Safe Options Before Deleting or Replacing Parts
A parts list that has grown messy over the years does not have to be deleted to be cleaned up. Deleting part files is permanent, and in most cases one of the options below gets you a clean, usable parts list while keeping the purchasing, work order and inventory history you have already built. Start with what you are trying to fix, then use the matching option.
Deleting parts is not the recommended first step. A part file can be referenced by work orders, purchase orders, receipts, inventory adjustments, part kits, requisitions, warranty records, tire records and reporting. Deleting the part file cannot be undone, and it takes the part’s vendors, cross references, notes, attachments, tags, fit codes, warranty information and any remaining on hand quantity with it.
Start With What You Are Trying to Fix
Your goal | Use this |
|---|---|
Two or more part files exist for the same physical part | Merge Parts, keeping the correct part as the “To” part |
Technicians and buyers still know a part by an old or superseded number | Add the old number as a vendor part number on the part so a search on it finds the current part |
An old part should stay on file for history but should not be reordered | Set Stocked to No on the part and leave the record in place |
A part number is changing to a vendor or manufacturer number | Renumber a Part, which keeps the part and its history |
You are adopting an approved vendor or master parts list | Review, then import the list, knowing that rows matching an existing part number update that part |
You want to wipe the parts list and start over | Contact RTA Support first; this is project work, not routine self service cleanup |
What Deleting a Part File Actually Does
Deleting a part in Fleet360 is done one part at a time, from the part record: open the part, click Manage Part, then Delete and confirm. Fleet360 warns that the deletion cannot be undone, and it means it. When a part file is deleted, Fleet360 also removes the records that hang off that part, including:
Its vendor records and the cross reference entries built from their vendor part numbers
Part notes and attachments
Part tags, fit codes and part kit membership
Warranty information and open requisitions for the part
Any quantity still on hand, which is written off as a Deleted part adjustment at the part’s current cost
Existing work order, purchase order and adjustment transactions stay on file until they are purged, so history does not disappear from those records. What disappears is the part file those transactions point to, along with everything above, which is why a delete is difficult to reverse and why a cleanup done by deletion is usually more work than the alternatives.
Fleet360 has no bulk or range delete for parts, and no “delete every part” option. Deleting a long list of parts means deleting them one at a time.
Do not use RTA Classic utilities to bulk delete parts. Older Classic programs that delete a range of parts, such as a delete by bin range utility, are not a Fleet360 self service cleanup path and should not be used to clean up a Fleet360 parts list. Fleet360 is the system of record. If you believe a large scale deletion is genuinely required, have RTA Support review it first, because inventory, purchase orders, work orders, warranty records and reporting are all affected.
If You Have Duplicate Parts
Use Merge Parts instead of deleting one of the duplicates. A merge moves the history from the duplicate (“From”) part into the part you want to keep (“To”), then deletes the duplicate, so you end up with one part file that still has all of the purchasing and usage history behind it.
A merge moves, among other records:
Purchase order lines and purchase order receipts
Work order part transactions and estimate transactions
Warranty information, warranty transactions and warranty claims
Requisitions, part requests and reservations
Inventory adjustments and inventory counts
Fit codes, part tags, catalogs, part kit components and attachments
Tire records and vehicle part records
On hand quantities from both parts are added together on the part you keep, so check the stock areas afterwards. Choose the “To” part carefully: it is the record that survives, and the “From” part is deleted at the end of the merge. Merging requires both the Update Part and Delete Part permissions, and it is not available for part kits.
Two places do the same merge: Manage Part on the part record, and the Parts Merge utility under Part Management → Settings. See Merge Parts.
If Old Part Numbers Should Still Find the Current Part
You do not need to keep an obsolete part file alive just so people can find a part by its old number. Add the old, superseded or vendor number to the part you are keeping as a vendor part number on the part’s Vendor tab. Fleet360 part searches match vendor part numbers as well as the part number and description, so typing the old number in the parts search, or in the part lookup when posting to a work order, finds the current part. In the work order part lookup a match on a vendor number is shown as Alt: followed by that number.
A vendor part number can only be in use by one part in a facility. If you enter a number that is already on another part, Fleet360 rejects it, which is usually a sign that the two parts are duplicates and should be merged.
Fleet360 does not have a separate cross reference screen for parts. The cross reference file is maintained from the vendor part numbers you enter on the part, so the Vendor tab is where this work is done.
If Old Parts Should Stay for History but Not Be Used Going Forward
Set Stocked to No on the part instead of deleting it. The part file, its costs and its history stay exactly where they are, and the part stops being suggested for replenishment: Stock Needed is built from stocked parts, so a part that is not stocked only shows up there when somebody deliberately requisitions it.
Fleet360 does not have an inactive or archived status for a part file. Stocked = No, together with the part no longer appearing on your reorder list, is the supported way to retire a part while keeping its history. If you also want the part to be harder to pick by accident, keeping the description accurate (for example, prefixing it with the word OBSOLETE) helps people searching the parts list.
If a Part Number Is Changing
When a manufacturer or vendor changes a part number, renumber the part rather than creating a new part and deleting the old one. Manage Part → Renumber changes the number on the existing part file and carries it through to the records that reference it, including requisitions, history and purchase orders, with an option to renumber the vendor part number to match. Nothing is deleted and no history is orphaned. See Renumber a Part.
If You Are Adopting a Vendor or Master Parts List
Importing an approved list is a reasonable way to standardize, but review the file before you import it, because the parts import both creates and updates:
A row whose Facility and Part Number match an existing part updates that part with the values in the row
A row that does not match an existing part creates a new part
There is no create only mode, so anything you leave in the file for an existing part number overwrites what is on that part today, and stock area quantities on an update are applied as inventory adjustments. Import a small test file first, confirm the results on a few parts, and only then import the full list. See Imports - Parts Import Information.
Importing the new list does not remove the old parts. Once the approved list is in place, clean up what is left over with the options above: merge true duplicates, add old numbers as vendor part numbers, and set parts you no longer stock to Stocked = No.
If You Truly Need to Start Over
Emptying a parts list, or resetting a test or training environment, is not routine self service work. Contact RTA Support and describe what you are trying to end up with. Support can review what the parts are attached to and advise on the safest approach, and a full reset is handled as a project rather than by deleting parts one at a time or by running Classic utilities.
Ahead of that conversation it helps to know:
Whether work order, purchase order and inventory history has to be preserved
Whether open purchase orders, requisitions or work orders still reference the parts
Whether the parts are used in part kits, warranty tracking or tire records
Whether other facilities share the same part numbers
Recovering a Part Deleted in Error
There is no undo for a deleted part. To put the part back, add it again using the same part number, then rebuild its vendors, price and on hand quantity; once the number exists again, usage and purchase transactions that reference it line up with the new record. The standard Part Adjustments report includes deletions, with the quantity and price at the time of the delete, which is what you need to rebuild the part. See Deleting a Part File.