Power Equipment’s spare parts department is a cornerstone of the company’s success in Australia. Its commitment to availability, expertise, logistics, customer support, and cost savings ensures that customers can rely on their Power Equipment engines to deliver consistent, reliable performance year after year.
It’s another busy day at Power Equipment’s spare parts department in Melbourne, as up to 200 different orders for service items and parts are quickly and meticulously picked, packed and dispatched.
In fact, every day is a busy one for the spare parts team.
The spare parts department occupies the heart of Power Equipment’s head office and warehousing facility. But it is in essence the hub of a much larger network of parts availability and advice – serving a network of around 400 dealers across Australia.
A significant advantage is the expertise of the staff working in the spare parts department. They are not just salespeople but specialists with deep knowledge of the engines and systems they support. This expertise translates into accurate recommendations and fast resolutions to parts-related problems.
National Parts Manager Jake Johnson runs a tight team of eight specialists in parts at Power Equipment.
Jake will be the first to tell you that it is his team of experts that are as important as the dealers, complex systems and machinery that supports and sorts the approximately 25,000 parts lines that can be sourced for Power Equipment products.
“The best part of the job here is the team we’ve got, to be honest,” Jake says. “We’ve got people who not only know the parts, they’re ‘locked in’ to what we need to deliver on a daily basis – it’s all about attitude and the spare parts people have a great attitude.”
Attitude and expertise are great, but those core abilities are streamlined with some superb in-house systems at Power Equipment that placed the company’s parts service into the 21st Century some years ago.
Power Equipment holds more than 3,300 lines of parts on the shelf, with upwards of 35,000 individual parts in stock at any one time. With service and standard maintenance items being the regular order pick for Jake’s team, these parts are prioritised to be readily available. As an example, one of Power Equipment’s most popular engines, the Yanmar 4TNV, has around 400 individual parts items. All its most called-for parts are kept in stock, with anything unusual required for these engines available through Yanmar quickly.
Technology delivers parts accurately
Power Equipment invested in a “Lean Lift” system some years ago, a Japanese-designed automated parts sorting and storage system that, as Jake puts it, is much like a big vending machine.
You really need to see the scale and efficiency of this machine in action to truly appreciate its abilities.
The lift – housed within a four-stories high structure in a central part of Power Equipment’s main warehousing facility – is made up of six separate “lift” machines each comprising of 80 large shelves.
Via the control system on the Lean Lift, parts can be entered into the Lift’s control system and within seconds the relevant shelves will make their way down to the collection area. Truly automated genius on an impressive scale.
“So when an order for parts needs picking, we input the order into the machine and the shelves automatically move the parts to you,” Jake explains, “the system even directs you to the relevant compartment within that shelf that holds the parts.”
Considering an average parts order may comprise of 8 different parts lines, with say 4 of each part ordered, there’s plenty of replenishment of the Lean Lift system happening each day as well!
“It’s not just replenishing the parts lift system, but also constantly checking that parts are in the correct location so that all parts picking runs smoothly,” Jake says.
One of the standout benefits of Power Equipment’s spare parts department is the assurance of availability. Customers rely on their engines for critical operations, and when a part fails, time is of the essence. An extensive inventory means that spare parts are always on hand, reducing downtime for businesses that depend on Power Equipment products. Whether it’s a small gasket or a complex engine component, the department is usually stocked to meet any need quickly and efficiently.
Dealers Connect Portal creates a “nationwide” parts team
“While we have a great team of parts interpreters, stock controllers and warehouse pickers here, it’s your local dealer who is your best first port of call for parts advice,” Jake says.
Power Equipment’s extensive dealer network across Australia and New Zealand are the strength behind its products and can connect with Jake’s spare parts department via the online Dealer Connect Portal. It’s the go-to system that allows ordering, interpretation and delivery of any part for a Power Equipment engine or product to happen seamlessly.
“Dealers can see the price and availability of any of our parts and they can even track their order as it’s dispatched. “We aim to get any air-freightable item to the dealer or customer direct overnight,” Jake explained. “If it’s a larger item that needs road freighting, we can pretty much guarantee delivery within 72 hours to most capital cities.
“Even superseded engine parts or specialist items that may need to come through Singapore, we can usually source it and have it delivered within 7-10 days. Our networks are very good,” he said.
Perhaps the most satisfying aspect of Power Equipment’s dealer network is the ongoing improvement and updating of their knowledge around the products they sell and service. “We’re proud representatives of the Yanmar, John Deere and other premium brands sold through Power Equipment,” Jake says.
“Likewise, we are building our dealers to have the same knowledge, but of course if they are unable to answer a customer’s query, we’re always here to help.”
The spare parts department contributes to cost savings for customers. By ensuring that genuine, high-quality parts are readily available, Power Equipment helps end users avoid the pitfalls of using cheap or inferior alternatives. Properly maintained and serviced engines using the correct spare parts last longer, operate more efficiently and reduce the risk of breakdowns. In turn, this minimizes the total cost of ownership for customers, enhancing the long-term value of their investment in Power Equipment products.
