Distribution
Supply guy
Why A. Ray Dalton always says ‘yes’ to customers at PartsSource LLC
By Patrick Mayock
Smart Business Cleveland | September 2007
In the supply industry, availability is everything. For every order
or request — regardless of in-house stock — the answer must
always be “yes” if a supplier hopes to grow and thrive.
At PartsSource LLC, a hospital replacement part supplier, A.
Ray Dalton has turned this tenet into the company motto.
As the president and CEO of PartsSource, Dalton implemented two notable innovations last year to create a client-supplier relationship where, “The answer is yes.” First, Dalton introduced the Web-based application myPartsSource.com to help
clients order and manage their parts purchases more efficiently.
In the past, customers had to call suppliers, place an order
and wait for a call back regarding availability and pricing. Now,
they only need to visit the online site to gather all the necessary information, almost instantaneously. In addition, the site
allows clients to place and manage orders from suppliers other
than PartsSource.
While the system provides obvious benefits to customers, it
has paid off for PartsSource, as well. The company has significantly increased its revenue stream with four major hospital
groups since the system’s introduction — a 236 percent
increase from 2005 to 2006 — and projects a 214 percent
increase in 2007.
Secondly, Dalton and his team have created an alliance of
suppliers to ensure the availability of any product in the hospital replacement part industry. Aptly dubbed the National
PartsSource Alliance, this vendor-partner network allows the
company to meet customer demands even when parts are
unavailable in-house.
In those cases, PartsSource contacts one of 6,500 vendors on
the open market to secure the best pricing options for customers. The company then contacts the customer within two
hours to relay product and pricing information.
Despite these recent innovations, Dalton doesn’t dismiss old-fashioned methods of bolstering inventory. He has continued
to stock his warehouse with high-demand products, such as
batteries and bulbs, to accommodate long-term demand. In an
industry where availability matters, it’s never a bad idea to
have a few extra parts lying around.
HOW TO REACH: PartsSource LLC, (330) 562-9900 or www.mypartssource.com
