OCMs: OEMs Want Flexible Delivery Schedules

In a manufacturing supply chain, there are precious few constants. The price of a critical electronic component will fluctuate in accordance with customer demand, for example, as well as the demand for the OEM product among consumers. Yet, somehow, in a marketplace where change is the only true constant, manufacturers must find a way to maintain their budgets, meet their sales figures, and at least match their downstream revenue projections.

So, when the time comes early in the inception of a new product, OEMs want to see in their OCM partners as much stability as possible. If their product has a projected life cycle of four or five years, then OEMs would prefer some form of assurance that the critical components necessary for its assembly will be available for that entire life cycle.

Such assurances, however, are very hard to come by – and when the decision is made to transition a component toward obsolescence, the fallout can have a significant effect on both parties.

There is little an OCM can do to prevent component obsolescence (such decisions must be made objectively, often based on factors out of the OCM’s control), but to assure potential OEM partners that their product will still be supported, it helps for OCMs to have solutions available for them should the worst come to pass. For OCMs who wish to keep their valuable OEM customers satisfied regardless of what the marketplace dictates, flexible delivery schedules through Partstat’s Last Time Buy Solution might just be the offering they need.

Dare to Be Different

The key to securing long-term business relations in the manufacturing industry is to offer services that no competitor can hope to match. Flexible, personalized, long-term delivery options can be the extra incentive that converts a one-time buyer into a permanent fixture on your fulfillment schedule.

Of course, OEMs are not the only ones who stand to benefit from a “bolt-on” service that offers flexible delivery schedules. OEMs obviously have to find a solution to store last time buy inventory necessary to complete their product’s lifecycle — but if a fulfillment agreement is already in place, occasionally that responsibility can fall on the OCM at great cost.

Our Last Time Buy Solution is a perfect remedy for this scenario. Recently, for example, Partstat completed a case study where a respected OCM was obligated to fulfill a three-year delivery schedule on $12 million worth of ASICs. At this time the ASICs had already been manufactured, so without the aid of a Last Time Buy Solution, the OCM would have been forced to store them onsite, on their own dime, for the duration of the agreement.

Transferring these obligations to Partstat also opened up flexible delivery options for the OEM customer far beyond what the OCM was equipped to provide alone. In this case, Partstat was able to present the OEM an option to extend the delivery schedule up to five years, if needed.

You Can Be the Solution

Partstat’s Last Time Buy Solution virtually eliminates the uncertainty and stress that comes with end-of-life components. With the ability to purchase, store, and fulfill inventory for an industry-leading 20+ years while preserving precious working capital, it grants a unique opportunity for OCMs to position themselves not only as a supply chain partner with foresight, but as a partner who truly does put the customer first. The power of integrity should never be underestimated.

These are the kinds of little details that separate your company from the competition. When the time comes for an OEM to find an OCM partner capable of supporting their next innovative product, who do you think they are going to choose — the OCM who put all of the last time buy responsibilities on their customer’s shoulders, or the OCM who took the time to offer their customer a solution to their dilemma?