by
Joanna Padovano, Reporter | October 18, 2011
From the October 2011 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Pelikan agrees that maintaining a high-quality standard is an ongoing struggle for parts providers. “The customers want the parts which are cheap, but 100 percent tested and in great shape, which contradict each other,” he says. “If you want the parts quickly, there’s not much time always to test parts. But we always try to test everything we sell. So the challenge: having the part tested and keeping the price low.”
Another issue among parts providers is having the right parts in their inventory.
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“The biggest challenge for us is that if we don’t have the part in stock, then we do not get the sale because the biggest [draw] of our sales is the overnight shipping,” says French. “So [the challenge is] figuring out how to carry that overhead and still maintain profitability.”
“Getting a handle on some of that quality, used equipment and parts, making sure that we can source them,” is difficult, says Kukes. “It is hard to find the newer, two-, three-year-old equipment,” explains Stoner. “There’s not a lot of that out there, so that’s kind of been a challenge, trying to find that newer used stuff.”
Photo courtesy of AllParts Medical
Inventory organization and marketing
In order to run a successful business, parts providers must not only be on top of stocking the right high-quality parts and offering a competitive price; they must also be sure to have a proper system that allows them to efficiently keep track of their massive inventories.
“We take strict care with the information in our inventory and we actually serialize every part,” says Kramer. “We track it and we enter it. We have an inventory department of several guys that just really manage the whole flow of parts.”
Another important aspect of the business for any serious medical parts provider is the need to set themselves apart from the competition. In a sea of business, any advantage can make the difference between getting the word out and making the sale or sitting on inventory. Glas tells DOTmed News that Adam Imaging Parts has been promoting their company on social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Other parts providers have done the same over the years.
