Fodens' spare part surgery
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■ VEHICLE off the road waiting Dr spare parts is always bad iews; but if the vehicle is iperating several thousand iiles away from home and the local" dealer doesn't have the art in stock then this is a real )st for the manufacturer.
Fodens, for instance, have Iways been aware of commitlent to their customers, and is is particularly relevant when efence vehicles and specialist ppers are involved.
According to general service ianager Alan Stubbs, the sucns of Fodens' United King)m, European and Internationservice organisation is based .) a highly effective system of )mmunications.
Most depots and distributors roughout the world are linked the Sandbach service headJarters by telex. "Delays in )mmunications mean expenve downtime for heavy lorries )cl therefore a telex link direct the centre of the service ormisation means instant conct with all sections of parts and rvice.'"
If the part cannot be found fickly at a nearby dealer in -iatever country the vehicle is and the European parts centre Hilden near Dusseldorf canit supply, then there is one )y to ensure a speedy delivery. iat is by air from the UK. Hilden managing director )rst Berger claims that under rmal circumstances it is pos)le to have an engineer in endance at a breakdown anylere in Europe within 24 urs of notification. Indeed
Fodens airfreight operation is available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. "There is no reason why a UK-based Foden operator should worry about service back up when away from his home country."
. Because Fodens also use components produced by other equipment manufacturers, it is quite possible that a part could be supplied locally. This means that there is a good chance of obtaining an approved part from more than one source.
Last year Fodens airfreighted an average of 3000 kilograms (3 tons) of parts monthly to worldwide destinations urgently needing VOR spare parts or completing stock orders.
These had a value of over $500,000m last year. This might seem a high figure but it must be remembered that commercial vehicle parts are considerably heavier than car parts.
The Foden vehicle sales figures worldwide for 1970/ 1979 show where their products are being used.
It is possible to have the part on its way to the airport in a matter of two hours and the customer telexed with details of the flight and estimated time of arrival within the same time.
This is because Fodens are now using a new parts warehouse and control system which can deal with most eventualities.
All parts are now stored in a computer controlled warehouse with over 25,000 service items located in modern storage equipment.
Emphasis has been given to preservation, which, is particularly relevant when shipping and storing outside the UK, and to identification and packaging. This is carried out within the receiving bay and all parts stored have identifying numbers before being placed in bins or racks.
The bin location system is computer-based, giving rapid movement within the warehouse. Computer terminals are located in the parts order department for the input of order information.
This means that the supporting systems can provide quick information on up to date stock availability information and the weekly situation regarding stock ordering and delivery.
All the parts orders are raised directly on computer on-line terminals and airfreight orders are processed immediately by the computer. Parts order sets are produced in the parts office and reprinted directly in the warehouse office. These are printed in location sequence which reduces the amount of walking the storekeeper has to do.
The export office is then passed the relevant documents and it immediately contacts the UK forwarding agent — usually the Manchester office of Atlasair.
Once all the formalities are completed, details are passed onto the customer so that collection, delivery and fitting arrangements can be made.
The parts export department has found that it is better for Fodens to use the services of a freight forwarder — like Atlasair — because by shipping relatively small quantities of goods at short notice to any part of the world, the forwarder can offer substantial savings through his own consolidation facilities.
Forwarders often pre-book space, and are often able to offer consolidation transit times comparable with those applicable to consignments shipped directly on an airline waybill.
Forwarders are also able to choose the airline which serves the airport nearest to the vehicle. This means less delivery road mileage or in very, urgent cases a short charter flight to the nearest suitable landing strip in the more outlying .areas.
Parts are now being sent to just about every country excel Russia.
According to Alan Bourne I Fodens' service parts airfreigl division, it is very rare that small aircraft has to be spo chartered. This is only usual necessary when a factory-basE engineer needs to carry out E on-the-spot investigation r repair in a remote area.
Fodens, like all major vehic manufacturers, are represent( in most countries and the dealers/agents are requirE under their terms of contract maintain a minimum spare par stocking commitment.
There are times when a spa part is needed for which there usually little demand, and it not in stock. Then airfreig comes into its own. Although r expensive means of transpo vehicle downtime for an opei tor can be even more expensi‘, All vehicle manufacture have VOR airfreight co tingency plans, although sor will not readily admit this. Th usually say their representativ have sufficient stocks to meet breakdowns abroad. Perha they have.
It could be that vehicle cE nibilisation is necessary or thE are lengthy periods when vehicle is off the road awaiti spares. This the operator v remember when the time corn to think about buying n( vehicles.