22 Counter Operations & Inventory Practice Questions & Answers

1. 1. A parts operation's inventory turnover rate on one product line has fallen compared with last year, while sales on that line stayed flat. What does that most directly tell the store?

   • A.The line is ordered more often in smaller quantities
   • B.More money is tied up in stock than the sales require✓ Answer
   • C.The line is now sold at a lower gross margin than before
   • D.The supplier has raised the replacement cost of the line

   Turnover is cost of goods sold divided by average inventory, so with sales flat a falling turn rate can only mean average inventory has grown. That extra stock is capital sitting on the shelf, and it raises the store's exposure to obsolescence, the characteristic loss of the parts business.

   Source: ASE Parts Specialist Study Guide (P2), Inventory Management content area — inventory turnover and stocking levelsReport a problem with this question

2. 2. Parts Specialist A says a request is recorded as a lost sale only when the store does not stock the part at all. Parts Specialist B says no entry is needed when the part is bought from another supplier to fill the order. Who is right?

   • A.Parts Specialist B only
   • B.Parts Specialist A only
   • C.Neither A nor B✓ Answer
   • D.Both A and B

   A lost sale is any request that could not be filled from the store's own shelf stock, including a stocked part that was short on quantity and one filled by an outside purchase. The lost-sales record is what drives changes to stocking levels and reorder points, so an unrecorded request means the system never learns the demand existed.

   Source: ASE Parts Specialist Study Guide (P2), Inventory Management content area — recording lost sales and adjusting stocking levelsReport a problem with this question

3. 3. A store raises the minimum stocking level on a slow-moving part number. What is it trading away in return?

   • A.Delivery frequency from the supplier, in exchange for lower freight
   • B.Gross margin on each sale, in exchange for fewer stockouts
   • C.Accuracy of the bin location record, in exchange for a lower unit cost
   • D.Carrying cost and obsolescence risk, in exchange for fewer stockouts✓ Answer

   Stocking levels and reorder points balance two costs that pull in opposite directions: the lost sale and the customer who goes elsewhere on one side, and carrying cost plus the risk that a slow line dies on the shelf on the other. Deeper stock on a slow mover buys availability with obsolescence exposure, not with margin.

   Source: ASE Parts Specialist Study Guide (P2), Inventory Management content area — establishing stocking levels and reorder pointsReport a problem with this question

4. 4. Which of these is LEAST likely to turn up as unexplained shrink at the next physical inventory?

   • A.A part taken for store use and written up on a store-use ticket✓ Answer
   • B.A part handed to a technician on a promise to write the ticket later
   • C.A case of oil signed for on the packing slip but never actually delivered
   • D.A part picked for a delivery that was never added to the customer's invoice

   Shrink is stock the system says you have and the shelf does not. A store-use part that was written on a ticket has been relieved from inventory through the system, so the book and the shelf still agree. The other three all remove stock from the shelf without any matching entry, which is exactly what an unexplained variance is made of.

   Source: ASE Parts Specialist Study Guide (P2), Inventory Management and General Operations content areas — shrinkage, store-use items and loss preventionReport a problem with this question

5. 5. Why does a parts operation cycle count a rotating group of bins instead of relying only on one annual physical inventory?

   • A.Frequent counts remove the need to write store-use parts on a ticket
   • B.Counted bins can be valued at cost while uncounted bins stay at list
   • C.A rotating sample replaces the physical inventory the books require
   • D.Errors surface and get corrected near when they happen, with the store open✓ Answer

   Cycle counting checks a small rotating subset, commonly weighted so the fastest-moving items are counted most often. Because it is continuous, a receiving error or a mis-binned part is caught weeks after it happened rather than a year later, and the store never has to shut down to count.

   Source: ASE Parts Specialist Study Guide (P2), Inventory Management content area — physical inventory and cycle counting proceduresReport a problem with this question

6. 6. During a cycle count, the shelf quantity of a fast-moving part is two units below what the system shows. What should the counter person do?

   • A.Enter the system quantity so the count agrees with the book figure
   • B.Adjust the system down to the shelf quantity and move on to the next bin
   • C.Record the counted quantity and report the variance through the count process✓ Answer
   • D.Skip the bin and leave the difference for the next full physical inventory

   The count is evidence, not a correction. The counter person records what is actually on the shelf and lets the variance be researched through the store's process, because the cause matters more than the number: an unbilled pick, a receiving error or a mis-binned part each call for a different fix. Copying the system number, or quietly adjusting the system, destroys the only evidence there was a problem.

