When your business relies on spare parts, there’s a constant need to strike a balance between being reactive and predictive in what you need to buy or stock. Getting spare parts to your engineers and field technicians fast is crucial if you want repairs to be done on time.
Most companies that carry out repairs will have invested into an inventory system that helps them to understand what parts they need and when they need them. But software predictions can only go so far. When supply chains experience problems and storage costs skyrocket due to rising energy costs, then more reactive tactics come into play.
Out of stock parts
In today’s volatile economic landscape, it might be impossible to predict certain parts being out of stock. Also known as ‘stockout’, all that can be done is to identify possible issues in advance and to try to limit the impact on your business and your customers.
If you need access to small consumables but limited time, space and costs, then you could look at our Parts Storage, Pick and Pack Service. We will store your small items for you, and when you need these, we will pick, pack and deliver to you as required. So, you won’t have to worry about low stock levels or supply chain delays.
Critical parts
If your business uses certain parts, which can be commonly found but you don’t want to spend money on storage, then our Just In Time distribution could be a great solution. This gives you fast access to spare parts whenever they’re required. You will save on costly warehousing and storage costs, and your parts will be delivered to a location of your choice.
In Night distribution delivers parts to your workers during the night, using a smart trunking and smaller vans. This avoids delays caused by busy traffic in the daytime, and the flexibility to use other roads inaccessible to HGV delivery vehicles.
Lead times
If your business repairs or installs customer appliances, then you are likely to have lead times. There are many different factors that can cause delays to lead times. We’ve already mentioned supply chain issues and road traffic, but delays can also occur when collecting parts. Are your field engineers having to drive to different depots to collect parts?
In Boot deliveries is the solution to parts collection. It takes In Night distribution one step further by delivering spare parts directly to your engineers’ car boots before they start their working day. They won’t need to waste time driving from depot to depot to collect spare parts, ensuring they can meet your lead times and get to customers when they’re scheduled.
At GenRev, our In Boot, In Night and Just In Time services will ensure your customers’ repairs are done on time, every time. Not only will this lead to greater customer satisfaction, but you’ll be able to maximise your engineers’ time and increase efficiencies.
Contact us today to find out how we can help you get spare parts to your engineers quickly.
Time-efficient, cost-effective spare parts deliveries will enable your business to stay profitable and sustainable. Across various industry sectors, we are seeing an unprecedented level of scarcity when it comes to spare parts. So, now’s the time to review your current delivery strategy to make sure you are experiencing a smooth and seamless service.
Research shows that inefficient field service businesses lose up to £8,000 in technician’s wages through lost or wasted time. Let’s look at all the core delivery solutions GenRev provides to help you manage your spare parts:
Parts Storage, Pick & Pack Our new Parts Storage, Pick and Pack service enables you to order parts when they are needed. This service has been designed for frequently required small parts and consumables. We store your parts, pick and pack, and deliver these items to you exactly when you need them. This service reduces any worry about delays or low stock levels, as we hold your items, so your business can carry out fast repairs.
Just In Time Another storage saving solution for spare parts is our Just In Time distribution or ‘JIT’ as it’s often known. Reduce the size of costly warehousing space and avoid parts becoming obsolete by ordering as and when you need them. This is the perfect solution for smaller companies who lack enough manpower for a full logistics operation. JIT also removes the risk of spare parts becoming damaged in storage.
In Night
Our In Night distribution gets your spare parts to your field engineers during the night. A safe delivery point will be agreed, and we can collect any parts needing to be returned at the same time. With guaranteed deliveries by 7am, 8am and 9am (timings may vary for the Scottish Highlands and Islands). Your field engineers won’t have to hunt around for parts, they can get straight on with their working day.
In Boot The next-level version of our In Night service, In Boot deliveries get spare parts to your field technician’s vehicle boots before they start work. We can deliver anywhere in the UK by 7.00am (timings may vary for the Scottish Highlands and Islands). Our drivers are all CRB checked and fully vetted for your peace of mind. This service reduces operational costs, increases work capacity and removes any wasted time.
A fast and efficient delivery strategy for time-critical spare parts is important if you want your business to survive the current volatile economic landscape. We can ship last-minute goods, giving you greater stock control and better customer satisfaction. Our fast turnaround for spare parts delivery ensures greater workforce efficiencies and productivity, as well as better stock control avoiding unnecessary investment in any surplus stock.
GenRev is fully committed to helping you improve your productivity and efficiencies. We can save you money by saving time for your field engineers, so they can get on with their repairs without delay.
