At the highest level, performance of a distribution network for service parts must be evaluated on two vital criteria: response time and accuracy. In achieving both, resource control and efficiency should include global visibility of inventory/virtual inventory, delivery of spare parts and products wherever they are needed: supply rooms and vehicles, service outlets including self-service kiosk facilities, repair facilities, drop boxes, retails branches and other warehouses. The tools for achieving these objectives should include:
Collaborative Visibility
To survive, service parts operations must collaborate across the service supply chain, from suppliers to customers using real-time information sharing from multiple sources in a single actionable environment—in reality, leverage collaborative visibility to manage the logistics’ challenges of service parts and meet customer demands.
Demand Management
A demand management system must be a powerful forecasting, requisitioning and planning tool designed to meet the supply needs of service parts operations. It must be a solution that enables management to optimize their inventory investment, achieve savings in their supply chain execution processes, and improve customer service and satisfaction. Overall, better demand forecasting has been shown to reduce the amount of inventory needed by an impressive 10%-20%, a reduction of 5%-15% in total supply chain costs, and up to a 3% increase in operating margins!
Inventory and Warehouse Management
An inventory and warehouse management system must be collaborative and scalable, a robust solution that empowers service parts logistics management to gain control over customers’ service levels, order accuracy, throughput volumes, turnaround times, as well as warehousing costs and certainly profitability.
Up-to-date Technology Platform
Analysts estimate that industrial equipment makers alone will invest some one billion dollars to overhaul warranty management and spare parts logistics. User companies must adopt a technology platform that is collaborative and scalable in this global economy, and a platform that delivers on the visual needs of today’s users in this Android’s era.
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