   Source: ASE Parts Specialist Study Guide (P2), Inventory Management content area — reporting and resolving inventory discrepanciesReport a problem with this question

7. 7. Why is the bin location field treated as part of the inventory record rather than as a housekeeping detail?

   • A.Bin locations set the order in which the supplier ships replenishment stock
   • B.The location field sets the cost basis the system assigns to the part
   • C.Stock that cannot be found in its recorded location is effectively out of stock✓ Answer
   • D.The location field is what the system uses to calculate the reorder point

   An on-hand quantity is only useful if the part can be produced at the counter while the customer waits. A wrong or missing location turns available stock into a lost sale and often into a duplicate order, and the same part is then counted in the wrong place at inventory time, so the location is inventory data in its own right.

   Source: ASE Parts Specialist Study Guide (P2), Inventory Management content area — stocking, bin location and shelf organizationReport a problem with this question

8. 8. Parts Specialist A says shelf stock only needs rotating during the annual physical inventory. Parts Specialist B says rotation only matters for items that carry a printed expiration date. Who is right?

   • A.Parts Specialist B only
   • B.Parts Specialist A only
   • C.Neither A nor B✓ Answer
   • D.Both A and B

   Stock is rotated when new stock arrives: the incoming cartons go behind and the oldest stock moves to the front, so the shelf empties first-in, first-out. Waiting for inventory time defeats the purpose, and plenty of shelf-sensitive goods carry no printed date at all — belts, hoses, wiper blades, batteries, adhesives and body-shop chemicals all deteriorate or fade in the package.

   Source: ASE Parts Specialist Study Guide (P2), Inventory Management content area — stock rotation and shelf-life merchandiseReport a problem with this question

9. 9. A freight delivery arrives and one carton listed on the freight bill is missing, with the driver still at the dock. What is the correct action?

   • A.Sign the delivery receipt and then telephone the supplier about the shortage
   • B.Write the shortage on the delivery receipt and have the driver initial it✓ Answer
   • C.Refuse the whole shipment and have the driver return it to the terminal
   • D.Sign for the freight and deduct the carton from the next payment due

   The signed delivery receipt is the store's statement of what actually arrived. Once it is signed clean, the carrier has written evidence that everything on the bill was delivered in good order, and a later shortage claim becomes very hard to win. Counting against the freight bill and noting the exception in the driver's presence is what preserves the claim.

   Source: ASE Parts Specialist Study Guide (P2), Inventory Management content area — verifying incoming merchandise; standard bill of lading and delivery receipt practiceReport a problem with this question

10. 10. A carton signed for two days ago is opened and the part inside is broken, although the outer box looked sound at delivery. What should the store do first?

    • A.Send the part back on the next delivery truck without telling the carrier
    • B.Discard the packaging and file the part as a warranty claim on the supplier
    • C.Put the part back on the shelf and write it off at the next physical count
    • D.Report the concealed damage to the carrier promptly and keep the packaging✓ Answer

    Damage that was not visible at delivery is a concealed damage claim, and the carrier is entitled to inspect the item in the packaging it arrived in. Prompt notice plus the retained carton and inner packing is the evidence the claim rests on; throwing the box away, or converting it into a warranty claim on a part that was never defective, forfeits the recovery.

    Source: ASE Parts Specialist Study Guide (P2), Inventory Management content area — verifying incoming merchandise and freight damage claimsReport a problem with this question

11. 11. A customer's special-order part arrives and is placed in will-call. Beyond putting it on the hold shelf, what does the counter person owe the transaction?

    • A.Tag it with the customer's name and ticket, then notify the customer it arrived✓ Answer
    • B.Leave it unmarked until the customer happens to come in and ask for it
    • C.Add it to shelf stock so the system counts it as available inventory
    • D.Refund the deposit to the customer's account and rewrite the ticket at arrival

    A will-call part is committed to one customer, so it is identified with that customer and ticket and held for the store's stated hold period, and the customer is called as soon as it lands. Merging it into shelf stock makes the system offer a part that is already sold, and an unmarked hold order is the one most likely to be sold twice or to age out unclaimed.

    Source: ASE Parts Specialist Study Guide (P2), Inventory Management content area — special orders, outside purchases and will-call handlingReport a problem with this question

12. 12. Before shipping an overstock return back to the supplier, what does the store need in hand?

