Five free practice questions on warehousing, inventory, shipping and receiving: block D of the Red Seal 240P Parts Technician exam, about 30 of its 120 questions. They are in the exam's format: four options, one correct answer. Answer each one before opening the explanation. No account, no email.
01The questions
-
A dealership receives 24 bottles of brake fluid while six older bottles remain in the shelf location. How are the new bottles shelved?
- Behind the six older bottles, which are moved to the front.
- In front of the six older bottles, where they are easy to reach.
- Mixed in with the older bottles in no set order.
- On top of the older bottles as a second layer.
Show the answer
A. Correct. First in, first out: the older bottles come forward and the new stock goes behind them, so the next sale takes the oldest bottle and nothing sits until it ages.
Why not the others
B. New stock in front is sold first and the older bottles drift to the back, where they age; that is the opposite of first in, first out.
C. Mixing lots means sales pick at random, so some bottles sit far longer than others. Rotation needs an order: oldest in front.
D. Stacking new bottles on top makes them the first picked and buries the older stock, and the bottom layer can be crushed. Older forward, new behind.
-
A truck dealer receives 60 air dryer cartridges. Policy: fill the primary bin first, then the forward-pick location, then put the rest in overstock. The primary bin holds 24 and has 9; the forward-pick location holds 36 and has 20. How many cartridges go to overstock?
- 9 cartridges
- 20 cartridges
- 29 cartridges
- 45 cartridges
Show the answer
C. Correct. Primary bin: 24 − 9 = 15 fit. Forward-pick location: 36 − 20 = 16 fit. Overstock: 60 − 15 − 16 = 29 cartridges, recorded in the system at the overstock location.
Why not the others
A. This fills the primary bin (24 − 9 = 15) but treats the forward-pick location as empty: 60 − 15 − 36 = 9. It already holds 20, so only 16 fit there.
B. This treats the primary bin as empty (24 spaces) while counting the forward-pick space correctly: 60 − 24 − 16 = 20. The bin already holds 9, so only 15 fit.
D. This fills the primary bin (60 − 15 = 45) and skips the forward-pick location, which still has room for 16. Policy fills it before overstock: 60 − 15 − 16 = 29.
-
A heavy-equipment dealer's reman supplier credits hydraulic pump cores only if the housing is unbroken and the unit is complete and not disassembled. A customer brings back a pump core with a crack through its mounting flange. What does the parts technician do?
- Decline the core credit and show the customer the crack.
- Credit the core and let the supplier's inspection decide.
- Credit half the core charge as a goodwill compromise.
- Tag the core as a warranty return for a supplier claim.
Show the answer
A. Correct. Under the supplier's stated policy a cracked housing is not eligible, so the core charge stays on the invoice. Showing the customer the crack while they are at the counter settles it before any credit is issued, and the store does not pay out a credit the supplier will not repay.
Why not the others
B. Crediting first hands the decision to the supplier, which will reject a cracked housing under its own stated policy; the store has then refunded a core charge it cannot recover. Core eligibility is assessed by inspecting the core at the counter.
C. The supplier's policy has no partial credit for a broken housing, so a half credit is a store loss with no basis in the core program. A goodwill adjustment is a manager's decision, not the way to settle a core that fails inspection.
D. A core is the customer's old unit traded against the core charge, not a part the store sold that failed within its coverage. A warranty claim does not apply, and under this policy the cracked core earns no credit.
-
A supplier bulletin says fuel filter number A is replaced by number B and that stock of A may be sold until it runs out. What does the parts technician do with A's stocking levels?
- Raise A's max to stock up before the number is gone.
- Return all stock of A to the supplier for credit.
- Keep A's min and max and add B at the same levels.
- Set A's min and max to zero so the stock sells down.
Show the answer
D. Correct. With A's min and max at zero the system stops reordering A while the remaining stock sells, and B is set up to carry the demand as A runs out. That phases A out without leaving a shelf of an old number behind.
Why not the others
A. Buying more of a number that is being replaced builds stock that gets harder to sell once customers and catalogues move to B. A is sold down, not built up.
B. The bulletin allows A to be sold until it runs out and offers no return, so a return may be refused or charged a restocking fee. Selling A down is the plan the bulletin sets.
C. Keeping A's levels keeps reordering a number being phased out, so the store ends up stocking two numbers for one demand. A is set to stop reordering while B is set up.
-
An agricultural dealer receives a hydraulic cylinder that does not match the PO: the supplier picked the wrong part number. What does the parts technician do first?
- Ship it back at once with a copy of the packing slip.
- Get an RGA number from the supplier for the return.
- Receive it into stock and order the right one on a new PO.
- Hand it to the supplier's next driver with a return note.
Show the answer
B. Correct. The supplier issues an RGA (return goods authorization) number before it will accept a return, and the number goes on the carton and the return paperwork so the supplier's receiver can match it to a credit. Then the correct cylinder is requested.
Why not the others
A. Without an RGA number the supplier's receiving dock has no record that a return is expected; the carton can be refused or sit unmatched, and the credit is delayed. Get the RGA number first.
C. Receiving a part that was never ordered puts unwanted stock on the books and leaves the supplier's error uncorrected. Ask the supplier for an RGA so the wrong cylinder goes back for credit.
D. A note is not a return authorization: the supplier's warehouse cannot match the cylinder to a credit, and it may go astray. The RGA number is obtained first and attached to the return.
02Answer key
| Question | Answer | Sub-task |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | A | Rotates inventory |
| Q2 | C | Places inventory in designated location |
| Q3 | A | Manages core and warranty inventory |
| Q4 | D | Maintains inventory levels |
| Q5 | B | Resolves order discrepancies |
03What block D covers
The warehouse side of the trade: storage layout and bin locations, sensitive and dangerous goods, stock rotation, put-away and overstock, cores and warranty returns, recalls, min and max levels, physical counts, and shipping and receiving, from checking a delivery against the bill of lading and packing slip to resolving shortages and wrong parts.
The Red Seal Occupational Standard names this block “Performs warehousing and inventory”. It carries 25% of the exam, about 30 of the 120 questions, split across three tasks. The share column is each task's weight within the block, as the standard publishes it.
| Task and its sub-tasks | Share of block |
|---|---|
| Handles parts and materials Maintains storage design layout; Handles sensitive products; Rotates inventory; Places inventory in designated location | 39% |
| Performs inventory control Manages core and warranty inventory; Handles parts inventory recalls; Maintains inventory levels; Participates in periodic physical inventory control | 35% |
| Performs shipping and receiving duties Verifies estimated time of arrival (ETA); Receives incoming shipment; Resolves order discrepancies; Prepares for shipment | 26% |
04What the questions turn on
Oldest stock to the front
First in, first out puts the older stock forward and new stock behind it, so nothing sits long enough to expire, deteriorate or be left behind when demand moves on.
Every location lives in the system
Fill locations in the order policy sets and put the rest in a recorded overstock location. A shelf spot exists for pick tickets, put-away and counts only once the system links it to the part number.
Cores are credited on condition
A core charge is credited when the old unit comes back complete and rebuildable. A core the supplier's policy rules out, such as a cracked housing, is declined at the counter with the reason shown.
Record discrepancies when they are found
Receive what actually arrived and report a shortage to the supplier within its stated window. A wrong part goes back only after the supplier issues a return authorization number.
05The other blocks
The 240P exam has five blocks. Each has its own page of free questions:
The 240P Parts Technician practice exam page describes the full question bank. How these questions are written and checked: how our questions are made. Found a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.