FG Wilson Parts System,
Supply Chain Management Extreme!!
During a recent visit to FG Wilson’s parts distribution center in Central England, I got a chance to see what supply chain management really means, an insight if you will to the inner workings of a finely tuned operation moving hundreds of thousands of parts worldwide effectively and efficiently. It all begins with each distributor worldwide, they place their parts order electronically via dedicated parts ordering website where every order is received in one central location at the distribution center in England, at that point it is distributed to a parts specialist that is responsible for specific distributors and sees each parts order through to the end, the specialist is tasked with dividing the orders into priorities according to shipping requirements, i.e. next day, or regular shipping, from there the orders are passed on to warehouse personnel for picking and processed for immediate shipping, any orders received before 2:00 pm are processed and shipped the same day, considering the volume of orders this is quite a fete. Simultaneous to the day to day shipping of parts, additional personnel are hard at work coordinating with hundreds of vendors in estimating demand to keep a constant supply of parts flowing through the distribution center and on to the distributors to get the needed parts into the customers hands as soon a possible. Through sophisticated databases, painstaking records keeping and careful planning the distribution center is able to keep ahead of demand and supply by keeping track of back orders and when each vendor expects to fill the needed demand for parts and in some cases they are able to change vendors in order to speed up the process. Additionally, there is a dedicated help desk at the distribution Center that aids with identifying specific parts according to engine builds and generator serial numbers, using multiple databases and parts identification software they are able to track down the correct part for each equipment as well as make the needed changes to superseded part numbers or add new parts to the system as needed. FG Wilson’s parts distribution network is an impressive conjunction of professionals working together to support the product on the field and satisfy customer needs for reliable power generation.
Rafael Heredia
Service Advisor
FG Wilson Latin America & Caribbean
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