Parts Department Shelving & Storage Systems

A dealership parts department stores a mix no single shelf handles well: thousands of small, fast-moving part numbers, boxed mid-size parts in every shape, and a long tail of bulky or awkward items such as glass, bumpers, exhaust, batteries and tires. The right parts department shelving system gives each of those groups its own storage type inside one connected layout, so the counter can find any part number in seconds and every bay holds what it was designed for.

Most of the dealer parts rooms we quote are built on Equipto V-Grip shelving, with modular drawers inside the shelving for small parts, bulk rack for cartons and long parts, and a mobile aisle or second level when floor space runs out.

Equipto credits its long position in automotive parts departments to V-Grip shelving combined with modular drawers. V-Grip uses a double-flanged upright: each flange carries a shelf from one adjoining unit only, so bays in a row share posts without loading a single flange twice. Shelves drop over corner reinforcements that seat in tapered upright slots and lock in place, with no clips or hardware.

For a parts manager that means a run of shelving can be re-slotted when a model line changes, without unloading the bays next door.

Bins are the low-cost alternative to drawers when small parts turn quickly and quantities change every week. Plastic shelf bins or hopper-front bins sit on standard shelving, so a single bay can mix bin rows with boxed parts above. Metal bin shelving with fixed compartments works well for hardware and fittings that never outgrow their slot.

The tradeoff: bins are faster to relabel and see into, while drawers hold more locations per bay and keep dust off.

Most parts departments end up with one or two aisles of steel bin shelving for the fast-turning small parts: clips, fasteners, bulbs, sensors, filters and seals. Steel units with closed sides and back keep bins from being pushed through, and complete packages ship with the shelves and bins already counted to fit.

Put the bin aisle closest to the counter. Small parts get pulled most often, so they belong nearest the parts counter. Boxed and bulk parts can sit farther back.

Mix bin sizes in one bay. Smaller bins on the upper shelves, larger hopper bins below for heavier parts.

When a parts room cannot grow, mobile aisle shelving mounts the same shelving on carriages that roll on floor rails, so only one aisle is open at a time. Equipto’s automotive literature describes mobile aisle as a way to save about half the floor space or roughly double capacity in the same footprint. Results depend on the room, the number of carriages and how often each aisle is opened.

Mobile aisle suits reserve stock, slow movers, warranty holds and tires better than the counter’s fastest movers.

The parts counter is the face of the storage system. Fast movers belong in drawers and shelving within a few steps of the counter, special-order and will-call parts need their own labeled staging, and the service drive needs a clean pass-through for technicians. Equipto service counters combine a workcenter top with modular drawer cabinets for fast-moving parts.

A dedicated counter keeps the handoff clear while drawers and shelving hold stock behind it. Shure counter example shown; Photo: Shure Manufacturing.

Parts rooms are usually built in phases: a new store, a remodel, a relocation or a single zone that has run out of room. Each one changes what the quote should include. A new room can be designed around the system; a remodel has to fit existing walls, lights, sprinklers and doors, and sometimes keep the counter open while work happens.

Rows of low and full-height shelving like these are often staged in sections so stock can move zone by zone.