Distribution
Supplying the demand
A. Ray Dalton always says ‘yes’ to spur growth at PartsSource LLC.
By Patrick Mayock
Smart Business Akron/Canton | October 2007
Page 1 of 1
Pick up any book on the fundamentals of business, and the
notion of supply and demand will invariably be in one of the first
few chapters.
Yet, how often do suppliers actually meet the increasing
demands of clients?
At PartsSource LLC, A. Ray Dalton aims for always. The president and CEO of the hospital replacement part supplier strives to
create a client-supplier relationship where, as the company motto
states, “The answer is yes!”
To make good on that claim, Dalton and his team have created
an alliance of suppliers to ensure parts support all 2,500 separate
makes, models and modalities of hospital equipment. 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 such scenarios, 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.
To help clients order and manage their parts purchases more efficiently, Dalton also oversaw the introduction of the Web-based
application, myPartsSource.com.
In the past, customers had to call suppliers, place an order and
wait for a call back regarding availability and pricing. Now, they
need only 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
certainly paid off for PartsSource, as well. The company has significantly increased its revenue stream with four major hospital
groups since its introduction — a 236 percent increase from 2005 to
2006 — and projects a 214 percent increase in 2007.
This revenue increase pales in comparison to the company’s overall performance. During the past five years, PartsSource experienced
a 1,036 percent increase in total revenue, just over $37 million. In that
same period, it has added 96 jobs to the local economy in Summit
County, a 685 percent increase since 2002.
With plans to double its existing work force over the next 18
months, PartsSource shows no signs of slowing down. As long as
Dalton consistently offers the supply, the demand, invariably,
should follow.
HOW TO REACH: PartsSource, LLC, (330) 562-9900 or www.mypartssource.com