GenRev offers a range of smart delivery services to help you get your spare parts to where they’re needed at the time they’re needed. Contact us to find out more.
With economic security a major concern for businesses across the UK right now, there’s a growing interest in Just In Time deliveries. But what exactly is Just In Time distribution, and how does it work?
‘Just In Time’ is a concept developed by Toyota in the 1970s. The Japanese car manufacturer revolutionised its systems by deciding to order in parts as they were needed, rather than storing them in warehouses. It allowed for a more streamlined and cost-effective production line, so it wasn’t long before Toyota’s competitors started copying the initiative.
The Just In Time concept soon spread beyond the manufacturing industry, and it’s now becoming increasingly popular throughout the repair sector too. Every business is looking for ways to trim expenditure without impacting on service delivery, and Just In Time is the perfect solution.
Does your business need to free up capital?
We’re facing uncertain times right now – not just in the UK, but globally – as a perfect storm of events makes it more challenging to keep afloat financially. Tying up money in stock is particularly risky, and that’s aside from the rising costs of warehousing. Lighting and heating prices are rapidly spiralling out of control, leaving businesses worrying about budgets and resources, and still providing customers with an outstanding service.
This is where Just In Time deliveries come in, providing a cost-effective solution that promotes increased efficiencies, while simultaneously reducing outgoings. It means businesses can dramatically cut their storage costs without any corresponding reduction in service. Savings are made from this reduction in warehousing and relating administration costs, while any concerns about obsolete stock and shrinkage are removed completely.
For Just In Time deliveries to work successfully, it’s essential to source a distribution partner that your business can rely on. Here at GenRev we pride ourselves on the level of service we provide to our clients. Our Just In Time Distribution Service is perfectly designed for any business wanting to improve efficiencies.
New Parts Storage, Pick and Pack service
Of course, if there are some parts that you regularly need, a straightforward Just In Time delivery service might not be the most appropriate solution. After all, you’ll want to take advantage of bulk ordering discounts, which saves your business money in the long run. And you’ll probably be hoping to minimise your carbon footprint too, which is pushed higher with frequent deliveries. That’s why we’ve created our new Parts Storage, Pick and Pack service.
We provide storage for your most commonly used parts, so you can offer your customers even faster delivery times, without having to push your own prices higher. Your business will have a more streamlined approach to day-to-day operations, especially when it comes to supplying parts to field engineers.
If you want to reduce your storage costs and increase your flexibility, consider GenRev’s Just in Time and Parts Storage, Pick and Pack services. Contact us for further information.
Have you heard of the forklift truck driver shortage?
Everyone seems to have heard about the lack of HGV drivers across the UK, but most people aren’t aware there’s a forklift driver shortage too. That may not sound too serious, until you consider how essential they are in maintaining order within busy warehouses.
The impact of Brexit and Covid Just as with the HGV driver shortage, it’s thought that a significant number of forklift truck drivers have returned to Europe following Brexit. A report by Logistics UK indicates that just short of 80,000 EU nationals departed the logistics industry in the UK during 2019, with around 7,000 forklift drivers contributing to the mass exodus.
The Covid pandemic helped to fuel the departure of European drivers as lockdowns took hold. Add into the mix higher than usual levels of absenteeism in the industry caused by sickness, and it comes as less of a surprise that the UK is facing a shortfall of around 25% of its skilled forklift truck operators.
The government’s decision to limit the ability of European workers to work within the UK means that this situation is almost certain to become worse in the long term. Some major companies have opted to replace their forklift trucks with automated vehicles, but that requires considerable financial investment, which is something smaller businesses simply can’t afford in the current economic climate.
The rising costs of warehousing and storage
Thanks to the laws of supply and demand, a lack of forklift drivers is pushing wages ever higher. The demand for trained forklift operators is so great that businesses are having to compete for them by offering above-average salaries. When considered alongside the spiralling costs of heating and lighting a warehouse, it’s clear to see that budgets are being stretched almost beyond their limits.
Labour costs already account for a significant proportion of warehousing costs. So, it comes as no surprise to discover that many business managers are facing sleepless nights worrying about how they’re going to cope in these challenging times.
But maybe your business would be better off without a warehouse at all. Thanks to GenRev’s Just in Time distribution service all the parts needed for that day’s work can be delivered to your technicians and field service engineers exactly when they’re needed.
Our drivers travel through the night to make sure your parts are delivered directly to your workforce before the start of every working day. Your business saves on warehousing and storage costs, whilst still providing your customers with a quick and efficient service, giving you one less thing to worry about!