    • A.A signed delivery manifest from the customer who originally bought the parts
    • B.A return authorization number issued by the supplier for that shipment✓ Answer
    • C.A credit memo from the supplier posted before the parts leave the store
    • D.A packing slip from the original receipt marked as a concealed damage claim

    A return authorization is what tells the supplier's receiving dock that the shipment is expected, which line items were approved and which account to credit. Freight sent in without one commonly arrives unidentified and is refused or set aside, and the credit the store is counting on never posts. The credit memo is the result of the return, not a prerequisite for it.

    Source: ASE Parts Specialist Study Guide (P2), Inventory Management content area — returning merchandise to suppliers and outgoing shipment documentationReport a problem with this question

13. 13. A customer brings a core back for credit. Which condition would normally make the counter person decline it?

    • A.The unit's case is cracked, so it cannot be rebuilt✓ Answer
    • B.The unit sat in the customer's trunk for several weeks
    • C.The unit is covered in grease and road dirt
    • D.The unit's paint is faded and its label unreadable

    A core is judged by whether the remanufacturer can rebuild it: the right part for the application, complete, and structurally sound. Dirt, faded paint and time on the shelf do not affect that, but a cracked or broken housing, missing components or the wrong unit do, and those are the normal grounds for declining the core credit.

    Source: ASE Parts Specialist Study Guide (P2), Inventory Management content area — core handling, inspection and acceptanceReport a problem with this question

14. 14. Why does a rebuildable part carry a separate core charge on the invoice?

    • A.It is a refundable deposit that secures the return of the rebuildable unit✓ Answer
    • B.It is a surcharge that offsets the added warranty risk on rebuilt units
    • C.It is a disposal fee that pays for scrapping the customer's worn-out unit
    • D.It is a handling fee that covers the store's cost of shipping the part

    The old unit is the raw material the remanufacturing process runs on, so the core charge is a deposit that gives the customer a reason to bring it back, and it is refunded when an acceptable core is returned. It is not revenue and not a fee: the store recovers its own deposit only by sending the core back up the supply chain within the supplier's core-return terms.

    Source: ASE Parts Specialist Study Guide (P2), General Operations and Inventory Management content areas — core charges and core returnsReport a problem with this question

15. 15. A customer returns a part claiming it failed in service. What does the counter person need to open the warranty claim?

    • A.The failed part alone, since the system already holds the sales history
    • B.Proof of purchase plus the failed part, tagged with the reported failure✓ Answer
    • C.Proof of purchase alone, with the failed part left with the customer
    • D.A new ticket written at today's price, with the original ticket voided

    A warranty claim has to prove three things to the supplier: that the part was bought here, when it was bought, and how it failed. That takes the original sales document, the failed part itself so it can be examined, and a tag describing the complaint. A warranty return is not a stock return, so it is processed against the original sale rather than restocked or rewritten at current price.

    Source: ASE Parts Specialist Study Guide (P2), General Operations and Inventory Management content areas — types of returns and warranty claim documentationReport a problem with this question

16. 16. A customer buying a case of solvent asks for the safety data sheet. What is the counter person's obligation?

    • A.Refer the customer to the manufacturer, since stores are not given the sheets
    • B.Provide the sheet, which the store keeps on hand for the products it sells✓ Answer
    • C.Provide the sheet only after the customer signs for the hazardous product
    • D.Explain that the sheets are internal records kept only for store employees

    Under the hazard communication rules the sheets travel with the chemical: the maker supplies them, the seller keeps them for the hazardous products it handles and keeps them readily accessible to employees on every shift, and a purchaser who asks is given the sheet for what they bought. Nothing about the request is unusual, and there is no signature or gatekeeping step attached to it.

    Source: OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1200 — safety data sheet availability and distributionReport a problem with this question

17. 17. A shipped container of chemical carries the signal word DANGER. Compared with a container labeled WARNING, what does that tell the counter person?

    • A.The container must be locked in a cabinet away from the sales floor
    • B.The hazard is the more severe of the two levels the label system uses✓ Answer
    • C.The product is regulated for transport while WARNING products are not
    • D.The product needs a respirator while WARNING products need only gloves

    The label system uses exactly two signal words, and DANGER marks the more severe hazard category while WARNING marks the less severe one. The signal word is a ranking, not an instruction: the required protection comes from the precautionary statements and the pictograms on the same label, and anything poured into a workplace container has to be labeled again before it leaves the counter person's hand.

    Source: OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1200 — labels, signal words and workplace container labelingReport a problem with this question

18. 18. Electrolyte from a cracked battery has run onto the stockroom floor. What does the counter person do?

