Most fleets cannot compete when their assets are broken down and parked in a holding bay waiting for the right part to arrive.
“It is just astronomical, the hassle it is when a truck goes out of service for more than a day or two,” says Brian Kurtt, Navistar’s fleet service representative for Summit Truck Group, a leading International Truck dealer.
When a truck is not earning, a fleet is losing on average $800 a day, though the downtime could be costing much more: customers and drivers.
The desire to increase uptime is obvious, but what fleets do not always understand is how to configure their parts network to optimize that uptime, and to ensure during normal operations and in emergencies the parts they need get to where they are needed.
That is easier said than done, however. Parts are getting more complex, as is the method of procuring them. The current landscape is filled with highly sophisticated digital platforms and dashboards from original equipment manufacturers, suppliers, and independent distributors all claiming they have the answers.
It can seem like a scattered jigsaw of tools and tactics that fleet managers are asked to put together, with new pieces being added by the day.
Kurtt, who defines his job as “mak[ing] sure our fleets that we’re looking after don’t fail because of the equipment,” thinks despite the complexity, the main thing to remember is that while the parts may evolve, the business of transporting goods has not.
“It’s all about the humans, 100 percent,” Kurtt asserts. “All the other stuff is great, technology is wonderful, but it [is worthless] unless you [have] a solid human utilizing it – and using his head.”
For example, a few years ago when drivers started to utilize their bunk heaters again in the colder months, there was a run on parts.
“You’re supposed to run them once a month,” Kurtt explains. “Nobody does it. Now, when they try to use them because it’s getting cold outside, none of them work. So, all the trucks flock into dealerships around the country and everybody runs out of parts.”
Navistar’s network did not have the necessary parts available, and Summit dealerships needed them to get downed trucks back on the road all over the country.
Kurtt gave Mason Stewart, an assistant manager at Summit’s Lowell, Arkansas, store the name of a distributor outside of the network who had the parts. Stewart was then able to close a deal and get the trucks moving.
Fleet owners likely had no idea what was going on behind the scenes. All they knew was they needed a part and the dealer came through.
The trick is to use the right solutions and align with the right people to always make the pieces falling into place seem effortless. Again, this is easier said than done, and no two solutions are going to be exactly alike. What Kurtt finds is best for Summit Truck Group’s fleet of International models might not work for everyone, but this is a puzzle that must be solved.
The big picture
Visualizing the parts journey, especially for wear-and-tear parts, should be easy.
But should a fleet order from the OEMs, original parts makers, or independent suppliers? Each may leverage new digital tools including artificial intelligence, predictive stocking, and analytics programs. And, OEMs have even branched out to brick-and-mortar stores, selling parts to fit a competitor’s equipment.
Considerations when purchasing parts include price comparison, quality versus value, and how much inventory to keep on hand. Not to mention how complex the equipment is getting every year, which leads to additional questions. Did the part change? Are there any recalls or defects?
“It raises the opportunity for confusion, both on who to go to and what parts to buy,” says John Blodgett, vice president of sales at MacKay & Company, which provides market research and analysis for the aftermarket. “But from the confusion comes more opportunities, more options.”
“The distribution channels are not as defined as they used to be, with some distributors looking more like independent garages, and some parts distributors and truck dealers getting into the independent side,” he explains.
OEMs have also been steadily encroaching on the supply side, not only providing dealers with specific parts, but expanding their product portfolios.
“The rise of the all-makes has really been a significant change,” says Joe Kory, senior vice president of parts at Navistar. “The fleets are a lot smarter about their parts purchasing, and that business has become more competitive.”
Kory recalls that at the beginning of the last decade, people were completing weekly orders and “there was no sense of urgency.” That has morphed to same-day deliveries and making sure more parts are stocked locally, and that product distribution centers and dealers’ shelves are stocked with a greater variety of parts than ever before.
“All of these are really driven by an expectation of service levels that were unheard of 10-plus years ago,” he says.
Navistar’s all-makes Fleetrite brand has 120 product lines and features 15,000 parts at 700 locations. As part of their Aftersales Vision 2025 strategy, Navistar opened up five new stores in the U.S. and one in Honduras. Kory says the number of stores is growing “to get parts closer to customers.”
Paccar’s 25-year-old TRP Parts has a global reach of 2,200 stores and 125,000 parts, Daimler’s Alliance Parts has 50 product lines and 800 stores, and Volvo’s Road Choice has 500 locations.
The choices can be overwhelming unless fleets hold onto one truth.
“It’s still a relationship business,” Blodgett says. “So, whether you’re going to Rush [Truck Center] or Love’s, a dealer, or TRP store, people in their local markets typically have relationships.”
Blodgett adds that even with all the online ordering capabilities, good suppliers will still head out on sales calls.
