Between parts shortages, rising repair expectations, and growing backlogs, service departments today are being asked to do more with less. Time is a premium commodity, and every minute a technician spends walking to the parts counter is one they aren’t using to turn a wrench. According to the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), the service and parts department generates almost 50 percent of a dealership’s gross profits. Delays in service operations can significantly impact this critical revenue stream. Dealerships have long explored ways to tighten up these inefficiencies, but one of the newest tools in that toolbox looks like something straight out of The Jetsons.
Automated
parts-running robots can be used in your service department to help speed up workflows and keep techs focused on the jobs they’re trained to do. They might look futuristic, but their goal is simple: deliver the right parts to the right place at the right time and free up your team to do what they do best.
A Day in the Shop: Robots in Action
Picture a typical morning with five active repair orders in the shop: a brake job, a transmission service, a diagnostic ticket, a recall, and an LOF with a tire rotation. In a traditional setup, techs step away from their bays again and again to grab rotors and pads, filters and fluids, gaskets and seals, sensors, small hardware… the list goes on and on. Each trip breaks concentration, stretches cycle times, and stacks up delays across the board.
Now run the same five jobs with a parts-running robot in the mix. Techs stay in their bays while the robot queues and delivers what’s needed to each job: pads and rotors to bay 3, filters and ATF to bay 6, a seal kit and fasteners to bay 1, recall parts to bay 4, and lugs and a balance weight pack to bay 7. Zero trips to the parts counter. The work keeps moving, jobs finish sooner, and the shop gets more done without adding staff.
A Complement to Your Team
If you already have human parts runners, a robot lets you repurpose those team members to higher-value work rather than duplicating simple deliveries. Here are a few high-value tasks to shift their focus to:
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Verify bin locations and correct labels
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Receive and barcode incoming stock
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Scan and index paper ROs or prep warranty packets
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Stage job kits for the next day and process core returns
These tasks protect accuracy, speed up administrative workflows, and support better decision-making.
Put simply, robots handle routine runs so your people can focus on the work that benefits most from their judgment and experience. The result is a cleaner inventory picture, fewer bottlenecks, and more time for customer-facing support where it matters.
A Bright Future
Embracing robotic technology is a major step toward modernizing the service department. With parts-running robots, dealerships can significantly cut technician downtime, streamline operations, and improve efficiency. Plus, let’s face it: adding robots to your team brings a futuristic “cool factor” that could set your dealership apart as an innovator in the industry.