Warehousing is a costly overhead, and the lack of forklift truck drivers means that warehousing costs are almost certain to rise. GenRev’s Just In Time services will ensure you have the parts you need, when you need them, getting to your field engineers on time, so they can fix urgent customer repairs.
Avoid unnecessary warehousing costs with GenRev. Contact us to find out more about the benefits of our Just In Time services.
Spare parts delivery is one of the most essential aspects of time-critical energy and home appliance repairs. Your customers aren’t interested in the impact of Covid, Brexit and labour shortages which could potentially affect delivery times. They want their boilers, cookers and washing machines repaired as quickly as possible – or they’ll go elsewhere in future.
In a previous blog post, we looked at important points to consider for a successful spare parts management strategy. So, this time, we decided to look at ways in which you can improve your spare parts delivery processes.
1. Look for fast response times
With more people working from home than ever before, home appliances are being forced to work much harder than usual. Any downtime is inconvenient at best, and catastrophic at worst, with customers searching for the businesses that will provide them with the fastest and most cost-effective repairs.
The pandemic has meant a huge shift towards ecommerce, raising customer expectations when it comes to online services. At a time when just about anything can be delivered to your home within 24 hours, there’s simply no excuse for delays. Customers expect your field service engineers to have faulty appliances up and running within as short a time frame as possible, leaving no room for lost or delayed spare parts.
2. Get the working day off to the best start
Far too many technicians and field service engineers clock on at the start of the working day without being able to head off to their first job. Instead, they’re obliged to wait around for those all-important parts to arrive. Even worse, they might have to head off to source their own parts, which eats into their available hours, limiting the number of jobs they can attend.
In Night and Just in Time deliveries ensure that technicians arrive at work with all that day’s parts ready and waiting for them. They can head straight off to work with no need to go chasing any parts, giving them more time to spend on those all-important repairs.
3. What about returns?
There are always going to be some parts that weren’t needed after all, or incorrect items that have been ordered by mistake. Rather than leave them lying around to become lost or mislaid, think about how you can improve your returns service. Unwanted parts should be delivered back to where they came from, whether that’s your central depot or a supplier.
Customer repairs need to be cost effective and timely to maintain customer satisfaction levels. Keep your overheads down by enabling your business to react swiftly to customer demand. Avoid delivery delays by relying on GenRev to get your spare parts to your field engineers, allowing your technicians to maximise their available working hours.
GenRev has a range of delivery solutions to help you supply parts to your field engineers, as and when required, including In Night and Just in Time. Contact us to find out more about the benefits of our delivery services.
The events of the past year have shown that businesses need to adopt future-proof warehouse management processes if they want to survive. And Just In Time Distribution is just one of the ways in which they can achieve that goal.
Panic buying and supply chain disruption
Nobody was expecting the global pandemic to generate a nationwide lockdown, let alone one that would continue, off and on, for over a year. And that was plain to see when restrictions were first introduced back in March 2020, followed by panic buying on a scale never seen before in this country.
Confronted by empty supermarket shelves and shuttered retail premises, consumers switched to online shopping on an unprecedented scale. And this is something that looks set to continue, with some studies suggesting that over 80% of those surveyed expressed a preference for continuing to shop online in the future.
How to future-proof your warehouse
With demand for warehousing at an all-time high, storage costs are also increasing. The use of robotics can help to maximise available space, but that requires some hefty initial financial outlay. Yet there are plenty of other ways in which businesses can help to trim their costs and reduce their environmental impact at the same time.
Smart packaging solutions are just one option. Machinery is available that can collect and compress packaging ready for recycling, saving on space and helping the planet at the same time. There are also options to reuse existing packaging, such as perforating cardboard to use as a protective packing material. Sustainable and cost-effective, perforated cardboard is being hailed as a potential game-changer for smaller businesses.
There are an increasing number of sustainable heating and lighting options now available for warehouses, including solar panels and ground source heat pumps. New storage facilities are being built with better natural light, and an increasing number of newer facilities can even harvest rainwater, making them more eco-friendly.
Do you even need a warehouse at all?
Cutting back on warehousing and storage costs completely is another idea that’s becoming popular among business managers, particularly given the spiralling energy costs involved in heating and lighting premises. Technology is moving at such a pace that parts are becoming obsolete within months, rather than years, so a proactive approach is necessary to avoid maintaining useless items of stock.
Just In Time Distribution is one of the most sustainable techniques for stock management, since it completely removes the need for holding onto large quantities of parts. Items are ordered as and when they’re needed, so they don’t have to spend time gathering dust on a warehouse shelf.
