Saving the Day

Choosing a quality independent parts supplier can really save the day when equipment fails. It can also save your facility a lot of money.


"We generally are 65% to 85% off the OEM list cost. We are very competitive in pricing. If we have it in-house, we will meet or beat our competitors' price," said Mary Lampley, Vice President, J&M Trading, Inc., Goodlettsville, Tenn. The town is perhaps the nation's medical equipment parts capital, with several DOTmed user parts specialists located there. Most of J&M's orders are filled from the company's large inventory, although they do source parts when needed.

"If it's something difficult to find, we don't have any problem reaching out to our contacts to find that part," Lampley said. Despite the costs and overhead of the inventory, parts are still cheaper from a company with a large warehouse than from brokers who don't stock or own parts, she indicated.

"We don't have to mark-up the part 10% to 20%. We simply have a percentage we consider for warehouse costs-employees, inventory, packaging-and we don't have a markup because we have those tested parts in house. It saves a whole lot of money," she said.

Lampley's reported discount closely reflects DOTmed.com's overall user base. A recent survey conducted by DOTmed shows that aftermarket parts companies can cut 30% to 85% from OEM parts prices.

The other half of the value equation requires that you find a quality part.
"There are a lot of players out there, but only a few select quality suppliers. What distinguishes the good ones is their ability to thoroughly test parts," said Matthew Charkhkar, President, Harmony Medical Solutions. "In addition to testing, the company must have an infrastructure to handle and support sensitive circuit boards and parts."




An example of parts handling care relates to anti-static measures in removing, handling and storing parts. Testing may entail ensuring that the part is operational prior to deinstall, testing in a system bay or bench testing on the component level. You'll want to find out how the parts you buy are tested and what quality assurance is in place.

"The trend toward lowest price has come full circle. Hospitals find the lowest price part doesn't always work and now they are down another day and have to wait for delivery of the part they should have bought in the first place," said Jeremy Probst, Operations Manager for Technical Prospects and its division SiemensMedicalParts.com. "When you have a customer who is trying to save $500 or even $1,500 for the cheaper part and it's on a CT that is critical to the revenue stream for the hospital that could cost $30,000 to $100,000 in lost throughput on the machine, it's a questionable decision."

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