“Even if their customers are doing more online, they’re still making the effort to go out and talk to them and meet with them to make sure they don’t lose the connection, and make sure that they’re up to speed on what their fleets are doing,” Blodgett says based on his interviews with distributors.
He adds that fleet maintenance managers should also work to keep those relationships strong so when something goes wrong, they have someone who knows their equipment and can give expert advice.
An ecommerce platform certainly helps with shortening steps and adding efficiencies, but computers lack that personal touch. This may be most crucial for smaller fleets with fewer resources and experience with the latest engines and transmissions.
“They don’t have as many vehicles, or as much experience with some of the newer components and newer issues, and that’s where your parts supplier or your distributor can really be invaluable,” Blodgett says.
Gathering the pieces
Another trend is sourcing parts internationally.
“Our industry has been a little bit slow to adapt to do that,” says Brad Williamson, director of marketing, Alliance Parts & Detroit Reman. “In the last 18 to 24 months, that willingness to accept products that aren’t produced here in the [United] States has increased quite a bit.”
Williamson said this is due to an industrywide push from customers for a value brand offering. Daimler created an engineering department dedicated to testing globally sourced parts to ensure they meet the OEM’s quality standards. Alliance Parts also offers a one-year, unlimited-mile warranty.
Value and foreign parts may not always be synonymous, as duties on aftermarket parts from China were raised to 25 percent last May (from 15 percent). This includes engines and associated cast-iron parts, cylinder heads, oil and air filters, and batteries.
“With so many new entrants into the parts market, including overseas suppliers, customers sometimes struggle with the price versus quality question,” says Todd Shakespeare, director of parts marketing, Volvo Trucks North America. “Yes, the price might be good, but is the quality of the part what they need to keep their truck on the road?”
To answer that question, fleets will need to do more than compare price points; they will have to connect to people they trust.
Creating the framework
The point is to sort out the best pieces and assemble the best relationships. Similar to starting a jigsaw puzzle, a fleet may have identified a few corners, which in this analogy are their foundational partnerships. They just need to build off those and see how processes can improve. Local dealerships are a good place to start.
“Whether it’s getting a truck or just giving assistance, our local dealer is absolutely great to work with as far as helping us through those downtimes,” says K.C. Cousins, vice president at Fleenor Brothers in Joplin, Missouri. The fleet of 55, which solely runs Kenworth trucks, is strategically placed five miles from MHC Kenworth. “That relationship is the key to our uptime.”
This dealer also supplies parts to CFI Logistics, which has a fleet of 2,000. If Fleenor Brothers needs a part for a 12-speed transmission, it will likely be in stock. That trust contributes to Fleenor Brothers’ unwavering loyalty to Paccar.
“Regardless of where we have a breakdown, our first point of contact is whatever the closest Kenworth dealer is,” Cousins explains.
Fleenor Brothers tries to avoid breakdowns altogether by buying new trucks “99 percent of the time,” Cousins says. Trucks with Cummins engines are typically under warranty for 250,000 miles, with the few Paccar engines they have under warranty up to 500,000 miles. This helps avoid having to find those parts in an emergency.
“Once you crest that 500,000 mark a year, you’re going to have a failure,” says Cousins, who looks at that as “financing in the repairs.”
And after that milestone, “you just don’t know what exactly it’s going to be,” Cousins adds. “It may not be catastrophic, but more nickel and dime things.”
Cousins’ father is a diesel mechanic and his parents bought the company when he was three, so he knows his way around the machinery and economics. Fleenor Brothers’ site runs about as lean as possible, keeping only the essentials on hand, such as brakes, drums, and tires. About twice a year, he also looks over service parts orders and talks to the maintenance team to identify reoccurring problems and may stock extra tire pressure sensors, for example.
Cousins knows he will soon have to rely more heavily on data as parts get more complex.
“There’s more automation,” he says. “There are more electronic components. It seems like every time you purchase a new truck, there’s a new sensor. I can see with the way the industry is trending, at some point having to take a long hard look at being more analytical than what we are now.”
This is the first of a three-part series from our sister publication, FleetOwner, on the changing aftermarket landscape and how to best source parts. Read Part 2 and Part 3.
About the Author
John Hitch
Editor-in-chief, Fleet Maintenance
John Hitch is the award-winning editor-in-chief of Fleet Maintenance, where his mission is to provide maintenance leaders and technicians with the the latest information on tools, strategies, and best practices to keep their fleets' commercial vehicles moving.
He is based out of Cleveland, Ohio, and has worked in the B2B journalism space for more than a decade. Hitch was previously senior editor for FleetOwner and before that was technology editor for IndustryWeek and and managing editor of New Equipment Digest.
Hitch graduated from Kent State University and was editor of the student magazine The Burr in 2009.
The former sonar technician served honorably aboard the fast-attack submarine USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723), where he participated in counter-drug ops, an under-ice expedition, and other missions he's not allowed to talk about for several more decades.