Due to the volatile economic climate, all businesses need to consider future-proofing their warehousing premises. GenRev’s Just In Time distribution is a highly efficient and environmentally sound distribution solution that businesses should consider to save on costs and resources.
If you’re looking to future-proof your warehouse, contact us to find out how Just In Time distribution services could save you money and help the planet.
Field service engineers and technicians have a few options when it comes to parts collection and deliveries. They could travel to their nearest depot to collect parts themselves, and they could opt to have them delivered into lockers or their own vehicle boots. But what is the difference between In Boot and locker services, and which option should you choose?
Locker services
Unless your field service engineers happen to live within easy reach of a depot or hub, having parts delivered is always going to be the best option for your business. You want your technicians and operatives to spend their working days being productive, and they can’t do that while they’re driving to collect the parts they need.
Locker services are available throughout most parts of the country, particularly in towns and cities. And in some cases, it’s possible to rent locker space by the day, the week or by the month, so your technicians will always know exactly where to collect their parts from.
But just as with going to collect parts from a hub or depot, your employees must still get into their vehicles to go to their lockers. And that requires time out of their working day and associated fuel costs too. Although not quite as much time is spent travelling further afield, this is still far from being a carbon neutral solution to the problem.
Locker services don’t always have plenty of parking on offer either, so your operatives might have to park some distance away or wait for a space to become available. These places can be particularly busy at the start of the working day, with everyone wanting to pick up their parts at once, causing bottlenecks and unnecessary delays.
In Boot services
When you opt for In Boot parts delivery, you’re saving your business time and money, allowing your field service engineers to focus on the work you’re paying them to do. Rather than having to head straight off at the start of their working day to collect all the parts they need, they can start their first job of the day. And everything they need will be ready and waiting in their vehicles.
There are 49,000 cities, town, villages and suburban areas within the UK, and anin-boot logistics service can visit every single one of them. Even the most comprehensive locker service can’t compete with that! And logistics companies can offer Just In Time, scheduled deliveries and other tailored delivery options too, as and when you need them.
Whether you choose In Boot or locker services, both options aim to solve the same problem – getting those all-important parts to field service technicians and engineers as efficiently as possible. But In Boot delivery is the more flexible option, allowing your operatives to get straight on with their work at the start of the day.
Are you providing your engineers with the most suitable solution for urgent parts delivery? Contact us to find out we can help your company become more streamlined and cost-effective.
At GenRev, we specialise in smarter business deliveries for parts and other items. Our aim is for your field service engineers and technicians to get straight down to work at the start of each day. This means less time is spent chasing up spare parts and more time is spent being productive.
But have you ever stopped to wonder exactly how we get those all-important parts from A to B? It takes a lot of planning and hard work to make sure your goods are with you exactly when you need them, so we thought we’d explain the process in a bit more detail.
Adapting to suit each client
Some of our clients have hundreds of employees throughout the UK, each of whom requires specific parts for their upcoming day’s work. These parts are held in national distribution centres which could be hundreds of miles away. Other clients have only a handful of technicians, but their need for spares is just as urgent.
Whether big or small, the client company lets us know the details of their packages together with the collection and delivery points. We then work out the most cost-effective and efficient means of getting those parts to where you need them.
We operate out of five main distribution hubs in Bathgate, Leeds, Birmingham, Bristol and London, giving us reach across all of mainland UK. We use a system known as ‘trunking’ to provide us with regular routes, which lets us offer our clients a more efficient service while keeping costs to an absolute minimum. It’s a subject we’ll be looking at in a little more depth next month.
Keeping track of your packages
Our drivers head out to clients’ distribution centres to collect parts and deliver any returns from the previous day. Each package is coded and scanned to ensure it’s picked up by the correct driver. Each vehicle then returns to its home hub, where packages are sorted and loaded onto the correct delivery vehicle, with tracking systems making sure nothing ever goes astray.
Our In Boot parts delivery service guarantees field service engineers and technicians within mainland UK will receive their parts by 7am. As a result, they don’t have to travel to distribution centres themselves, or wait for delivery. Our drivers deliver the parts to your employee’s boots, lockers or work depots before the working day, so not a minute of productive time is wasted.
Smarter deliveries often mean working through the night to get your parts to where they need to be. In Night distribution guarantees next-day delivery at a time that suits you, whether that’s 7am, 9am or any other time of your choosing. And for those looking to downsize on warehousing costs, Just In Time distribution delivers parts exactly as and when they’re needed.
Smarter business logistics offers an efficient way to deliver parts from A to B, saving time for your business and your customers, so you can maintain high levels of customer satisfaction.
Discover a smarter delivery solution for your business today – contact us for more information.
