Parts Pro

Central Yamaha
7000 Ave K, Plano, Texas 75074
972/423-4089; Fax 972/423-2204
www.centralyamaha.com.
The Store
Family started business 17 years ago. Central Yamaha, in its current location for four years, is a sister dealership to Central Polaris/KTM of McKinney, Texas. 20,000 sq. ft.; 17 employees. Exclusive Yamaha dealership — motorcycles, ATVs and personal watercraft.
Parts Manager
Dan Walters, son of owners Dave and Linda Walters, is Parts and Accessories Manager. Walters worked in Parts since graduating from high school in 1989. Covered a variety of position before becoming manager.
Parts Department
2100 sq. ft. for hard parts; another 2000 sq. ft. devoted to apparel and accessories. Four employees. Parts sales represent about 15% of the dealership’s total volume.
The Job
“My responsibilites include determining which product lines to stock, preparing orders, supervising employees, meeting with vendors, and coordinating parts and accessories needs with service and sales,” Walters says. “We place stock orders weekly, with larger vendor orders done computer to computer and smaller orders done via telephone.”
Distributors
Central Yamaha’s primary distributors are Parts Unlimited and Tucker Rocky. “Parts has more variety, but Tucker has better pricing and more liberal return policies,” Walters says. The most sought after product at Central Yamaha is off-road apparel — “Dirt is always strong,” Walters said, “but our cruiser market has increased probably tenfold.”
Layout
Parts counter is in the center, rear of the store and forces customers to walk through new products and accessory displays. “We’re one of the Yamaha Pilot stores and were designed by Retail Design Associates,” Walters said. Central used professional assistance to lay out its accessory sections and the dealership’s Floor Manager maintains them.
Product Management
Central Yamaha uses the Comptron Parts and Accessory system to order, track and sell parts and accessories. Orders are generated based upon usage and preset stocking levels. “We couldn’t handle the volume we do without extensive computerization,” Walters says.
Biggest Challenge
“Our biggest challenge is to continue to grow our volume and increase gross profits,” Walters says. “Meeting order deadlines is also a challenge, as we want to get as much ordered as possible before our vendors’ cut-off in order to give the best service to our customers.”