Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/772176
commercial carrier journal | january 2017 53 EQUIPMENT: PARTS MANAGEMENT ply line that keeps parts on the shelves so that technicians can install them quickly on trucks, even those that may be hundreds of miles from the fleet's main office. "You definitely want somebody with a footprint that can cover your range," says Kristen Phipps, HDA Truck Pride direc- tor of marketing. "I think you want to find somebody with reputable brands." Livingston agrees, adding that the reputation of the brands that suppliers stock will become an extension of the fleet's reputation. "You've got to associate yourself with suppliers who have a reputation for quality," he says. "You are going to be tied to that brand you represent. What people really want is a quality product, because it's their integrity on the line." Whether it's a small fleet in a local market, a big regional hauler or a giant national fleet, the prevailing trend is pur- chasing quality products with whatever budget is available, Pennig says. "Brand equity is first and foremost," he says. A distributor's footprint and its abil- ity to cover a fleet's maintenance loca- tions would be a close second, "Prefer- ably, they would be a sizable channel with enough distribution to leverage their buying position," Pennig says. Aside from getting quality replace- ment parts, search for a supplier that is willing to do its homework on a fleet, Phipps says. "When you take on fleet business, you want to understand the composi- tion of the [trucks] so you're stocking parts that match the fleet and [the part] is there," she says. Pennig says knowledgeable and savvy parts sales staff should do more than just take orders. A good sales partner can diagnose a fleet's needs as good as its technicians and oen make recom- mendations and spot inefficiencies that can save it time and money. "ey may see that you're using one part, but recommend another," he says. "It may cost more upfront, but based on what they know about your business, maybe it offers more uptime, which actually saves you money in the end." If a supplier has the parts to supply a fleet's needs now, it's just as critical it is able and willing to keep up with new technologies as they become available, Livingston says. "If all you want to sell is drums and friction, you're going to miss the world when the world turns to air disc brakes," he says. "Fleets need to be with [suppliers] that are going to evolve with technologies as they are emerging." A fully staffed service bay is of no benefit if it takes days or weeks to find needed parts, making their availability vital. Remanufactured parts Having gone through a remanufacturing process, these parts largely are considered the best among the "like- new" options. In most cases, OEM designs dictate the reman process. "Reman parts have tighter tolerances and offer OE form, fit and function," Phipps says. During the remanufacturing process, parts are disas - sembled and brought back to a standard when the part originally was put into production. "A lot of components are replaced to get it back to a 'like-new' state," Livingston says. "With reman, you im- prove your chances of uptime." Pennig says at Vipar's brake remanufacturing plants in Utah and Indiana, the company's production-quality processes and procedures are state of the art. "[Brake shoes] are remanufactured using industry- leading brands and processes, including coining that en - sures the shoe's geometry meets originally engineered specifica tions as when we're done with it," he says. " They may use the bones if they are good, but the ancillary parts that go into that product are new parts." Assumed costs vs. real costs While recycled parts may be the cheapest option at the cash register, there often is a big difference in compo - nent cost and its cost of ownership. Replacing a cheaper recycled part three times that would have lasted three times longer if it were remanufactured actually costs more than it saved. "Most of the money in a repair sometimes is not the part," Livingston says. "It's the labor hours that you put in to do a repair. You can't just look at the price of the part. You also must look at what it's going to be for your labor." In making the decision on which way to go, it's impor - tant to lean on trusted sources. "Quality goes back to who you're buying it from," Phipps says. "If you've got a good line on a good supplier or good rebuilder, that is where you put your faith – in that operation." – Jason Cannon