5 Questions to ask your preferred parts supplier

When you’re looking for a preferred spare parts supplier, consider what they have to offer from both a product range standpoint and also their ability to add value to your business through:

Trustworthy advice, engineering support and helping you achieve better ROI over the long term.

We’ve laid out a few questions to help you pinpoint the right parts supplier for your business, along with our approach to each aspect of the customer-supplier relationship.

1. What makes the supplier different from others?

Parts suppliers sit along a spectrum ranging from a simple transactional relationship to companies that are fully invested in delivering long-term value to their customers. There can also be a marked difference between OEM parts suppliers and high-quality aftermarket suppliers.

As OEMs are often part of complex global supply chains and have hefty overheads and a large workforce, this can sometimes result in less personal service when compared to a smaller aftermarket engineering company. In comparison to OEMs, companies like MASPRO can be more flexible and faster to respond to issues, due to our local design and manufacturing processes.

Being a smaller family-owned business is definitely a positive for customers, enabling us to offer personalised attention and care and local manufacturing and supply. This typically results in faster shipping times and long-term relationships that help you get the absolute best out of your drill parts.

2. What are other people saying about the company and its people?

Reputation is everything in our industry, and we’re pleased that we’ve maintained a great track record from our customer’s point of view – and also that of OEMs themselves.

We frequently find our reputation precedes us, with new customers coming to us with a level of trust already in place, due to the strong reputation of our brand amongst some of Australia’s biggest mining companies.

When you’re doing your due diligence on mining parts suppliers, it’s a good idea to ask around and see for yourself what the company’s reputation is like amongst your peers and colleagues.

3. Do they have the resources and capacity to meet demand?

MASPRO has an extensive manufacturing facility in Condobolin NSW, and we’re in the process of expanding to better meet our customer’s needs. A dedicated full-time production team and our experienced engineers and metallurgists ensure that our manufacturing of both standard and improved parts continues at a rapid pace to meet demand.

And yet, there’s no getting around it: global supply chain issues are having a ripple effect across every industry of late, and ours is no exception.

The knock-on effect of this is that some OEMs are experiencing delays caused by raw materials shortages in Europe, the war in Ukraine, and the lingering effects of COVID on the workforce.

Whilst there are obvious negatives to this situation, the impact of global materials shortages and shipping delays has given MASPRO a chance to pick up the slack and ensure continuity of supply for new mining customers.

With other parts suppliers being unable to supply, we have found many new customers coming to us to fill orders and keep their quotas on track. Our priority at this time is to maintain our forward orders for our long-term partnerships and still support new customers, thereby keeping the industry moving and mitigating the local impact of these global issues.

When assessing a new supplier’s ability to meet demand, it’s helpful to share a fairly accurate forecast of your parts usage with them. Your supplier can review your projected parts use over the next 6 months for example, and determine whether they have the resources to meet your needs.

4. Are they in it for the long haul?

An established supplier with a good reputation in the industry outweighs a new competitor with cheaper prices, every time.

This is because reliable and long-term suppliers build partnerships where they can provide strong value to maintenance and procurement teams, by looking for ways to improve efficiency and increase ROI.

This is certainly MASPRO’s approach. With a strong focus on looking after our existing customers rather than constantly chasing new business, we find we have more time to build deep relationships and can spend more time and energy with individual people, solving problems with a focus on innovation, safety, productivity and reliability. We also ensure we stock what our customers are using regularly, providing faster delivery and keeping your drills operating.

5. How does their pricing compare with OEMs and other aftermarket
suppliers?

Benjamin Franklin once said that “the bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of a low price is forgotten”, and these wise words are certainly appropriate here. Whilst price is, of course, an important factor, it shouldn’t be looked at in isolation.

Behind a ‘cheaper price’ could be an increase in order quantity over the long term, because cheaper parts fail more often. In other cases, it may not be in the supplier’s best interest to make a bullet-proof part, as they are looking for ongoing repeat business, so you’re potentially getting a sub-standard product with planned obsolescence built-in.

Value – not price – is what drives us, meaning our team could potentially push back on a customer’s idea for an improved part if we can see the value isn’t there in the long run. Improving parts can provide a better experience and more efficient usage for our customers, but we don’t do it for the sake of it.

Generally, MASPRO’s pricing is similar to that of OEM parts, with some items cheaper and some more expensive. The important thing to note is that our customers often see a much better return on investment with many of our parts, as they are designed and engineered to last longer. When you consider that means you’re ordering less volume and using less labour to conduct repairs, the actual value of that part may be much higher than a poorer quality equivalent.

Ultimately, you should ensure your spare parts supplier takes a holistic view of your business and isn’t just chasing a quick buck.