Requesting Parts

Overview

Requesting parts is the first action you'll take in PartBay. It's how estimators, parts managers, general managers, and other location-level users submit parts from an estimate into PartBay for quoting and ordering.

This article walks through the core flow end-to-end. It's intentionally a starting point rather than an exhaustive reference — once you're comfortable with the basics, the rest of the Knowledge Base covers each step in more depth, and most users pick up the nuances as they go.

Important: Once you request parts, PartBay will automatically quote and, if everything checks out with your organization's preferences, order them. There is no secondary confirmation step — review your selections carefully before submitting.

How Parts Get Into PartBay

Parts are not automatically submitted to the marketplaces when you export an estimate from CCC or Mitchell. Instead, the exported estimate is held in PartBay until you manually release it.

This prevents unnecessary orders from being sent to the marketplaces — for example, if an estimate was exported for a total loss evaluation or for use in another software application rather than for parts ordering.

Step 1: Find the Estimate in the Activity Overview

When you land in PartBay, the first tab you'll see is the Activity Overview. This is where every EMS file pushed from CCC or Mitchell appears, almost immediately after you click EMS Export in your estimating system.

There are two key views within this tab:

• Pending — estimates that have been exported and are waiting for you to release them to the marketplaces

• Submitted — estimates that have already been sent to the marketplaces. Use this view to check your history or resend an order if needed

You can also use the All view and search by VIN to quickly locate a specific estimate regardless of its status.

Step 2: Send the Estimate to the Marketplace

Once you locate the pending estimate, click Send to Marketplace to release it. The Activity Overview will update to show the estimate as submitted.

After sending, PartBay creates a corresponding order on the Dashboard tab, which is where all live orders are tracked. You'll briefly see a Syncing Order status while PartBay sends the estimate out to the configured marketplaces and loads in all the available options. This typically takes 10–20 seconds.

Step 3: Review the Parts

Once the order appears on the Dashboard under New Order, you'll see the list of parts from your estimate. Line items that are not parts (labor, sublet, miscellaneous charges, etc.) are automatically excluded.

Before submitting, you have three options for each part:

Include

By default, all parts are included. These parts will be quoted and, if everything checks out against your organization's preferences, automatically ordered.

Exclude

Excluding a part removes it from the quoting and ordering process entirely. Use this when a part should not be quoted or purchased through PartBay. Parts without a part number in the estimate line are auto-excluded.

Flag

Flagging a part keeps it in the quoting process but holds it for manual review by a member of your Central Parts team before ordering — PartBay will not auto-order flagged parts. When you flag a part, you can enter a free-text reason or choose from a set of quick-select options for common scenarios.

Step 4: Request Parts

After you've reviewed and marked each part (included, excluded, or flagged), click Request Parts. You'll be prompted to set a few required options before the request is finalized.

Potential Total / Quote Only

Select Potential Total or Quote Only when you want to see current pricing and availability without placing any orders. PartBay will quote the parts and export the latest prices and available part types back to your estimate.

OEM Endorsement

OEM Endorsement tells PartBay to select all OEM parts and skip price matching. Only use this when it genuinely applies, such as:

• The DRP guidelines require OEM parts

• The customer specifically requested OEM parts

• The carrier has approved OEM parts

Do not select OEM Endorsement simply because you prefer OEM parts — it should be reserved for the scenarios above.

Car Status (Required)

You must indicate whether the vehicle is a Pre-Order or On-Site:

• Pre-Order — the vehicle hasn't arrived yet, so PartBay allows more leeway on delivery time in exchange for a higher margin.

• On-Site — the vehicle is at the shop and parts are needed quickly. PartBay prioritizes delivery time, which may mean accepting a lower margin to meet tighter windows.

Welded-On Rad Support / Logo Headlight & Taillight (Required)

You must indicate whether the order includes a welded-on radiator support or a headlight/taillight with a manufacturer logo. These parts must be purchased as OEM and cannot be price matched.

If you select Yes and the relevant part is not already flagged, PartBay will prompt you to exit, flag it with an appropriate note (e.g., "welded-on rad support"), and then re-submit the request.

What Happens Next

Once the request is submitted, PartBay runs the full process on its own:

1. Quotes all included parts in the marketplaces configured for your shop.

2. Selects the best parts based on your organization's preferences.

3. Orders the parts automatically (unless they're flagged or caught by a preference rule that requires review).

4. Re-keys the selected part types and prices back into your estimating system so your estimate stays in sync with what was actually ordered or quoted.

Orders and any items that require review will appear on the Dashboard for you or your designated Central Parts team member to action.