Unique Times Call for Unique Measures
The supply chain issues affecting businesses today are far more complicated than just “there’s a bunch of boats sitting off the coast of California.”
Even if we adhere to “buy local” initiatives as a method of solving the problem, the reality is that very little is truly fully manufactured in one place. There are imported parts or components that go into the larger product – be it a bulldozer, a farm tractor or a skid steer – and the supply chain issues we’re currently facing have blocked the delivery of new, locally manufactured goods as well.
How does this affect equipment fleets? Supply chain constraints for parts and machines require fleets to extend equipment ownership time, thus increasing the average age of their fleets. As equipment ages, and those lifespans extended, more parts inventory and availability will be required to keep that equipment running.
Parts availability has a major impact on equipment uptime and a fleet’s ability to be productive and profitable, whether it’s regular preventive maintenance or extending the life of an older asset.
Business owners and fleet managers have two approaches to getting ahead of parts availability issues and minimizing future downtime:
- Proactively order a larger stock of parts/components to have on hand
- Become more intelligent/resourceful in how parts are procured
How SmartEquip Helps Solve Supply Chain Issues
Here at SmartEquip, we’re helping accomplish this in a few ways.
We understand that keeping large stocks of parts and components on hand is extremely costly. That’s the beauty of SmartEquip Procurement: equipment owners can search across their network of suppliers on one screen, in one system, as opposed to requiring their technicians or fleet managers to go from one source to another with different phone calls, account logins, etc. It’s a one-stop shop. This saves large amounts of [costly] time.
SmartEquip Procurement also solves for parts “supersession” — hwere parts change ID numbers, even if they themselves have not necessarily changed. This has made it harder for fleet managers and dealer service departments, even when they might actually have the same part in stock under a different name, or another branch nearby may have it. We’re able to connect those dots for equipment owners and help get that service done more efficiently, or get a down asset up and running faster.
In this world of parts shortages and extended lead times, how can your business be more intelligent in ordering parts ahead of time while also being sure time or money is not wasted? Build out predictive schedules based on your own experience – but that involves a lot of time, paperwork review and effort.
Heavy equipment owners who have SmartEquip Procurement can create a historic view of each specific machine — i.e. by associating individual historic parts consumption levels to particular machine models, owners have the ability to predict future consumption and plan inventory accordingly.
There’s no silver bullet to solve the supply chain issues the construction industry faces today, but we surely can put a dent in it and help you get ahead. Be smart. Be proactive. Schedule a demo of SmartEquip Procurement today and let us show you how.
Dr. Alexander A. Schuessler is the founder of SmartEquip and president of its International Group. He is also a member of the technology committee of the European Rental Association.
