Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/578659
I DA U N I V E R S A L S e p te m b e r - O c to b e r 2 0 1 5 42 MANAGING YOUR CORES Developing a core management plan in your business will maximize your return rates. To build one, you must educate your staff on the value of cores, promote core acquisition, publicize core return policies and follow through with actual returns. Core return payments are made with your money; you might as well get as much back as you can. Tracking cores is as important as managing your accounts receivable and, thus, should be done on a daily basis. Schooling and educating employees on how valuable cores are is the fi rst step to building a management plan. It is best to set up and organize cores at a separate area from all other business activities, especially from your regular inventory. This then becomes your "core-bank," and you need to treat it as such. Remanufacturers like us, have to affi x a core charge to any remanufactured injector sold that can be used in remanufac- turing, and it's that initial deposit that is returned to the customer when the cores are returned. To avoid any misunderstandings, problems and loss of money, it is imperative for a remanufac- turer to have clear guidelines for core receiving, and this must be communicated to the customers ahead of time. In our case, our core policy and core return instructions are posted on our website at www.dpausa.com. In many cases, especially for overseas customers, core return is a daunting task. This is why, at Diesel Parts of America, we assist our customers with returning their cores to us, at minimal eff ort and cost. In some cases, depending on the type of the cores being returned and the customer's location, we can arrange to have the cores picked up from the customer's place of business. Some companies keep two sets of "books," with one specifi cally for the cores invoiced to a customer. However, some accounting rules and regulations by GAO shun this practice, as it may be cumbersome. The main point is this: core is an asset and must be treated as such. Some companies have core deposit A As you may recall, several months ago, Ara Mansourian, Co-President of Diesel Parts of America, contributed an article pertaining to remanufacturing, its meaning, process and benefi ts. In this article, we explore the idea of core: what it is, what it is not and how to manage it. In short, core is cash money. Yes, often it is oily, dirty, rusty and smelly, to say the least. Yet, it is, in fact, very valuable and as important as cash to a business. Mismanage your cores and you will lose money and business opportunities. The more you return, the more you earn and save, as long as it is returned within the guidelines set forth by the remanufacturer (more on this later). accounts set up for all customers. When products are purchased, the deposits are placed in each customer's account, and core returns lead to refunds out of the exact same funds. Most core refund programs work using general acquisition rates. When a customer returns the cores, a core credit or refund is issued, providing the cores pass the inspection and are deemed acceptable and rebuildable. We educate our customers, who purchase our injectors for resell, to make sure that they collect the cores from their own customers for credit; otherwise they lose out twice (once for the