29
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2013
ACCESS, LIFT & HANDLERS
TRAILER-MOUNTED AWPS
vital competitive advantage
AFTERMARKET SERVICE AND SUPPORT
are always willing to take whatever steps
are necessary to take care of us. Or, we can
tap into one or both of the two JLG territory
managers assigned to our business. These
guys treat us like family. Sometimes when we
deal with other companies, because we’re a
small, independent business, we get lost in the
shuffle with all the big companies. These guys
ensure that we’re treated as if we’re their only
customer. It’s a really good relationship.”
But it’s a relationship that everyone works
at, both JLG and Action Equipment. “You have
to take the time to build a relationship,” says
McGinley. “Only then can you realize all that
[a company] and their systems have to offer.
So many times, the information and tools are
available, but users have no idea that they are
available or how to access them.”
For McGinley, Online Express, JLG OEM
and competitive parts offerings have proven
to be invaluable to Action Equipment. “I’ve
dealt with, and still do deal with, quite a few
manufacturers, and this system is the by far
the best I’ve ever seen. It makes us much more
efficient and self-sufficient in our business,
especially as we order parts.”
Since McGinley started working with JLG, the
competitive parts business has grown by 1,900
percent. As a result, Action Equipment is able to
maintain a parts inventory that stocks about 90
percent of what they need to service their own
fleet and that of their customers.
“Knowing I can get the other 10 percent, in
most cases overnight, is huge,” says McGinley.
“It’s the OEM and competitive parts program
and all the support JLG provides that allow us to
leverage our relationship with them to cultivate
our customer base, and it gives us credibility
with our customers and the buying power to be
profitable.”
Meanwhile, larger national rental companies
rely on JLG to stock competitive parts inventory
and ensure next-day delivery of those parts to
service in what are often hundreds of locations
around the country. Many of these same
companies responded to the downturn in the
economy by consolidating staff positions, so
that today one person is doing the work of
several – perhaps managing parts, inventory
and rentals. This means the aftermarket support
that an OEM like JLG supplies, needs to be even
more convenient and easier to access. Websites
need to be more intuitive, call centers more
responsive and service more readily available.
Parts demand
While all of this is happening, the demand for
competitive parts continues to grow, driven in
part by increased equipment utilization. As the
economy recovers, the construction industry
rebounds and more machines are in use, it
follows that more parts will be consumed. At
the same time, many companies are looking
to extend the useful life of their equipment,
maintaining older fleets, which also contributes
to the demand for parts.
JLG and other OEMs are working hard to meet
this demand. Companies regularly collaborate
with customers to examine demand histories
and gather other critical information that will
help them locate and deliver the parts offering
customers require.
■
Using Online Express, JLG’s customer portal
for parts shopping, warranty processing,
technical research and visibility of machine
orders, customers can identify a part, check
its availability, and, if ordered before 6 p.m.,
expect delivery the following morning.
“Since our customers own and operate machines from a
variety of OEMs, I need to have access to competitive parts.
[OEMs with competitive parts] give me that access, allowing
me to service equipment I normally could not buy parts for.”
Jim McGinley, vice president, Action Equipment & Supply, LLC
“The demand for
competitive parts continues
to grow, driven in part
by increased equipment
utilization. As the economy
recovers, the construction
industry rebounds and
more machines are in use,
it follows that more parts
will be consumed.”
Travis Myers, director of customer
support for JLG Industries, Inc.
