = reliable.

3) Part numbers (and variants)

In powersports, one of the easiest ways to ruin inventory is mixing:

similar-looking parts
superseded part numbers
“universal” items that aren’t universal

Your system should track:

OEM part number (or vendor SKU)
description
brand
unit of measure (each, pair, quart, etc.)
Checkout how shopwerks does it here

A lot of shops start binning first and “system-izing” later—and that’s fine. But the more your shop grows, the more you’ll appreciate having inventory updates happen automatically as part of normal work (receiving, invoicing, returns), instead of relying on memory and end-of-week cleanup.

Final thought

Bin inventory isn’t about being a “big shop.” It’s about running a shop that doesn’t bleed time and cash through small mistakes.

Even if your not using a management system- use binning- Not shelves of categories!
And when you are ready, choose Shopwerks.