    • A.Cover the spill with shop towels and set the battery on a shipping pallet
    • B.Rinse the spill toward the floor drain with plenty of running water
    • C.Put on eye and hand protection and neutralize the acid before cleaning up✓ Answer
    • D.Sweep dry absorbent over the spill and put it in the regular trash bin

    Battery electrolyte is sulfuric acid, which is why a lead-acid battery ships as a corrosive material. The sequence is protect yourself first, neutralize the acid with a base such as baking soda until it stops reacting, then pick up the residue and handle it as regulated waste. Flushing it to a drain sends a corrosive into the sewer, and dry sweeping it into the trash leaves live acid in the container.

    Source: U.S. DOT Hazardous Materials Regulations, Class 8 corrosive materials (batteries containing sulfuric acid); ASE Parts Specialist Study Guide (P2), General Operations content area — handling regulated materialsReport a problem with this question

19. 19. At a parts operation, all of the following are handled as regulated material EXCEPT:

    • A.Cardboard cartons broken down from the morning stock delivery✓ Answer
    • B.A returned air conditioning component that still holds refrigerant
    • C.Ethylene glycol antifreeze taken in from customers for recycling
    • D.Used oil collected in the store's closed and labeled used-oil container

    Cardboard is ordinary recyclable packaging. The other three carry duties that follow the material: used oil goes into a closed, labeled container and never to a drain or the ground, ethylene glycol is toxic and is collected for recycling rather than dumped, and a component holding refrigerant must have the refrigerant recovered rather than released, because venting it is prohibited.

    Source: U.S. EPA used oil management standards and Clean Air Act prohibition on venting refrigerant; ASE Parts Specialist Study Guide (P2), General Operations content area — regulated and hazardous materialsReport a problem with this question

20. 20. Which extinguisher marking and technique fit a flammable-liquid fire in a parts stockroom?

    • A.A Class C rating, discharged by sweeping across the smoke above it
    • B.A Class A rating, discharged by aiming at the top of the flames
    • C.A Class B rating, discharged by aiming at the base of the flames✓ Answer
    • D.A Class D rating, discharged in short bursts from directly overhead

    Extinguishers are classified by what is burning: Class A for ordinary combustibles, B for flammable liquids, C for energized electrical equipment, D for combustible metals and K for cooking media. The multipurpose ABC unit common in stores covers a solvent fire, and the agent has to reach the fuel surface, which is why the technique is pull, aim at the base, squeeze and sweep.

    Source: NFPA 10, Standard for Portable Fire Extinguishers — extinguisher classification by fuel type and method of useReport a problem with this question

21. 21. All of the following are correct practice when pulling stock in the warehouse EXCEPT:

    • A.Keeping the heaviest fast-moving stock on the lower shelf levels
    • B.Getting a second person to help lift a case of oil off a pallet
    • C.Climbing the shelf uprights to reach a carton on the top shelf✓ Answer
    • D.Holding a lifted carton close to the body and turning with the feet

    Shelving is built to hold stock, not people; a high carton is reached from a step stool or ladder with three points of contact and the load kept within reach. The other three are standard practice: team-lift or use a cart for heavy items, store weight low so it is not lifted overhead, and lift with the legs while keeping the load close and letting the feet, not the spine, do the turning.

    Source: ASE Parts Specialist Study Guide (P2), General Operations content area — identifying safety risks and demonstrating safe work practicesReport a problem with this question

22. 22. A wholesale customer phones in an order to be billed to the shop's open account. Which step protects both the store and the account holder?

    • A.Write the account holder's card number on the ticket for the driver to check
    • B.Deliver the parts and let the shop supply the authorizing name at month end
    • C.Charge the order to whichever account name the caller gives over the phone
    • D.Record the caller's name and the shop's purchase order number on the ticket✓ Answer

    A charge sale is only as good as the record that identifies who authorized it. Capturing the caller's name and the shop's purchase order number ties the ticket to a person and to the customer's own control system, which is what settles a disputed invoice at month end. Card numbers are never written on paper tickets, and an account is never charged on a name the caller simply asserts.

    Source: ASE Parts Specialist Study Guide (P2), General Operations content area — processing transactions, commercial account billing and security and fraud risksReport a problem with this question

Practice questions written to the ASE P2 Automobile Parts Specialist task list and standard parts-distribution practice. ASE is a mark of the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence; this site is not affiliated with or endorsed by ASE. Part numbers, prices, warranty and return terms, and vehicle-specific applications are deliberately left out because they vary by supplier and change constantly — always confirm an application in your own current catalog and your employer's policies before selling a part. About the ASE P2 test →