Have you ever wondered how other fleets handle their parts business? Recently, at the Heavy Duty Dialogue, which kicked-off the Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week, a panel of four fleet managers talked about their parts purchasing rational.
Steve Duley, vice president of purchasing for Schneider National, noted that his fleet is a global operation that spends $45 million a year in replacement parts, 64 percent of which are purchased into its inventories; the other 36 percent are purchased in conjunction with needed repairs. Of that number, 60 percent are OE replacement parts, 10 percent are purchased from warehouse distributors and the remaining 30 percent come from other sources. When asked how he chooses an OE part versus another similar part, Duley said, “We make sure the quality and the spec’ works for us. If the part meets our needs, and the price and quality are right, we buy it.”
Duley noted that 80 percent of maintenance is done in their own shops; the remaining 20 percent are emergency fixes. The parts ordering is done through the OE initially, but the fleet keeps a list of suppliers by location to ensure that it has the right parts when needed.
Sid Gooch, managing director of vehicle maintenance and support services for FedEx Express, said his company sources and contracts a number of different suppliers for its products and services. The FedEx Express Fleet employs 1,659 technicians in 673 shops and has 81 district fleet managers as well as eight regional fleet managers. Gooch said the key to managing the parts ordering portion of the business is streamlining the process by ordering parts online, using EDI, etc. The company spends just over $84 million a year in parts alone. Gooch said, “Generally, we don’t use will-fit parts, but we will look at some will-fit items like windshield wiper blades. Our practice is to test a small number for service life and quality. We also check on how we will contract to pay for them. We test them for a year before we buy.” Gooch also pointed out that he works in partnership with his vendors on warranty.
Carl M. Lyth, fleet manager for Northwest and Toledo Ohio Pepsi Americas, manages a much smaller, private fleet that has 14 fleet managers and 12,082 vehicle assets. The fleet has 49 technicians working in 15 fleet centers. He pointed out that smaller fleets must deal with the fact that not all suppliers want to supply to smaller fleet facilities, but notes that he has developed good relationships with some key suppliers. He looks for quality products at a good price, and added, “We are more comfortable with brand name parts, but we do use other parts –– and we pay attention to what the bigger fleets are doing.”
Kevin Tomlinson, director of maintenance, South Shore Transportation Co. Inc., said he buys parts from local vendors for his three shops, which have 14 service technicians servicing 200 power units and 450 trailers. He sees his fleet vehicles every day and does not keep a lot of parts in inventory, because he relies on his local preferred suppliers. He says while the price of the parts is always a factor, quality and availability is more important.