The Need for Spare Parts Is Greater Than Ever
Posted on: 20 September 2021
Your trailers help keep your business going — literally. Whether you're delivering feed to a farm, moving heavy equipment between worksites or bringing appliances and sports equipment to homes, you need to be able to use the trailers you have at a moment's notice. When a trailer breaks down or needs a replacement part during maintenance, you want to have the part right there and not have to wait for a delivery. Because of the pandemic, however, you need to stock up on trailer spare parts now.
Delivery Delays Due to Lockdowns
Areas of Australia are still under lockdown, and the threat of more lockdowns is very real as the country battles to keep infections under control. Restrictions on movement between hotspots can create delays in spare parts being shipped from another part of the country. While you can mitigate this to some extent by ordering from companies with warehouses in the same city when you can find them, this isn't always possible. Having many spare parts on hand cushions the blow of delayed delivery times.
Supply Chain Disruptions
COVID has messed with supply chains for the past couple of years both because people's needs have changed (e.g., increased need for furniture for home offices or for returning adult children or the need for more home-use toilet paper instead of office-supply toilet paper rolls) and because people along the supply chain have gotten ill and/or died. Both of these issues (and more) have created gaps in the supply chain that have been difficult to remedy.
While the supply chain is still going, and some shortages have ended (bless those full aisles of toilet roll packages), there are major slowdowns and shortages that are predicted to become worse as people order for the holidays. That can affect the delivery of spare parts you order as some may be back-ordered due to materials shortages, and some other delivery services may be so busy that they can't deliver your spare parts in a timely manner.
Increased Hauling Work
As people have had to stay home or stay within a certain radius of home, deliveries have become a much more common part of the landscape. That includes home improvement materials, furniture, and more. If your company is involved hauling deliveries to companies and individuals, you're likely seeing an increased need for those deliveries. That increases the wear on the trailers you use, increasing your eventual need for repairs and part replacements. If you have a lot of spare parts on hand, you can fix those trailers immediately.
Stocking up isn't the same as hoarding, and you should be judicious with your ordering. Look at how often you need to replace parts to get a better idea of how many parts you'd need on hand if you couldn't get deliveries for a certain amount of time. Then, order the parts before you need them.
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