Suppliers not holding stock

[Mike4]

I recently went to purchase some 6mm 4 core and earth cable to get my Kearns Borer up and running , as my electrician told me that it would make the job quicker and save a lot of labour if I ran the cable from the meter box to the power outlet and he would then connect both ends.

Apart from the exhorbitant cost ,$396 .00 for 30metres.

I am buying a 100m roll for $380 plus $45 freight.

It was not in stock , so I have ordered it from another source who has it in stock , and considerably cheaper.

Same with vehicle parts , I needed to replace some brackets on my main work ute , nill stock 2-3 weeks .

Is any else noticing that many once reliable suppliers are not holding much stock, and they wonder why people buy online.

Michael

[Grahame Collins]

Its quite simple. If a product held on the shelves is not turning over fairly quickly it doesn't pay to have it sitting around. It is a widespread occurrence in this economic scenario we find ourselves caught up in.
These businesses are clearly there for the coal miners,not the likes of you and I.

As the economy has wound down from the boom times big industry is not requiring these bits and pieces as often and as quickly.

I am up the road from you a bit, in Mackay and the very same same applies here.
Simple fasteners which I would thought should be readily on hand are not stocked. And so it goes on.

A big engineering supply shop that had steel, stainless steel and brass stock as by the metre purchase has let much of it run down and the once full racks have perhaps 10% of original stock levels.

I can get steel and stainless else where in town but brass will be a problem in the future.

"We can get it for you" is a common response. I too, resort to online purchases when this happens.Most people won't wait up to a month until the cyclic order is filled and certainly won't pay a shipping premium on shipping for single or just a few items

Knowing this situation was going to occur at some stage, I have always purchased more than what I required and have some stocks of brass sections on hand for small projects.
I hope it won't get worse before it gets better.

Grahame

[.RC.]

The other thing is freight is so easy. Getting things up overnight is not a big deal and easy to do, even road transport is surprisingly quick provided you are on a main route. (australia post is the exception there)

In years past everyone bought everything from the local shops, the local shops got their stuff from the main centres.

These days I can easily buy and pay for stuff overseas, and as time goes on it is only going to get easier. I ordered two DRO scales today from Singapore. I expect to get them in under seven days.

[YBAF]

Customers and sales and the old 80-20 principle at work.

[Mike4]

I have just had a run in with a bean counter , I went to order two parts , each worth around $2k and promptly received an email from the warehouse wanting to know why I required two as i had not required any for 12 months or used any in the last 18 months .

She could not get it into her head that I was preparing for this time of year when things break down and have to be repaired in double quick time.

I have noticed this attitude seems to be more prevalent in the current economic climate, but to have a supplier query why I wanted to spend $4k+ and have the parts sitting on a shelf is something that really tends to P*^$s me off.

I may be old school but I prefer to have parts on hand and be able to get urgent repairs completed , not just say its Christmas break , wait until the end of January when we come back to work and we will order one with a lead time of 27 days.

People wonder why I get a bit agro with them???????

Michael

[sacc51]

Once upon a time I went to a business in Katherine intending to purchase a 10" x 4" tube, the tube was $2.50 but the bill was $22.50. When I asked why so high the seller replied 'freight mate, it'll take a week'. He was so surprised when I refused to pay $22.50 for a $2.50 item and left empty handed. After one quick phone call and payment of a sum less than $22.50 I received a parcel in the mail two days later with two tubes. Some businesses are their own worst enemies!

[KBs PensNmore]

The biggest problem is that stock costs money, if it sits to long, it's dead money. If it's on credit/finance it's even bigger dead money. Unless it can be turned over quickly no-one wants to keep it. I drive a small 18 seat bus, something let go underneath and it was out of action for 3 months, because the part had to be made and come from O/S.
Kryn

[Mike4]

Yes the parts sitting on the shelf would cost me money to purchase, but I can respond quickly to a breakdown , not sit around waiting for someone to come to me grumbling about having to work over Christmas.
I will work any day if the requirement is there , safety etc.

I do not mind having equipment and parts sitting , to me its not dead money its being prepared to get on with it and be able to fix someones equipment when others cant due to non available parts

Michael

[clive hugh]

I used to work for BHP and we ordered some parts for some equipment and it turns out they were held in Thailand as it was cheaper to hold them there and distribute to anywhere in the region and in our case quicker than getting them from the USA.