Home appliance repairs are becoming big business, as consumers increasingly opt to have their current appliances fixed, rather than buying new models whenever they have a problem. But that doesn’t mean that customers are prepared to wait for those repairs.
We live in a society in which instant satisfaction is the order of the day, and nobody likes to spend time waiting around for a piece of household equipment to be put back into service. Arranging to be at home for a repairman can be frustrating for customers, especially when it uses up a day’s holiday. So, it’s not surprising that tempers can sometimes fray when a promised part doesn’t show up on time – and no business wants dissatisfied customers! But this isn’t generally the fault of the service engineer, who can only fit new parts once they’ve been delivered.
Consider the case of one particular home appliance repair business that uses two separate companies to deliver parts to its engineers. Royal Mail delivers smaller packages to local depots before 8.30am, but won’t accept larger items, which must therefore be delivered using a freight delivery company. This company, however, delivers the parts between the hours of 10am and 1pm, meaning that service engineers have to wait around for at least 2 hours every single day. Multiply those two hours over five days to reflect the working week, and then calculate over 52 weeks; this equates to 520 lost working hours during the course of a year. That’s the equivalent of 13 weeks – or just over three months of man hours lost!
If the home appliance repair company employs around 100 engineers, and assuming that each of them loses two productive hours each day, that represents around 52,000 wasted hours. This time could and should have been spent on fixing appliances and generating income for the business. And, this figure doesn’t include the number of times that the freight delivery service fails to deliver the requested parts in some cases.
Clearly, a poor choice of distributor can quickly cause chaos amongst your supply lines, which will inevitably damage the reputation of your business.
At GenRev, we have many years’ experience when it comes to delivering spare parts to exactly where they need to be, at the time they’re required. We have a range of solutions, including in-boot parts delivery and in-night distribution. When space is at a premium, we also offer our Just In Time distribution service, so you don’t need to worry about maintaining stock levels either.
Why spend your time and money on a poor-quality logistics solution? Your distribution partner needs to be reliable and efficient to ensure that you are always able to deliver a superior service to your customers. A dissatisfied customer simply won’t return, so it pays to choose the right delivery service from the outset.
Please contact us to find out how we can help you save time and money by ensuring your parts are with you whenever you need them.
Just In Time distribution has the potential to transform your business by saving you time and money. This delivery method helps to ensure that your customers, service staff or field engineers receive the goods they need, at the exact moment they’re required.
Also known as ‘JIT distribution’, Just In Time uses the ‘pull’ system, whereby products aren’t ordered until they’re needed. When compared with the ‘push’ system, in which funds can be tied up in large supplies of stock, this can be a far less costly approach for businesses. And, stock requires storage, which also costs money.
In fact, there are many benefits for businesses using the Just In Time distribution model, which include the following:
Lower overheads – no need for expensive, unnecessary storage
No danger of stock becoming obsolete, or items going out of date
Less money tied up in stock allows greater flexibility for businesses
Shops can use all of their available space for displaying goods, with no need for warehousing
Businesses can respond to trends immediately, leading to increased customer satisfaction
The rapid growth of the internet has helped to create a world in which we expect everything to be done almost instantly. Whether your customer is ordering a product, or waiting for an appliance to be fixed, the expectation is that the necessary items will be delivered, and that repairs will be carried out, in double-quick time. Any delays, and the chances are your customer will head to your competitors next time round, and once you’ve lost a customer, the chances of getting them back are slim. Customer satisfaction and customer retention are inextricably linked, so providing a fast and efficient service is absolutely paramount for any successful business.
Rather than using up precious space by stocking hundreds of parts, many of which will quickly become obsolete, businesses are increasingly seeing the benefits Just In Time distribution provides. After all, the better the service, the greater the ongoing benefits for your brand, so it pays to choose your distribution partner wisely.
When deciding on a Just In Time distribution partner, it’s important to remember that big isn’t necessarily better. Supply chains on the East Coast of the US were severely disrupted in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, enabling smaller, more diverse companies to take the lead. The same problems occurred in the UK too – witness the chaos caused by the infamous ‘Beast from the East’. Smaller distributors have the flexibility to cope with changing circumstances much more quickly than larger ones, ensuring your packages reach their destination on time, every time.
If your business relies on a fast turnaround of stock, then it’s probably time to consider the benefits of Just In Time Distribution. At GenRev, we have a wealth of experience when it comes to providing Just In Time Distribution services. We understand the challenges facing our clients, so we work tirelessly to ensure that we always exceed their expectations.
Please contact us to find out more about our Just In Time distribution service.