Carl Hoffman, President of the newly named First Call Parts (formerly BRMI) of Salem, VA is offering 6-month warranties on all parts sold.

"Few companies are doing that but we can be that confident because we have systems pre-staged, we have field engineers that can test and properly repair the parts and we spend millions of dollars buying systems and testing equipment so we can really do this correctly," Hoffman says. "A lot of companies go to de-install equipment, but that doesn't mean it is 100 percent functional. There are a lot of parts to these machines and some use 4-5 different functions but the customer may not be using all the functions and it might not work. We feel strongly about testing. We're doing our best to test as many functions as possible."


C&G Technologies have eight staging bays in their facility used for system testing and refurbishing, but are in the middle of an expansion that will see that number grow to 20 staging bays.

"We test our parts on complete CT systems and we also have a full inventory that has been tested and are now in a climate control atmosphere, static bagged, protected from dust on custom built shelves," Kramer says. "Everything is tagged, barcoded and logged through our data base system so we know the test results and any repairs or movement the part has been through."

There's no denying that these extra offerings that the parts companies have make them more attractive to hospitals and image centers looking to form solid relationships.

"I believe that the parts harvesters will, in the long haul, have a tough time competing with the companies that have the ability to test and repair parts," Smith says. "You can only harvest until the crop is gone. By repairing parts Sonora knows we are supplying a top quality part, and can continue to re-plant the crop. A part harvested from a working system may or may not meet the specifications for that part. The ability to know the part meets specifications, not just functions, differentiates the concerned supplier."


Finding it For You

PartsSource helps its suppliers with an internally developed and patented application called "PartsFinder 2.0." Through utilization of this system its 200 plus associates can quickly and efficiently capture parts requests on line, scan their warehouse inventory for available stock and, if unavailable in-house, go to the best vendors on the open market to secure pricing options for their customers.

Block Imaging International Inc. has access to over 30,000 parts throughout the U.S. and has seen upward growth due to the ability to quickly respond to the market's needs.

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